NHL.com ranks the top 50 fantasy hockey defensemen in standard leagues for the rest of the 2022-23 season. One of two New Jersey players on this list, Okhotyuk gains the edge over Kevin Bahl who is rated higher overall thanks to the higher potential of the imposing Russian. Blockade will allow the user to block shots much more effectively, and the Durability boost will make the player less likely to incur an injury from blocking shots. Here's everything we know, The paths of KD and Kyrie: How one month changed three franchises and two superstar legacies. The players chosen for this list are all 21 and younger and chosen based on the grade in potential. The 67 Bahl may prove to become a dominant force for your franchise, as imposing as his height would suggest. Eight-year veteran Evegeny Kuznetsov still exhibits his fast legs even at 29 years of age, with a 93 in acceleration, agility, and speed. This perk will increase the player's Stick Checking, Def. Theyre blowing things up. Signed in July by the Oilers to athree-year contract, Barrie's production should remain among the league's best. Nevertheless, Hughes finished third, Entering his third NHL season, the 21-year-old should continue to shine as one of the league's best-scoring defensemen. That led to Miro Heiskanen becoming Lindell's partner. As for Nashville, the Predators have now traded three contributing players off the roster Nino Niederreiter to the Winnipeg Jets and Tanner Jeannot to the Tampa Bay Lightning harvesting mostly draft choices, two young players and Barrie. The rise of the Florida Panthers among the NHL's top teams since last season can be attributed in part to their first defensive pairing of MacKenzie Weegar and Aaron Ekblad. A Norris Trophy winner in 2015-16, Doughty had exceeded the 40-point plateau seven times in his 13 NHL seasons. The Oilers can stick him on the left side of their second pair, where he can help eat some tough minutes and lighten the load on Darnell Nurse, and forget about him. Karlsson prevented goals because he always had the puck. While injuries limited Matt Grzelcyk to 37 games last season, he wound up seeing more playing time with McAvoy than any other Bruins blueliner. Team: Vancouver CanucksAge: 21Position: Right DefenseType: Defensive DefensemanShoots: RightContract: $0.860M, 2 Years Left, Two-WayBest Attributes: 85 Durability, 84 Slap Shot Power, 84 Wrist Shot Power. Fox is the better known of the two. Victor Hedman, TBL11. Target Slapper will allow the user to shoot slap shots with more accuracy and power. among NHL defensemen last season with 45 points. Copyright 1995 - 2023 0.97 PPG. He's netted 30-plus points three times and could be poised to put up bigger numbers as he enters his playing prime. Age: 25Rating: 91Position: Right WingType: SniperTeam: Boston BruinsShoots: RightBest Attributes: 95 Passing, 95 Off. The former Stanley Cup champion had 20 assists and nine goals across 41 games during the 2020-2021 season. "Hedman came in young. Those abilities would make him the top defenseman in this year's NHL free-agent market, earning him a seven-year,$63 million contractwith the New Jersey Devils. The 23-year-old New York Rangers star took home the James Norris Memorial Trophy last season, joining Hall of Famer Bobby Orr asthe only sophomoresto accomplish that feat. Josh Morrissey, WPG6. They cleared cap space and added a first-round pick to the haul they received for Jeannot. With McDavid and Draisaitl in their respective primes, tomorrow isnt nearly as critical for the Oilers. Finding the right combination isn't easy. Edmonton is trying to improve a defense that, improved numbers aside, doesnt pass the Cup contender sniff test. Continue reading this article and more from top writers, for only $9.99/mo. But the poke check is back and actually useful/pretty balanced. Hamilton says Mercedes a long way off pace, LIVE Transfer Talk: Bayern still keen on Kane despite new Choupo-Moting contract, Previewing the 2023 college baseball season: Teams and players to watch, key storylines, Road to the men's Frozen Four: Conference tournaments at a glance, Top moments from Brady, Manning, Jordan and other athletes hosting 'Saturday Night Live', Dr. A's weekly risers and fallers: Jeremy Sochan, Christian Wood make the list, could be the best all-around hockey player in the world, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Adam Larsson, SEA39. among defensemen, and he's fifth in total points with 412 over the same period. 