Rank your team's defensemen based on their play this season

[ESH]

I always like to see how everyone views their teams players and we all need something to talk about right now, so let's have at it.

for the

1. Mark Giordano - this should be obvious for anyone who watches the Flames. The defense was a nightmare when he was injured. A big step back from last season but still a #1 defenseman.

2. Rasmus Andersson - he's already a lot better defensively than I expected, but also behind what I was hoping for offensively. He's got a huge slapshot but he never wants to use it. He's been probably the most consistent defenseman for the Flames this year. Very steady and you're never worried when he's out there.

3. T.J. Brodie - he's been a pretty different player this year when compared to the last few seasons. A lot less mistake-prone but also less dynamic.

4. Noah Hanifin - I thought he was the Flames' best defenseman for the first month of the season, but he's had some really rough patches. Matt Benning made him look like an idiot en route to a goal just a few weeks ago. He's looked a lot better away from Hamonic and with Andersson as a partner.

5. Travis Hamonic - very disappointing season. He's still tough as nails, but he's not all that physical anymore. Him and Hanifin went from a very solid 2nd pairing last season to a mess this year. He's still a great penalty killer. I'm sure he won't be back next season.

6. Oliver Kylington - I'm disappointed that management keeps making moves to force him out of the lineup. He had been playing great recently and hasn't played since the trade deadline. Arguably the best skater on the Flames, he has lots of talent but it feels like it's being coached out of him. He's been pretty passive this season with the puck, but also a lot steadier defensively.

7. Michael Stone - shouldn't have been getting games in over Kylington. He's basically the opposite of Kylington, big and tough and slow.

Other guys that haven't played enough for me to really rank:

Erik Gustafsson - even more skilled than I was expecting, though I'm not confident in his defensive ability.

Derek Forbort - barely even noticeable most games, which might actually be a good thing. A good complement to Gustafsson.

Alexander Yelesin - love his physicality. Seems like he's looking to hit someone any chance he gets. Puck skills aren't NHL-level though.

Brandon Davidson - I guess he's not on the team anymore, but I don't really know why he was in the first place.

Click to read more...

 

[Clint Eastwood]

Too lazy to write descriptions.

1. Charlie McAvoy
2. Brandon Carlo
3. Torey Krug
4. Zdeno Chara
5. Matt Grzelcyk
6. Jeremy Lauzon (small sample size, but he's been awesome)
7. Connor Clifton
8. Steven Kampfer
9. John Moore

 

[JT Kreider]

Fox
DeAngelo
Lindgren
Trouba

Rest are bleh

 

[NessFreaK]

Slavin
Hamilton
Pesce
Fleury
TVR
Edmundson
Skjei
Gardiner

 

[LuckyBoeser]

1. Quinn Hughes
2. Troy Stecher
3. Alex Edler
4. Oscar Fantenberg
5. Chris Tanev
6. Tyler Myers
7. Jordie Benn

My list will be different from other Canucks fans since I put a lot of emphasis on analytics in this list. It's also important to note our defense core apart from Quinn Hughes is quite meh.

 

[Llamamoto]

Our top-6 defensemen:

Oscar Klefbom - Steady top pairing defensemen that he usually is. He has occasional brain fart driven pinches on the blueline, but apart from that he's been really solid. Suffered from a usual injury.

Ethan Bear - Pretty much a draw between him and Nurse. I went with Bear because of how he's blown his expectations completely out of the water. He was considered a long shot to become a consistent top-4 defensemen in the NHL due to his skating, but an offseason of hard work has helped him immensely. He's our top right hand defensemen, and our top offensive D-man. Should be getting #1 pp time soon. He became our top minute muncher during Klef's injury.

Darnell Nurse - Pretty good all season long, with the exception of some poor play during Klefbom's absence, where he was forced to play 26+ mins per night. He isn't and probably won't become a top pairing defensemen, but he's more than capable in a second pairing role.

Adam Larsson - He suffered an injury blocking a shot with his ankle in the very first game of the season and missed a lot of time from that. (He somehow managed to finish the game with a broken ankle!). After the injury, his play skyrocketed from the previous two years. He's been physical and great in his own end, looking like his 2016-17 self. Very little offensive contribution, but that's not really his role.

Caleb Jones - Called up in November and his been solid throughout the year playing third pairing minutes. He saw a slight increase in TOI during Klef's absence, and his play has gotten better as the year progressed. One of our best breakout/transition defensemen, and has showed some glimpses of offensive prowess.

