Player Discussion: Victor Hedman

[The Macho King]

He defiantly deserves it, he's easily the best defence man in the league, but I think Hughes and Makar and Petry(if he keeps up this tear) will be up there. The Norris is always about points. Hedman is also scoring as well, but he may have some tougher competition this year.

I really want him to get his 2nd Norris though!

I don't think you have to worry about Hughes this year.

 

[The Gongshow]

I don't think you have to worry about Hughes this year.

Very true, he's not great in his own end, but points wise he's lighting it up.

You're right though with Vancouver in their state I can't see him getting a lot of Norris votes

 

[Sky04]

Hughes has been exposed badly this season, in he's nowhere near a Norris threat. Rightly or wrongly I feel like Hedman is in that spot where voters want to give it to him, he just has to do enough, reputation will always factor into these awards.

 

[The Macho King]

Wysh has a piece on Hedman on ESPN+. It's fine - interviewed Coop, Hedman, and Lidstrom for the piece.

And I'm such a Hedman homer I changed my Disney+ subscription to the one that includes ESPN+ so I could read it. (Don't worry about doing that if you don't already have it - it wasn't particularly groundbreaking).

 

[Sky04]

Write for a subscription based service and title your articles variants of "Is Hedman the best...", "Hedman is the best.." to get your $5 from Macho!

 

[The Macho King]

Write for a subscription based service and title your articles variants of "Is Hedman the best...", "Hedman is the best.." to get your $5 from Macho!

Pretty much.

I love this Norse bastard.

 

[These Are The Days]

Is Victor Hedman the cream that rises to the top?

 

[copperlion]

It's crazy how many Elite defensemen we've seen rise and fall while Hedman keeps on chugging along

 

[These Are The Days]

It's crazy how many Elite defensemen we've seen rise and fall while Hedman keeps on chugging along

I don't think Bob McKenzie is all he's cracked up to be sometimes, but when he was pumping Heddy's hype tires he was getting his shit right. For example this was a review on Hedman coming into the draft

Victor Hedman is one of the fastest, smoothest skating d-men around, the irony in this is that he comes in at around 6'7" and 230lbs. He has excellent offensive instincts, which makes sure that he gets involved in the play frequently. He's got amazing vision and play making skills which make him more then adept at running the PP, he still gets plenty of time on the PK and is on the top pairing there, so defensively he is proficient as well. Has sound positioning skills and uses his size to his advantage, does not get beat often. He will likely be the next generational defenceman to enter the league, very few like him, plays like Chris Pronger. The one difference would be that he is not as physical or aggresive as Pronger, but he has the size and playmaking skills. Another downside would be that he seems to have run into a little bit of injury troubles this year, it shouldn't hurt him too much as his potential is too vast to pass up.

Generational might've been a little too generous but if some other cat rolls around who is better than Hedman then we're talking about the next Ray Bourque or some shit. That evaluation was otherwise prophetic and I can't say 12 years later I'm surprised Hedman is this good.

 

[The Gongshow]

I can't think of any other defence man in the league that is even close to Hedman in terms of being able to actually defend in his own zone and then provide huge offence on the other side.

Too many dmen in the league today are basically 4th forwards.

 

[OdinsFury]

I can't think of any other defence man in the league that is even close to Hedman in terms of being able to actually defend in his own zone and then provide huge offence on the other side.

Too many dmen in the league today are basically 4th forwards.

This is so true today! Hedman may be the last of a dying breed of well rounded Defenseman who can play both ends of the ice. Sure guys like Makar and heiskanen can rush up the ice and create like a Center but when faced with having to play 1 on 1 or on a PK, many of these young D have no clue. Hedman is the elite generational Dman of the late 2010s and early 2020's and he will be remembered as such with a HOF induction!

 

[Sky04]

This is so true today! Hedman may be the last of a dying breed of well rounded Defenseman who can play both ends of the ice. Sure guys like Makar and heiskanen can rush up the ice and create like a Center but when faced with having to play 1 on 1 or on a PK, many of these young D have no clue. Hedman is the elite generational Dman of the late 2010s and early 2020's and he will be remembered as such with a HOF induction!

This is very untrue, you're not really paying attention if you think those 2 guys aren't two way defenseman. Hedman is the best defenseman in the league but some of you guys are just trying to mytholize him.

Don't get why people associate scoring with not being able to play defense too. Not everyone who scores is a Quinn Hughes or a Carlsson. The way the game has evolved means defenseman are developed to be apart of the offense more than before, that doesn't mean they don't play defense.

The 3 best young defenseman in the league right now are McAvoy, Makar and Heiskanen all of whom I'd argue have more of an impact defensively than Hedman at the same age. Hedman's playstyle is definitely not a "dying breed" the only thing that might be is his combination of size and skating.

 

[The Macho King]

This is very untrue, you're not really paying attention if you think those 2 guys aren't two way defenseman. Hedman is the best defenseman in the league but some of you guys are just trying to mytholize him.

Don't get why people associate scoring with not being able to play defense too. Not everyone who scores is a Quinn Hughes or a Carlsson. The way the game has evolved means defenseman are developed to be apart of the offense more than before, that doesn't mean they don't play defense.

The 3 best young defenseman in the league right now are McAvoy, Makar and Heiskanen all of whom I'd argue have more of an impact defensively than Hedman at the same age. Hedman's playstyle is definitely not a "dying breed" the only thing be is his combination of size and skating.

Hedman was pretty damn good defensively at 22. I also wouldn't lump Makar in with McAvoy and Heiskanen - I think those two are more of the classic "two-way" defensemen while Makar is much more offensive.

Makar plays less than a minute of PK time a game - I just don't think you can not PK and be considered a two-way defenseman. There are only six slots of guys available, and at least 4 need to be your regulars. Makar's PK time seems to come either at the end of a PK or when one of the better options are in the box.