Popular Post HKSR Posted March 9, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted March 9, 2022 I just think a thread is deserved here in recognition of a class of elite young defencemen that have surfaced in this generation of hockey players. I'm talking about guys like Makar, Fox, our very own Hughes, and now Seider... Makar is incredible. I know we all had our debates between Hughes and Makar in their rookie year, but man, Makar has simply pulled away (with no disrespect to Hughes at all). Makar is on pace for over 30 goals and 99(!!) points! WOW... when was the last time a defenceman was on pace for nearly 100 points??? Even the great Erik Karlsson in his prime was only able to hit 82 points. Fox is incredible in his own right. On pace for over 80 points as well. Our very own Hughes on pace for nearly 70 points. Seider, the rookie on pace for nearly 60 points. Might be the most impressive one of them all if he continues to develop. Just amazing to be able to watch these elite level young defencemen go head-to-head for years to come. Makar will win the Norris this year. Fox won last time. Hopefully Hughes has his turn in the near future, but he's in tough against this competition. 2 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khay Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 I remember arguing about Hughes vs Makar at the beginning of the season. I think the argument was that Makar > Hughes because Makar is a better defender. And I argued that Makar's superiority on defence is not confirmed since Makar plays on a better team with better teammates and Hughes on a $hitty Green team and he lost his partner in Tanev. I still don't think we can conclude Makar's defence > Hughes' defence but Makar > Hughes just because of Makar's superior offensive production. Yes, Makar plays with better offensive players and a better team but a defenceman on pace for 30 goals and 100 points has got to be in a class of his own. Quinn needs to improve his shot dramatically to be in the same hemisphere as Makar on offensive production. Makar's quick release and accurate shooting makes him so dangerous. Colorado got "lucky" by dropping 3 spots down in 2017. I wonder if JB would have selected Makar or Petey if he had the #4 overall pick. With more emphasis on skill and skating, I hope we will see more of these elite level defencemen in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HKSR Posted March 9, 2022 Author Share Posted March 9, 2022 4 minutes ago, khay said: I remember arguing about Hughes vs Makar at the beginning of the season. I think the argument was that Makar > Hughes because Makar is a better defender. And I argued that Makar's superiority on defence is not confirmed since Makar plays on a better team with better teammates and Hughes on a $hitty Green team and he lost his partner in Tanev. I still don't think we can conclude Makar's defence > Hughes' defence but Makar > Hughes just because of Makar's superior offensive production. Yes, Makar plays with better offensive players and a better team but a defenceman on pace for 30 goals and 100 points has got to be in a class of his own. Quinn needs to improve his shot dramatically to be in the same hemisphere as Makar on offensive production. Makar's quick release and accurate shooting makes him so dangerous. Colorado got "lucky" by dropping 3 spots down in 2017. I wonder if JB would have selected Makar or Petey if he had the #4 overall pick. With more emphasis on skill and skating, I hope we will see more of these elite level defencemen in the future. You gotta wonder what our future would look like if we had Makar AND Hughes.... that'd be pretty wild. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryElf Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 3 minutes ago, khay said: Colorado got "lucky" by dropping 3 spots down in 2017. I wonder if JB would have selected Makar or Petey if he had the #4 overall pick. I believe I read that Makar was #1 and Petey was #2, but they were really close and either JB wanted a centre, or they knew Makar wasn’t making it past Colorado. I believe it was the Rangers who had Petey ranked number 1. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HKSR Posted March 9, 2022 Author Share Posted March 9, 2022 Thoughts on Miro Heiskanen? $8.45M for 8 years... he's on pace for just 46 points... I get he's good in other areas, but still.. it seems like a LOT for an all-purpose defenceman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bure_Pavel Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 10 minutes ago, HKSR said: Thoughts on Miro Heiskanen? $8.45M for 8 years... he's on pace for just 46 points... I get he's good in other areas, but still.. it seems like a LOT for an all-purpose defenceman. He is a great 2 way Dman, his dollar amount is a bit high right now but the end of his contract will be real good value as is usually the case with locking up your young stars for 8 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sativika Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 So you're referring to elite Dmen under 25yrs old, huh. Yep. Fast, talented, great skating and smaller seems to be the norm. Seider and Heiskanen the exceptions. Seider is most welcome to be a Canuck, thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devron Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 I never liked the idea of comparing so and so but I do enjoy talking about this group of players. Makar is unreal and I love Quinn Hughes. I do think Makar is on another level but at the same time I think he’s probably on another level then any of the other guys mentioned. Makar has been injured a couple times already so it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Quinn could be in the Norris consideration on day. To say Makar > Hughes sure but I’m more concerned about the importance these players bring to their teams and Quinn is just that. Along with Demko and Miller probably the most instrumental to our teams success. Colorado is just dirty stacked 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warhippy Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 (edited) in the 2017 draft thread I had a guy; believe it was Forsberg the Great and one other shouting me down about Makar being the end all be all defenseman of his draft and possibly the best player of his draft period. I watched him play in brooks, I watched and covered his tournament in penticton and saw him play internationally. He is/was the most electrifying,fastest and smartest player on the ice at any point in time at any position he played. He/They believed he was inflated playing in the AJHL and that because they played in it they knew better and Makar would amount to meh meh meh. Gods I wish he was still here so I could tag him here. Makar is without question one of if not the best current defenceman in the league. Even though he's playing on a team with stud forwards, I'd argue he's the best player on that team. If they can get Byram healthy and playing beside Makar I'd suggest he will be a multiple 90+ point a season defenceman. Even without him look at him being an above ppg player. There hasn't been a defncceman to do that since the 90s? Makar is right now set to eclipse the 90 point plateau and put him in the conversation with Coffey, Orr, MacInnis, Leetch Housley Borque and Coffey Fox is ok, he's had a couple good seasons but I do wonder if he's a flash in the pan few season stud on a good team or not. Gallant and Panarin is certainly helping him though Hedman is possibly the best all around defenseman right now of the bunch but he played on a stud team from draft onwards. Seider will be the person to pace Makar. Detroit is building around him. Watch their next 3 drafts and you'll see him as their centrepiece for rebuild. Hughes will be a point machine maybe. but he's smaller than the aforementioned players. Does not play with the roster they do (barring the wings right now) and will sadly be shelled out of Norris conversations because of it. it's a good time to watch D in the NHL for sure. Edited March 9, 2022 by Warhippy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smashian Kassian Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 Fox & Makar are the cream of the crop. Everyone knows how good Makar is, Fox doesn't have the flash but does just as much for NYR. He's really fantastic. Wouldn't have guessed Seider would be this good right away but he's looking like the next one, along with Hughes & Heiskanen. (I'd still have Heiskanen in this group for sure). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HKSR Posted March 9, 2022 Author Share Posted March 9, 2022 14 minutes ago, Warhippy said: in the 2017 draft thread I had a guy; believe it was Forsberg the Great and one other shouting me down about Makar being the end all be all defenseman of his draft and possibly the best player of his draft period. I watched him play in brooks, I watched and covered his tournament in penticton and saw him play internationally. He is/was the most electrifying,fastest and smartest player on the ice at any point in time at any position he played. He/They believed he was inflated playing in the AJHL and that because they played in it they knew better and Makar would amount to meh meh meh. Gods I wish he was still here so I could tag him here. Makar is without question one of if not the best current defenceman in the league. Even though he's playing on a team with stud forwards, I'd argue he's the best player on that team. If they can get Byram healthy and playing beside Makar I'd suggest he will be a multiple 90+ point a season defenceman. Even without him look at him being an above ppg player. There hasn't been a defncceman to do that since the 90s? Makar is right now set to eclipse the 90 point plateau and put him in the conversation with Coffey, Orr, MacInnis, Leetch Housley Borque and Coffey Fox is ok, he's had a couple good seasons but I do wonder if he's a flash in the pan few season stud on a good team or not. Gallant and Panarin is certainly helping him though Hedman is possibly the best all around defenseman right now of the bunch but he played on a stud team from draft onwards. Seider will be the person to pace Makar. Detroit is building around him. Watch their next 3 drafts and you'll see him as their centrepiece for rebuild. Hughes will be a point machine maybe. but he's smaller than the aforementioned players. Does not play with the roster they do (barring the wings right now) and will sadly be shelled out of Norris conversations because of it. it's a good time to watch D in the NHL for sure. What ever happened to Forsberg the Great? He just disappeared?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noble 6 Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 Makar Fox Heiskanen Q. Hughes McAvoy Ekblad Theodore Werenski Dahlin Seider Chabot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shiznak Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 4 hours ago, khay said: I remember arguing about Hughes vs Makar at the beginning of the season. I think the argument was that Makar > Hughes because Makar is a better defender. And I argued that Makar's superiority on defence is not confirmed since Makar plays on a better team with better teammates and Hughes on a $hitty Green team and he lost his partner in Tanev. I still don't think we can conclude Makar's defence > Hughes' defence but Makar > Hughes just because of Makar's superior offensive production. Yes, Makar plays with better offensive players and a better team but a defenceman on pace for 30 goals and 100 points has got to be in a class of his own. Quinn needs to improve his shot dramatically to be in the same hemisphere as Makar on offensive production. Makar's quick release and accurate shooting makes him so dangerous. Colorado got "lucky" by dropping 3 spots down in 2017. I wonder if JB would have selected Makar or Petey if he had the #4 overall pick. With more emphasis on skill and skating, I hope we will see more of these elite level defencemen in the future. I know this is just one play, but I think people are underselling how good Makar is defensively. He’s second amongst defensemen (min. 1000 mins played) in xGA/60 only behind Hedman. Whereas, Hughes is 13th in that category. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JM_ Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 4 hours ago, HKSR said: Thoughts on Miro Heiskanen? $8.45M for 8 years... he's on pace for just 46 points... I get he's good in other areas, but still.. it seems like a LOT for an all-purpose defenceman. Dallas plays a low scoring game, that has a bit to do with it. He's probably closer to 60 or 70 if he's with FLA or NY. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NHL'er Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 Throw in Dobson. Having a quiet but superb season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NHL'er Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 Here's a scary thought - imagine if Colorado had taken Seider over Byram (who may still be a great player just a shame about the concussions). Towes - Makar Girdard - Seider My god. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HKSR Posted March 9, 2022 Author Share Posted March 9, 2022 7 minutes ago, NHL'er said: Here's a scary thought - imagine if Colorado had taken Seider over Byram (who may still be a great player just a shame about the concussions). Towes - Makar Girdard - Seider My god. That would be insane. Wouldn't matter who is in net at that point lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-AJ- Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 I'm thinking the trio of Fox, Makar, and Seider could end up among the legends of Bourque, Potvin, etc., some day. Fox has an incredible all around game and for a rookie, it's astonishing how good Seider already is. I see both players winning multiple Norris trophies. Makar will probably win at least one from his offensive flash alone, but if his defensive game rounds out really nicely, he could win multiple as well. His defense is strong, but not elite like the defense of Seider and Fox. I think Fox should probably win the Norris again this year if things continue like they have, but people like stories, and Makar winning is a more interesting story. Makar will probably win. Hughes is a joy to watch, but not on the level of these other three. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gurn Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 So many good young defenders, none of them may get more than two Norris trophies. There is only one trophy to go around Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanuck Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 21 minutes ago, gurn said: There is only one trophy to go around You mean only one that actually matters: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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