Matt Benning - I actually think he's pretty underrated among Oilers fans. He's a third pairing defensemen, but that's it. Every time he's pushed into higher TOI he struggles. He commits some mind-boggling mistakes, but overall he's a decent 3rd pairing defensmen. (Missed some time due to concussion struggles from a dirty uncalled elbow by Evander Kane)

 

[jetsforever]

(20 game cutoff in total games: )

Good:
Pionk
Morrissey
DeMelo

Serviceable:
Kulikov
Poolman

Replacement:
Bitetto
Sbisa
Beaulieu

 

[clunk]

Quinn Hughes
Alex Edler
Chris Tanev
Troy Stecher
Oscar Fantenberg
Tyler Myers
Jordie Benn

 

[TheOtherOne]

1. Hronek
2. I literally cannot name a single other DRW defenseman.










(because of ptsd)

...
(because they all suck)

 

[lakai17]

Our top-6 defensemen:

Oscar Klefbom - Steady top pairing defensemen that he usually is. He has occasional brain fart driven pinches on the blueline, but apart from that he's been really solid. Suffered from a usual injury.

Ethan Bear - Pretty much a draw between him and Nurse. I went with Bear because of how he's blown his expectations completely out of the water. He was considered a long shot to become a consistent top-4 defensemen in the NHL due to his skating, but an offseason of hard work has helped him immensely. He's our top right hand defensemen, and our top offensive D-man. Should be getting #1 pp time soon. He became our top minute muncher during Klef's injury.

Darnell Nurse - Pretty good all season long, with the exception of some poor play during Klefbom's absence, where he was forced to play 26+ mins per night. He isn't and probably won't become a top pairing defensemen, but he's more than capable in a second pairing role.

Adam Larsson - He suffered an injury blocking a shot with his ankle in the very first game of the season and missed a lot of time from that. (He somehow managed to finish the game with a broken ankle!). After the injury, his play skyrocketed from the previous two years. He's been physical and great in his own end, looking like his 2016-17 self. Very little offensive contribution, but that's not really his role.

Caleb Jones - Called up in November and his been solid throughout the year playing third pairing minutes. He saw a slight increase in TOI during Klef's absence, and his play has gotten better as the year progressed. One of our best breakout/transition defensemen, and has showed some glimpses of offensive prowess.

Matt Benning - I actually think he's pretty underrated among Oilers fans. He's a third pairing defensemen, but that's it. Every time he's pushed into higher TOI he struggles. He commits some mind-boggling mistakes, but overall he's a decent 3rd pairing defensmen. (Missed some time due to concussion struggles from a dirty uncalled elbow by Evander Kane)

Nurse is money for his defensive play. He's had a better season than klefbom this season.

 

[Llamamoto]

Nurse is money for his defensive play. He's had a better season than klefbom this season.

Nurse's slot coverage in his own end and his tendency to block the goalie's view while blocking a shot make him slightly worse than Klef in his own end. Klefbom's just smarter defensively.

 

[lakai17]

Nurse's slot coverage in his own end and his tendency to block the goalie's view while blocking a shot make him slightly worse than Klef in his own end. Klefbom's just smarter defensively.

Nurse drops opponents in front of the net sometimes to allow the goaltender to see the puck and he grinds hard along the boards. His physical play is an impact for his team.

 

[Cygnusx1018]

1. Adam Pelech - hurt for 2nd half of year, but is a total defensive rock.
2. Ryan Pulock - great in both ends. Needs to use his Slap Shot more.
3. Nick Leddy - Huge bounce back year.
4. Johnny Boychuk - Adds great presence, physical, very good defensively
5. Scott Mayfield - see Boychuk
6. Andy Greene - has been great, not enough sample size
7. Devon Toews - HAs had high highs and low lows. Still learning
8. Noah Dobson - too young, but has been decent in very limited minutes

 

[Kcb12345]

Heiskanen
Lindell
Oleksiak
Klingberg
Johns (only a small sample so I can't/shouldn't put him higher, but he's been good)
Sekera
Polak
Fedun (it's not that he's been bad, he just hasn't played in a longgg time cause he's been scratched)

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

--Matt Roy - Has been insanely good, like sneaky one of the best seasons in the league that no one is talking about good. Pretty physical, great shutdown D, quiet game for the most part, but also doesn't panic with the puck and is making clean breakouts consistently. But to be fair, it's relative--he had been playing third pairing minutes before moving into second pairing minutes. 3 games or so into the season McLellan unloaded on his game because he had been total crap and he responded maybe better than anyone I've ever seen haha.

