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

[Pierce Hawthorne]

My opinion for the


1. Sam Girard
2. Cale Makar
3. Ryan Graves
4. Erik Johnson
5. Ian Cole
6. Nikita Zadorov



Top 2 guys have played like legit Top pairing guys pretty much all year. Graves has been a legit middle pairing guy for us which is a real shocker that came out of nowhere. The rest have been bottom pairing level guys and in Zadorov's case he has been a real disappointment.

 

[CartographerNo611]

Dillon - Gives it his all every shift while wearing his heart on his sleave. Pretty steady in his own zone and a physical beast. For a 6 ft 4 guy he gets beat up after sticking up for a teammate. Love the guy, Caps have a keeper. Downsided being he wont provide a ton of offense and has the agility of a semi. Sharks most consistent D.

Big Gap

Karlsson - Tries too hard to make a pretty pass that leads to a neutral zone turn over and takes his sweet time to come back to play "defense." Defense meaning being allergic to physical contact and below average positioning ability. Has a very slow straight line speed, I suspect he has a lower body injury still. Still showed flashes of offensive brilliance and has amazing vision and passing ability. Lazy, I still think he can rebound to a decent number 1 if his heart is in it.

Vlasic - Lazy, still the best at defensive positioning on the Sharks and taking away passing lanes. His partners leave him out to dry causing some bad stats. Is okay in the o-zone nothing special. Not very physical and clearly on the decline.

Ferraro - Good skater, decent offensive instinct. Has some work to do in his own zone but is a bright spot on the sharks blue line.

GAP

Burns- Amazing skater for some who is 6 ft 5. Great shot from the shot and his hand eye is unreal which contributes to being great at knocking down pucks. Horrible defensively. Does not know where to be and overskates his position. His stick checking is just swing the stick around. For someone his size he is not very good at corner battles or imposing his size. 1 offseason on just working on D and this guy can have another solid year or 2. I dont see a decline in terms of physical ability, its all mental.

Simek - Slow and can clear the crease plus win corner battles. Thats about it. Work on his positioning and skating he will be a solid bottom paring shut down guy.

Gap

Heed - Cheap fill in. Just a meh undersized d-man with average skating.

Middleton - Cheap fill in. Has some size. Thats bout it.

Prout - Decent skater, contrary to belief, he is not really a "goon." Cheap depth. Hockey IQ is not NHL worthy.

 

[GeeoffBrown]

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.

This is exactly how I'd rank them but you could also argue Brodie over Andersson. Andersson is more steady defensively but Brodie has more talent with the puck on his stick.

 

[LuckyBoeser]

Wait Fantenberg? He's a legit NHLer now?

Fantenberg is a bottom pairing defenseman. He is decent defensively but lacks puck skills. So he is fine in a bottom-pairing role and can provide an okay impact on the penalty kill.

 

[FreeBobbyFarnham]

John Marino
Brian Dumoulin
Kris Letang
Juuso Riikola
Marcus Pettersson
Justin Schultz/Chad Ruhwedel
Chad Ruhwedel/Justin Schultz
Jack Johnson

 

[nbwingsfan]

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










(because of ptsd)

...
(because they all suck)

Hronek- should be a second pairing D on a real hockey team. Will probably be a consistent ~50ptD when Detroit becomes competent but has some serious defensive issues at times

Nemeth - typical #6D who isn’t very good at anything but doesn’t making glaring mistakes too often. If just kind of... there.

Biega- a #7 fill in who should be spending majority of his time in a press box on real teams
Bowey - an offensive D who isn’t even good offensively. Should be out of the NHL

Daley- Old and slow. No contenders wanted him for free. Not an NHL player

Cholowski- needs MAJOR work in his defensive game in the AHL. Will probably be up with the big team though as a permanent bottom pairing.

Dekeyser- too few games

 

[16thOverallSaveUs]

I don’t even remember it feels like so long ago that I last got to watch hockey

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Adam Fox-He's been excellent in all zones. Much better defensively than advertised. Probably already a top pairing defenseman, and maybe already a 1D.

Tony DeAngelo-He's had an excellent season. Offensively, he's one of our best players. Defensively, he's held his own, which is good enough when you are as good offensively as he is.

Ryan Lindgren-Only the second best rookie defenseman on his own defensive pairing, but he's been excellent. He didn't even make the team out of training camp, although he should've, but has been our best defensive presence since being recalled and he's improved his puck-moving.

Jacob Trouba-He's probably as talented as any of our defensemen, but he's had a bad season. Playing with Skjei didn't help the first half of the season. They paired terribly, but Trouba's defensive game has slipped some with getting beat 1v1 and taking bad penalties. His passing vision is also pretty bad.