1. This perk will apply to poke checks, but not for the ability to intercept passes with their stick. Winner of the James Norris Memorial Trophy in 2019-20, Nashville Predators captain Roman Josi is among the NHL's best defensemen. Entering his fourth year, Hughes helped Vancouver with 38 assists and three goals over 56 games during the 2020-21 season. Instead of being a contractual bargain, he was now pricey and any contender looking to add him needed to consider his salary, his age, now 32, and decide if he was the same effective hard-nosed defender he was in his minute-munching prime. Seth Jones, CHI43. He's led. Hedman won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP last season, leading the Lightning to their Stanley Cup championship with 22 points in 25 games and 26 minutes, 28 seconds of average ice time. Traits and Specialties will make or break a build NHL 21's online modes. Defensively, Montgomery needs a lot of fine-tuning as his stick checking is 71, shot blocking a 68, and awareness a 67. He had a quick stint with New Jersey last season for seven games (two assists). Drew Doughty, LAK22. He led the Stars in playoff scoring with 26 points during their run to the 2020 Stanley Cup Final. Bruce holds a Ph.D. in Education and formerly taught undergraduates as an adjunct instructor. Fox ledall NHL defensemenin 2020-21 with 42 assists while finishing second with 47 points. Samuel Girard, COL28. The Oilers had cleared $3 million of salary-cap space earlier in the day by trading Jesse Puljujarvi to the Carolina Hurricanes. I've made the case that the Lightning defenseman could be the best all-around hockey player in the world. Corey Pronman: Ekholm is a legit high-in-the-lineup NHL defenseman. in power-play ice time per game (4:11) while finishing second with an average ice time per game of 24:19. He did see a steep drop off in shots, 51 less of them in 2020-21, but he also played in 22 less games than the year prior. Nevertheless, he. Evaluating the top 10 defensemen in ESPN's 2021 NHL position-by-position rankings is a study in competing philosophies on how to properly evaluate the position. Despite missing time because of injuries throughout his career, the 34-year-oldsits sixthin pointsamong NHL blueliners since his debut, with 582 in 853 games. The 24-year-old Werenski is a skilled and mobile blueliner, tallying 47 points as a rookie in 2016-17. He can improve on defense, though his speed can help make up for some of his lower ratings. His discipline is 75 with poise at 65 and offensive awareness at 63. A finalist for the James Norris Memorial Trophy last season, Makar is among the NHL's elite mobile defensemen. Yes that is true the poke checks are OP. Hes an ideal short-term piece with a problematic short-term contract ($6.25 million AAV for three seasons after this one). Awareness, 94 Puck Control, 95 Discipline, 93 Puck Control, 93 Wrist Shot Accuracy, 93 Speed, 92 Acceleration, 91 Wrist Shot Power, 92 Passing, 92 Puck Control, 92 Off. This perk will increase the player's Def. An impressive rookie campaign earned the Colorado Avalanche defenseman theCalder Memorial Trophyin 2019-20. Standard fantasy categories include goals, assists, plus/minus, power-play points, shots on goal and hits for skaters. Age: 26Rating: 93Position: Center/Right WingType: PlaymakerTeam: Colorado AvalancheShoots: RightBest Attributes: 95 Acceleration, 94 Hand-Eye, 94 Offensive Awareness. For defensemen, they'll want their build to have perks that help them break up plays with their stick, make good hits, and make quick breakout passes out of their zone. Comment * document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "ad8882951d244e308d463714f1cc5337" );document.getElementById("b90191b810").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. A model of consistency, the 6'3", 215-pound Carlson has reached or exceeded 32 points in 10 of his 12 NHL seasons. Defensemen are relied upon to patrol the blue line where they'll likely be taking most of their shots, and slap shots are most effective from that range. The Golden Knights' patience in developing Theodore's game is paying off. At the risk of being cooked by a subgroup of Edmonton fans, I dont think moving out Barrie is necessarily addition by subtraction. This is a great deal for both sides. He leadsall their skaters in time on ice per game (22:52) and total blocked shots(395) over his four-plus seasons. (Photo: Danny Murphy / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images). WebBest 3s Defensive Build . NHL 22 Player Ratings: Best Young Defensive Defensemen, NHL 22 Strategies: Complete Team Strategies Guide, Line Strategies & Best Team Strategies, NHL 22 Franchise Mode: Best Young Players, NHL 22 Franchise Mode: Best Free Agents to Sign, NHL 22: Best Teams to Rebuild in Franchise Mode, NHL 22 Player Ratings: Best Young Centers. McDavid ended the 2020-21 season with 72 assists and 33 goals in 56 games for 105 points, his fourth season of 100+ points. Mike Matheson, MTL44. Value has been quantified based on factors including but not limited to past production in the regular season and Stanley