--Sean Walker - Game tailed off a bit lately probably due to the long season playing big minutes. Had consistently been playing either 1st or 2nd pairing minutes and didn't look out of place anywhere. Him and Roy are very similar, but Walker is an insanely good skater, escapes well, and you'll see him carry the puck a lot more than Roy, who prefers to move it. Good IQ, plays a lot like Voynov, leveraging people off the puck even though he's not of great size. Both him and Roy have been revelations and can play in all situations.

--Drew Doughty - Still flashes of awesome, still the guy eating the hardest minutes so other guys can excel. Have no doubt that Roy and Walker are doing so well because of Doughty and if they tried to 'replace' him they'd get chewed up. Drew's biggest problem is between the ears. If he gets up for the game, he's an unstoppable force. We've seen that for maybe 10-15 games this year. But the other 75% of the season, his give-a-f***-ometer has been busted. Lazy plays, low focus. Relative to expectations, he's been disappointing. The positive is his game is still clearly there, he just needs to bring his consistency back.

--BIG gap after these 3

--Hutton - Pretty much as expected. Good player who you don't want playing over his head. Also prefer him to not see the ice anywhere on this side of the red line.

--Macdermid - Has been a great story, guy works hard, easy to root for, sticks up for everyone, has mostly cleaned up his game--a few reckless hits for sure. But he's overmatched as anything but a depth guy. Still, LA needs some beef. He's pretty good for a guy his size.

--Another big gap after these 2

--Our Zamboni

--Cashier at the Team LA store

--Another big gap after these 2

--Joakim Ryan - Seriously has anyone seen Randy Jones since he retired? If not, I think he snuck back in.


RIP Martinez, Forbort


In short, our RHDs have been mostly stellar and mostly dragged down by our LHDs. There's seemingly no chemistry anywhere unless two righties end up together.

 

[Pure Slaughter Value]

Ryan Pulock: B+, adapted well after Pelech's injury, still much better with Pelech as his partner
Nick Leddy: B+, surprising recovery from last season
Devon Toews: D, horrific sophomore slump. Turned it around for a couple of weeks in January and then fell apart again
Scott Mayfield: C+, has to be playing through an injury, not physical and since November hasn't really provided much offense either
Johnny Boychuk: B in limited minutes but C- when used heavily
Adam Pelech: INC, was a B+ til the injury
Andy Greene: B, helped considerably since being acquired
Noah Dobson, C on his offside, B on his primary side.

Varlamov doesn't exactly inspire any confidence, I'll say that.

 

[Bluesnatic27]

1) Alex Pietrangelo - Enough said honestly

2) Colton Parayko - I was disappointed with his ability while not in his own zone, but then January hit and he was playing great in all areas of the ice. He could easily be a #1 defenseman on most teams if he can keep his offensive game the way it was for the past two months.

3) Vince Dunn - He's still developing into a brilliant top-4 player with his puck transition and skating ability. I don't think he can be relied upon as a top-pairing player unless he's paired with a Parayko-level player, but Dunn is still a great player that I think will be hitting between 30 - 40 points a season in the not too distant future.

4) Jay Bouwmeester - Before his cardiac episode, he was a solid, foundational defensive piece on the back-end. He gives up a lot of shots against, but most chances are lower-quality chances because he does his best to limit the higher danger shots the best he can. And this year, he was a sturdy player for the PK, which most fans have noticed his loss.

5) Justin Faulk - I'm still a believer of his and think this year is more of an outlier than anything predictive. But this year is his worst statistical season of his career and he's been a disappointment for sure. But strangely, he's become one of the best PKers on the team, so he is contributing in some capacity.

6) Robert Bortuzzo - As a #6 - #7 defenseman on the team, you really can't ask for more from him. He's noticeably lesser than anyone named before him, but he chips in whenever he's called upon. This year, he's been more of the same of what I come to expect from him. Nothing spectacular or worth mention, but solid enough to be content.

