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Carolina Hurricanes Blog: Blueline Evaluations at 1/4 Mark

November 21, 2013, 9:13 AM ET [3 Comments]
Matt Karash
Carolina Hurricanes Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
In part 1 earlier today I graded the team as a whole, the goalies and the forwards. You can find that HERE.

Below are my grades for the Canes defensemen:

Justin Faulk: B+ (Evaluated as 1st pairing defenseman). First, Faulk has been incredibly good in the highest of roles for defensemen as a 21-year old. That, in itself, is impressive. He has also been solid if not spectacular playing against the NHL’s best night in and night out. For me, an A rating for 1st pairing defensemen requires a level of play worthy of Norris consideration. While I think Faulk could be on the path to get there, I am not sure he is quite in that category with Weber, Suter, etc. ….YET. It is challenging to find anything to quibble with in Faulk’s play so far this season, but I guess you could ask for a couple goals. 2 goals (he has 0 right now) would put him on pace for a respectable 8 for the season and 32 points, but then I think you can also say that asking for goal-scoring is just nitpicking brought on by the team’s scoring struggles. (Note that Norris frontrunner Ryan Suter also has 0 goals though he does have 14 assists.)

Andrej Sekera: B (Evaluated as 1st pairing defenseman). I was not sure what to expect when the Canes big blue line addition this summer was Andrej Sekera. He did not stand out enough in Sabres games in the years prior that I had a real strong feeling. After now watching him for 21 games, I think the reason is because he is more well-rounded than spectacular in any single facet of the game. He skates well, is better than I expected moving the puck and is pretty sound defensively. He is prone to the occasional ‘oops’ pinching in and has had a handful of rough games over the course of the season. But he, like his partner Faulk, has proven capable of lining up against the NHL’s best every night and holding them in check enough that the Canes have a chance to win most nights, and that is without an offense capable of pulling out many 4-3 wins right now. Most surprising to me is his ability to create a bit offensively at even strength. He can be aggressive pinching and also carrying the puck at times and has more often than not been right not risky.

Ron Hainsey: B (Evaluated as 2nd pairing defenseman). Though his style of play is quite different, Ron Hainsey has filled the hole left by Joni Pitkanen’s injury and helped solidify the Canes defense. He probably deserves even more credit when you consider that he is playing top 4 minutes paired with a pretty inexperienced partner and minus a few rough games, they have been pretty good. Bellemore deserves credit of his own obviously, but Hainsey’s ability to meld his game to work with Bellemore should also be noticed. Relative to what I expected from him, there is a modest shortfall in what I expected from him in terms of creating offense off the rush. He skates well, but his game is much more that of Bret Hedican (who could skate like mad but never really translated it to offense) than Ryan Murphy (who uses his wheels to push the pace offensively). But that is nitpicking that should be focused on the Canes offense as a whole right now and not hung on Ron Hainsey.

Brett Bellemore: B- (Evaluated as 2nd pairing defenseman). I think the most important thing to note is where he sits role-wise right now. At the beginning of training camp, a reasonable expectation for him would have been that he seize the #7 spot and provide reasonable fill-in duty in the event of injury. Evaluating him versus this expectation would easily yield an A grade given that his fill-in time has been just about the whole season, has been in the #4 slot and has been handled very well. So the fact that I am evaluating him as a 2nd pairing defenseman is a huge testament to how far he has come in a short period of time. Evaluating him for his current role, he still grades well. There are only 2 minor dings on his resume. First, he brings almost nothing offensively. It just is not his skill set. Second, he has been prone to a rough game every once in a while amidst what has mostly been solid play. But otherwise he has been generally solid defensively, does not look overmatched playing regular minutes against elite NHLers and looks to be the most mobile of the Canes 3 options (other 2 being Komisarek and Gleason) for the big, physical defenseman slot next to Ron Hainsey.

Jay Harrison: B+ (Evaluated as 3rd pairing defenseman). The longer I watch Jay Harrison, the more he reminds me of Niclas Wallin. He is just steady and dependable in the right role but not so much suited for a higher one. So in 2013-14, the Canes relative health on the blue line has had him tasked with 2 things. First, he has been anchored in the 3rd pairing. He has been solid in this role, just playing simple, quality hockey. Second, he has taken on a bit of a mentor role with rookie Ryan Murphy. Harrison has also exceled in this role. The 2 clearly have chemistry. Harrison has adapted well to reading off Murphy and being the safety valve when he goes into Pitkanen mode. And I think Harrison also deserves credit for helping Murphy get settled in and adjusted to the NHL at rapid speed.

Ryan Murphy: A- (Evaluated as 3rd pairing defenseman). I am on record prior to the season as thinking he would need a season or more in the AHL to round out the defensive part of his game before jumping to the NHL. So in terms of development progress toward this path or even a more aggressive 1, he has to rate an A for what he has accomplished thus far in 2013-14. His skill carrying the puck which ultimately is what puts his ceiling so high, has transitioned nearly seamlessly to the NHL level.

Tim Gleason: Incomplete (Evaluated as 2nd pairing defenseman). Having played only 5 games sandwiched around 2 layoffs, it is impossible to grade Gleason. Here is the thing though. At $4M, his salary clearly slots him as a 2nd pairing defenseman. And at the point where he got injured in training camp, I think Bellemore looked better primarily by virtue of being much more mobile which is saying something since both are similar big, physical types theoretically from the same speed category. And though his ice time has been limited I have not seen anything yet to suggest that he is certainly on his way to reclaiming his #4 spot. I put Gleason a bit in the same category as Ruutu in worrying that the wear and tear over the years might be taking enough of a toll on his mobility that he just is not capable of foot speed-wise of being a top 4 defenseman. My hope is that I am proven wrong that he just needs enough games healthy to round into form, but I am not so sure.

Mike Komisarek: Incomplete (Evaluated as #7/depth defenseman). First, Mike Komisarek has been an incredibly good team mate. When he signed with the Canes, he figured to start as a #6 or #7 defenseman and to see ice time in that role. The ascension of Murphy and Bellemore up the depth chart has had him pegged instead at #8 and mostly on the outside looking in in terms playing time. Despite things not working out according to plan, he so far has continued to keep working and doing the right things for which he deserves credit. In the couple games he did play (on defense) he was adequate in a fill in role. This ability to step in after a layoff is important.

I am running behind schedule with my writing (usually mostly finish game previews the night before), but my hope is to catch a break and put up a short game day preview for tonight’s tilt with the Red Wings.

Twitter=@CarolinaMatt63

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