Cup Playoffs, defense pairs, power-play usage, injury history or concern, age, contract status and overall upside for the rest of this season. "I've seen players where their ice time goes up and their performance declines. That's why it's crucial to have a strong first pairing to anchor a blue-line corps. Age: 22Rating: 88Position: Right DefenseType: Offensive DefensemanTeam: Colorado AvalancheShoots: RightBest Attributes: 94 Agility, 93 Deking, 93 Passing. Eventually, the Oilers will get the injured Evander Kane back probably in about 10 days so their roster up front is probably deep enough, especially since playing 11 forwards and seven defensemen as often as they do just means more ice time for Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Required fields are marked *. among defensemen last season with 45 points. Already an ESPN+ subscriber? Where he does lack as evidenced by the sub-80 rating is in faceoffs, where he has a career 44.8 win percentage, though he won a career-high 49.53 in 2020-21. Awareness, 95 Passing, 95 Off. Age: 21Rating: 86Position: Left DefenseType: Offensive DefensemanTeam: Vancouver CanucksShoots: LeftBest Attributes: 93 Puck Control, 93 Offensive Awareness, 93 Speed. He has a 90 in deking and passing, a deadly combination when paired with his speed ratings. Hes a fan of the San Francisco Giants and 49ers, and the Philadelphia 76ers. Then you've got Karlsson and Burns who, well, no. Use arrows to navigate between autocomplete results. They have the best all-around defenseman in hockey in Victor Hedman, so that is always a big plus in giving your blue line an edge. He has a fine shot, but his accuracies are paltry at 69 each. Given the effectiveness of Pelech and Pulock as a shutdown blue-line tandem, however, don't be surprised if they're reunited at some point this season. Mattias Ekholm, EDM (NEW)38. His slap shot accuracy is a 94 with both power ratings at 90. Lighting defensemen Victor Hedman tops this list, as he received a 91 OVR rating from the NHL team. Hes able to score from the dots and around the net. He is also someone who rarely spends time in the penalty box, having spent just six minutes there during the 2020-21 season and amassing a total of 106 minutes over eight seasons. The below table lists all of the best young defensive defensemen in NHL 22. His endurance, at least, is 87, so he can stay on the ice longer. Alex Pietrangelo, VGK33. Generally people take points into a large consideration when looking at defensemen, as its fairly easy to track. For more coverage, visit NHL.com/Fantasy and subscribe for free to the "NHL Fantasy on Ice"podcast. He also netted at least 40 points six times in the past seven seasons with the Bruins, Calgary Flames and Carolina Hurricanes. Awareness and Agility by 4 and 2 points. The Predators listened on Ekholm, but ultimately decided he had more value to them going forward. His puck skills range from 66-69. Shawn enjoys discovering engaging stories, whether they be from movies, video games, books, or any other form in which they may be told. After Jamie Oleksiak's offseason departure to the Seattle Kraken in the expansion draft, he also leads them in hits over that period with 134. Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher sang Ellis' praises at the time of the deal, calling him "an excellent all-around defenseman." In just three seasons, the 22-year-old Heiskanen blossomed into the Stars' best all-around defenseman. The 29-year-old became the Dallas Stars' highest-scoring blueliner over the, with 327 career points and is ninth overall among. Unlike Burns and Karlsson, his point-per-game (0.83) over thepast two seasonsremains among the top 10, sitting fourth overall. His 107 goals since 2013-14 rankfourth overallamong defensemen, and he's fifth in total points with 412 over the same period. Comment * document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "ac8a95dcd7c97b1d582a267662c16003" );document.getElementById("b90191b810").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Like Kukkonen, Bryce Montgomery will take time and patience to develop for your franchise. All in the family: how three generations of Jaquezes have ruled West Coast basketball. This Specialty is a great choice for defensemen, as stretch passes can be vulnerable to interception by the opposing team. Watch more top videos, highlights, and B/R original content, John Klingberg wasted little time establishing himself among the NHL's scoring defensemen, tallying 40 points in 65 games in 2014-15. Respondents were asked to rank their top 10 players at center, winger, defenseman and goaltender, based on a predetermined list of the top 20 to 30 players at each position. He controls play in his own zone as a defensive stopper. "He's just a hell of a player," said one NHL coach.