Marc Staal-He's bad and costs the team at times. He's probably not even a 6D anymore, but he does have some stretches where he can defend adequately. His biggest problem is anytime he has the puck. He can't skate it out of the zone and can't pass it. He usually ends up going to the corner, boxing out forecheckers, and waiting for teammates to help him move it.

Brendan Smith-Absolute disaster of a defensemen. Awful hockey IQ with plenty of errors all over the ice. Takes a lot of bad penalties. Doesn't defend at much better than a mediocre level and doesn't provide any offense. He's not terrible at moving the puck with skating or passing, but he's not great at that either.

 

[danpantz]

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

Only thing i'd change is putting Moore even lower somehow. Lauzon being 6th just shows how crazy deep that d-core is.

 

[leafsfan5]

1.) Muzzin- very solid season, looked like a good number 2 especially right before he got hurt again. Adds an element this team really needs
2.) Rielly- he should be number 1 but had a pretty bad year before his injury. He looked good in his first game back (Tampa) but the season got suspended after that so......
3.) Holl- overall he's been solid. He was struggling recently but I think it's cause all of the injuries to our top guys began to wear him out. Him and Muzzin make a solid defensive pair
4.) Dermott- He hasn't taken the next step and fully secured a top 4 role but once rielly/muzzin got hurt he stepped up in a big way. He had a good end to the year so hopefully he carries this going forward
5.) Barrie- the Kadri trade was a flop. He's solid in the offensive zone but man does he ever suck in his own end. We won't be resigning him after this year is up
6.) Ceci- it's Cody f***ing Ceci (we missed him a bit when he was hurt though not gonna lie)

 

[wintersej]

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

I’ll take a stab...

McAvoy
Obvious #1D. Does it all. Denies entries and leads breakouts. Plays the body. Tied for 9th in 5 on 5 scoring. Started slow this season but has playing at (at least) an All Star level since the break.

Carlo
Playing much less timid this year. A real defensive force. You can argue Krug in this spot and not be wrong, but Carlo is a very top defender both at evens and on the PK. His puck skills limit his ceiling, but he did have 19 points when the season stopped so he is contributing a lot more than last year.

Krug
Possibly the best PP dman in the NHL. His ability to QB the PP from multiple setups makes the Bruins PP so hard to defend. A very good puck moving at 5 on 5, bit disappointing offense and average at best defending. Seems to have another offensive gear in the playoffs. At 5 on 5 he is very glued to his position and doesn’t take risks.

Chara
Not much to be said. Obviously has lost a step in a time where the league is faster. Still an elite PK man and excellent defender inside the dots.

Gryz
Underrated by casual fans and those who don’t catch many Bruins games. Best skater in the Bruins blue line. Moves the puck and cuts off plays at center ice. More slight than Krug even. Depending on expansion, most likely to be McAvoy’s partner when Chara hangs up.

Lauzon
New fan favorite. Tough defensive D. Does a good job of getting shots off low and hard on net. Can play both sides which is nice for the Bruins PK because Chara was the only LD (Krug, Gryz) that could PK before that.

Clifton
Disappointing season. Plays a risky and aggressive game without the skating to back it up. Still learning when to pick his spots. I would likely have Clifton last.

Kampfer
I would have him a spot higher. Perfect 8th D. Vet that can sit and watch and not miss a beat.

Moore
Probably the last contract on the Bruins roster you are not completely happy with. Great skater with size. Kinda soft. Once Gryz leapfrogged him it hasn’t been clear what his role on the team is. Lauzon has jumped over him too now. He is very much an NHL defenseman but no room at the barn for him.

 

[BowDownToVasilevskiy]

Only Included players who played 30 games this season
1. Victor Hedman
2. Mikhail Sergachev
3. Kevin Shattenkirk
4. Ryan McDonagh
5. Erik Cernak
6. Jan Rutta
7. Braydon Coburn

In my opinion, I would rank them like this. If McDonagh played more games, I would probably have him over Shattenkirk. Shattenkirk was pretty good offensively this season, obviously not the best defensively.

 

[QJL]

Based on play this year...

Lindgren (4B) / Fox (1C)
Staal (7A)/DeAngelo (2B)
Smith (7B)/Trouba (2C)

 

[Oddbob]

1) Hronek - Forced to play way more minutes than he should, but he has been largely pretty darn good for us.



2) Nemeth - Just real solid defense in a terrible year.











90 Miles of Crap






The rest of our defenders, doesn't matter who!