7) Carl Gunnarsson - This is probably the one returning defenseman who seems behind where he was last year. Everyone else is playing about what I expected them to, but Gunnarsson seems a step behind this year. His injuries must be catching up to him because he looks off. Thankfully, he's not a "relied upon" piece, but this current contract he's on might be his last if he continues to play this way.

Others worth mentioning but haven't played much:

Marco Scandella - The price paid to acquire his is still steep. However, he's slotted in very well onto the blueline. He's been a fine replacement for Bouwmeester. He's played so well that I wouldn't be surprised to see him re-signed in the offseason, especially with the uncertainty surrounding the Bouwmeester-saga. Once (if) he plays more, I think you can just slot him into where Bouwmeester's rank is.

Niko Mikkola - I've been excited to see this guy play ever since 2016, and his start to his NHL career is exactly what I would hope. He looks to be a towering defensive presence for years to come. While his competition to make the team is still, especially with Scandella in the potential mix, I don't doubt he'll make the team.

 

[ViewsFromThe6ix]

Muzzin
Rielly
Holl
Dermott
Barrie
Ceci

 

[teravaineSAROS]

1. Quinn Hughes
2. Troy Stecher
3. Alex Edler
4. Oscar Fantenberg
5. Chris Tanev
6. Tyler Myers
7. Jordie Benn

My list will be different from other Canucks fans since I put a lot of emphasis on analytics in this list. It's also important to note our defense core apart from Quinn Hughes is quite meh.

Wait Fantenberg? He's a legit NHLer now?

 

[rubikscube]

1. Pionk - huge surprise this year
2. Morrissey - bit of a down year, but still great defensively
3. DeMelo - quietly makes the right play
4. Poolman - meh
5. Kulikov - an overpaid #6
6. Beaulieu - fine as a #6

Amazing this d-core is in playoff contention. This team needs Niku and Samberg to step up ASAP

 

[flyerslducks]

1. provorov
2. niskanen
3. sanheim
4. myers
5. braun
6. hagg
7. ghost-----only because he hasn't played much and the coaches aren't using him where they should for him to be successful ---but if he did he would be 5

 

[themelkman]

Karlsson
Burns
Dillon
Vlasic
Ferraro
Heed
Simek

 

[deca guard]

Our top-6 defensemen:

Oscar Klefbom - Steady top pairing defensemen that he usually is. He has occasional brain fart driven pinches on the blueline, but apart from that he's been really solid. Suffered from a usual injury.

Ethan Bear - Pretty much a draw between him and Nurse. I went with Bear because of how he's blown his expectations completely out of the water. He was considered a long shot to become a consistent top-4 defensemen in the NHL due to his skating, but an offseason of hard work has helped him immensely. He's our top right hand defensemen, and our top offensive D-man. Should be getting #1 pp time soon. He became our top minute muncher during Klef's injury.

Darnell Nurse - Pretty good all season long, with the exception of some poor play during Klefbom's absence, where he was forced to play 26+ mins per night. He isn't and probably won't become a top pairing defensemen, but he's more than capable in a second pairing role.

Adam Larsson - He suffered an injury blocking a shot with his ankle in the very first game of the season and missed a lot of time from that. (He somehow managed to finish the game with a broken ankle!). After the injury, his play skyrocketed from the previous two years. He's been physical and great in his own end, looking like his 2016-17 self. Very little offensive contribution, but that's not really his role.

Caleb Jones - Called up in November and his been solid throughout the year playing third pairing minutes. He saw a slight increase in TOI during Klef's absence, and his play has gotten better as the year progressed. One of our best breakout/transition defensemen, and has showed some glimpses of offensive prowess.

Matt Benning - I actually think he's pretty underrated among Oilers fans. He's a third pairing defensemen, but that's it. Every time he's pushed into higher TOI he struggles. He commits some mind-boggling mistakes, but overall he's a decent 3rd pairing defensmen. (Missed some time due to concussion struggles from a dirty uncalled elbow by Evander Kane)

i think oil d is alot better than most see it as , though its short a puck carrying qb . and bear just rocked the heck outta this season , what an excellent all around dman . and that top 4 of klef-bear-nurs-lars is rock solid , if they could sign krug or peitangelo this summer look out

 

[SHANNYPLAN]

1. Muzzin
2. Rielly (Looked Hurt Most of the Season)
3. Holl
4. Dermott
5. Sandin
6. Barrie
7. Ceci

 

[RedMenace]

F-