With the emergence of Tampa Bay's Victor Hedman and his dominant performance thus far in the Stanley Cup playoffs, the defenseman seems to be taking center stage in the NHL. And it's not just a matter of Hedman being matched up against a really good team with some top-notch players. The 6'6" 232 lb. native of Sweden has been at the fore of shutting down elite talent in the Chicago's Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane and his play has overshadowed the Blackhawk's two-time Norris Trophy winner Duncan Keith who, up until the emergence of Hedman, was in serious consideration for the Conn Smythe Trophy as this year's playoff MVP.
Perhaps we're seeing a new era in the NHL where the defenseman is King of the Hill. Both Hedman and Keith are the complete package--two-way skill, speed and smarts--although the scary part about Hedman is that he does it five inches taller and 40 lbs. heavier than Keith. Not to be dismissed in the series either is Hawks d-man Brent Seabrook, a big, strong all-around d-man with offensive acumen and a bit of a bite to his game.
Before Keith won the Norris last season, Montreal's flashy PK Subban had taken home the award for the NHL's best defenseman and before that it was the panache of Ottawa's Erik Karlsson. Subban's 26 years old, Karlsson, just turned 25 and Hedman's the youngin at 24 yrs. old. Those three sit atop a huge wave of developing talent just entering their prime that includes a trio of 25 yrs. olds--Drew Doughty of the LA Kings, Alex Pietrangelo of the Blues and Nashville's Roman Josi. Arizona's Oliver-Ekman Larsson, Boston's Torey Krug and Dougie Hamilton, Pittsburgh's Olli Matta and 19 yr. old stud Aaron Ekblad playing for the Florida Panthers are just a handful of young d-men who are making an impact, none of them over the age of 24.
We didn't even include veteran studs Shea Weber (NSH,) Ryan McDonough (NYR) or Ryan Suter in this list.
As we look at the d-pipeline in Buffalo beginning at the NHL-level, there are similar "stud" projections with the big club as the Sabres do have a young core with loads of promise. Two defenseman have graduated from the ranks of prospects to NHL'ers--20 yr. old Rasmus Ristolainen and 23 yr. old Mark Pysyk. They will be joining Zack Bogosian a veteran of over 400 NHL games who will turn 25 next month. Those three are set to take up three of the top four slots on defense for the 2015-16 season.
Also in the mix for top-four duties is 20 yr. old Nikita Zadorov. According to WGR550 beat writer Paul Hamilton, new Sabres head coach Dan Bylsma thinks "Zadorov showed last year that he’s a NHL defenseman and doesn’t see him in Rochester." Hamilton added, "Last year Buffalo couldn’t send him to the Amerks and [Sabres GM Tim] Murray said it’s important for Zadorov to realize that if he hasn’t learned from his mistakes, that the threat of going down is still there."
In graduating Pysyk, who was caught up in a numbers/waiver game the last two seasons, coupled with Ristolainen in Buffalo as well as, now, Zadorov, there's a bit of a strain on the d-prospect pool for Buffalo. Add in the fact that Sabres GM Tim Murray traded away prospect Brayden McNabb to help bolster a weak forward group and the pipeline was further depleted. But in no way, shape or form is it empty.
Ristolainen and Zadorov both came from the 2013 draft class. Although the Sabres missed the run on defensemen at the 2012 draft when a record-tying 13 defensemen were taken in the first round--eight of the first 10 and seven in a row from Nos. 4-10--they were able to land Ristolainen (8th-overall) and Zadorov (16th) the following year. Said the Sabres Kevin Devine post 2013 draft, "we had them neck and neck. We were looking to move up [from No. 16] but teams were saying no and [Zadorov] kept sliding and sliding. So, to get those two big guys [without trading up] was pretty nice.
"If somebody would have told me we got these two guys at Nos. 8 and 16, I'd [have been] shocked."
Considering his inconsistent play last season and his penchant for juvenile off-ice mistakes, the thought was that Zadorov would be headed to Rochester to iron out some wrinkles. With the above quote from Bylsma it looks as if the coach is taking matters into his own hands from a development perspective. And if he can get the young Russian to maintain his focus and mature into a pro, the Sabres will have added a Chris Pronger-type on the back-end.