 

[Tom Polakis]

1. Jakob Chychrun
2. Niklas Hjalmarsson
3. Jason Demers
4. Oliver Ekman-Larsson
5. Alex Goligoski
6. Ilya Lybushkin
7. Jordan Osterle
8. Aaron Ness

 

[aufheben]

1. Adam Fox
2. Tony DeAngelo
3. Jacob Trouba
4. Ryan Lindgren
5. Brady Skjei
6. Brendan Smith
7. Marc Staal
8. Libor Hajek

 

[aufheben]

1. Jakob Chychrun
2. Niklas Hjalmarsson
3. Jason Demers
4. Oliver Ekman-Larsson
5. Alex Goligoski
6. Ilya Lybushkin
7. Jordan Osterle
8. Aaron Ness

Chychrun is the best young defenseman that no one is talking about. He had quite a bit of draft hype too. Always impressed by him when I watch the Coyotes (which is semi-often).

 

[1989]

Defence was doing okay-above average but their play has really fallen off over the last couple of weeks, pretty much invisible out there.

 

[UK Canuck]

1) Hughes


2) Edler
3) Tanev


A reasonably large chasm


4) Myers
5) Stetcher


6) Fantenberg
7) Benn

 

[Rolo]

Keith
de Haan
Murphy
Maatta
Boqvist
Koekkoek
Gilbert
Seeler
Seabrook

 

[SupremeNachos]

Suter - Has lost a step or two but is still solid defensively and continues to chip in on offense

Brodin - Improved his defensive skills even more while adding a bit more offense. Best D second half of the season.

Spurgeon - Usual underrated self. Got injured again and missed some time but is still a analytic darling.

Soucy - Complete surprise. Most fans thought he would be a serviceable 7th type of callup but has shown he can handle a top 4 spot if needed.

Dumba - Offense seemed to have divorced him for the majority of the year. Things were picking up the last month or so. Lots of posts hit. Defensive game reverted to several years ago.

Hunt - Started out hot then faded. If he's not scoring he is useless.

Pateryn - Only came back recently.

 

[Paul4587]

Lindholm - had a rough last few games of his season but played by far the toughest minutes of all our Dmen and if not for incredibly unlucky percentages (his shooting percentage was really low and his PDO was the worst of his career) and a woeful forward core he would have finally put up an offensive season worth talking about where he would have paced for well over 40 points. The raw stats definitely don’t tell the story with him this season. His defensive play did slip a bit and I worry about his longevity due to all the health issues he’s had though.

Fowler - had a really nice bounce back season. He was pacing for just under 40 points and wasn’t getting hemmed in his zone near as much as the past. He was given much easier minutes to start the year and he really thrived with them. He was also given a lot less PK time which helped keep him fresher for his ES shifts. Only complaint this season is that he still sucks at QBing the PP.

Manson - had a really bad first 3/4 of the season where he was turning the puck over constantly and getting caught out of position but really came along the last 10 or so games. He’s number three by default but was mostly disappointing.

Gudbranson - played way better than expected and arguably could be put above Manson. If he can continue to play within his limitations and complement Fowler or Lindholm I’ll be happy enough.

Del Zotto - I thought he was done but he really impressed me this season. Still a solid third pairing guy even if Eakins inexplicably scratched him.

Larsson - number 6 by default, was awful until the last 10 games we played where he finally looked like he made some strides.

Guhle - great skater and can help create offense on the rush but belongs in the AHL. Makes dumb decisions with the puck on his stick in the d zone, frequently turning the puck over. Hockey IQ is really low.

Can’t rank because of small sample size:

Djoos - only played like 8 games but was really smart and poised during his time here. Need to see what he can do over a larger sample size but should be a good third pairing guy for us next year.

Mahura - smart puck mover who may lack a bit in the defensive end but still has upside. Long term I like him more than Guhle and Larsson but he’s not quite NHL level yet.

Irwin - post deadline acquisition who was playing way more minutes than he should have. At this point should be 8 or 9 on a teams depth chart.

 

[NotLeddy]

Nemeth
Green
Hronek
Lashoff
Dekeyser
Biega
McIlrath
Cholowski
Hicketts
Daley
Ericsson
Golobeuf
Bowey

 

[Realgud]

NHLers
Dekeyser
Hronek
Nemeth

Borderline (7th D)
McIlrath
Lashoff
Biega
Green

AHLers
Cholowski
Goloubef
Hicketts
Ericsson
Daley
Bowey

 

[The Red Line]

Hronek
Nemeth
Biega
Chelios
Commodore
Lebda