Zadorov is 6'5" 221 lbs and loves to play a physical game. He famously said after he was drafted, "I like to hit," and he said it with a "cat who ate the canary" grin on his face. It's real. To the point where his love of hitting superseded the need for proper positioning. But what is even more intriguing about him is his offensive upside. He has a good sense of when to jump into the play and has a strong shot. Before he came to North America, he was taught that defensemen play defense. While skating with the London Knights of the OHL he discovered that he like to score too.
With Zadorov as somewhat of a "tweener," the d-prospect list begins with two former college players with differing skill sets.
Jake McCabe came to Buffalo after his junior year at Wisconsin. He's 6'1" 210 lbs, plays a strong positional game in his own end, is hard on the puck, finishes guys off and is very difficult to play against. He can also contribute offensively as well. Last year in Rochester, his first year as a pro, he tallied five goals and 29 points in 57 games. McCabe also has intangibles like leadership qualities and raising his game to the next level on the biggest stage, highlights of which can be found in
my January 11, 2015 profile piece. He's a complete package and looks to be a big part of the Sabres moving forward.
Chad Ruhwedel came to the Sabres out of UMASS-Lowell in 2013 and signed a free agent contract with Buffalo in April after he finished his college career. The offensive-minded defenseman stands at 5'11" and weighs 190 lbs., is smart with the puck and can run the powerplay. Despite his smaller stature he's sound in his own end. Ruhwedel finished last season in Rochester with 10 goals and 36 points. He will be a restricted free agent at the end of next season.
After McCabe and Ruhwedel, the prospect pool begins to thin out a bit. At the pro-level is big
Brady Austin who just finished his rookie season in a bottom-pairing role for the Amerks last season. He stands at 6'4" weighing in at 230 lbs. but can skate fairly well for a big guy. The native of Bobcaygeon, ON played with the Zadorov in junior and scored eight goals for the Knights in his final season. Last year he scored his first professional goal while adding nine assists in 66 games. Austin is a project who may end up as a two-way depth defenseman at the NHL-level.
Jerome Leduc is at the crossroads of his professional career at this juncture. Drafted in 2010 (No. 68) as an offensive defenseman, Leduc has struggled at the pro level after scoring 28 goals in 62 games for Rimouski Oceanic of the QMJHL. Promise in the 2012-13 season lead to a stint in the ECHL in 2013-14. He had a bit of a comeback last season but finished real strong in a full year with Rochester and seemed to get better with more ice-time. Leduc's an RFA and it wouldn't hurt the organization to give him a one-year contract to see if he's a late-bloomer.
The best prospect in the pipeline behind McCabe is probably 20 yr. old
Anthony Florentino who just completed his sophomore season for the 2015 NCAA Champion Providence Friars. Florentino is another all-around d-man with strong leadership qualities and a bite to his game. He has a knack for playing a hard-hitting, physical game
which can be traced back to his upbringing in Boston. The Sabres stretched out the pipeline a bit when they drafted the college commit in 2013 and we can probably look for him in an Amerks uniform for the 2016-17 season.
Rounding out the prospect pool on defense is 2014 3rd round pick (74th-overall,)
Brycen Martin. Martin just finished up his third full season in the WHL with the Swift Current Broncos to whom he was traded to mid-season. He got a taste of the pros playing in two games for Rochester after signing an Amateur Tryout Contract. The offensive-minded puck mover could be headed back to junior for one more season.
There really shouldn't be any panic while looking at a somewhat thin prospect pool on defense as the young core in Buffalo means very little need for immediate movement up the ranks. One could see Ruhwedel either making the Sabres in a bottom-pairing role or being first call-up throughout the year. McCabe will probably be in Rochester for the entire season getting call-ups as well. Though he already has NHL size and never looked out of place in his nine games with the Sabres, there's absolutely no reason to rush McCabe's development.
In looking at it that way, when Ruhwedel and McCabe leave Rochester after this season, Florentino and Martin will be there to take their places. Having a young d-corps of Ristolainen, Bogosian and Pysyk, followed by Zadorov and eventually Ruhwedel and McCabe may, contrary to the way it looks right now, create a logjam on the back-end a few years down the road.
Which will be a good problem to have.
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