In this edition of the hotstove, we share our thoughts on some of the most underrated defensemen in the Eastern Conference.
Todd Cordell
Dmitry Orlov.
The likes of Kevin Shattenkirk and Karl Alzner left Washington in the off-season and Orlov has had to take on a much bigger role as a result. He is averaging almost four minutes more per night and, thus far, is handling it quite nicely as he has strong underlying numbers – the Capitals control 5.9% more of the 5v5 attempts with him than without him – and is tied with the likes of Erik Karlsson, Drew Doughty, and Dougie Hamilton, among others, with 11 points at 5v5.
He can skate, move the puck, and bring some bite as well. I really like his game and think he deserves more attention.
…‹Jan Levine
I debated going with Brady Skjei, but would likely be viewed as a homer pick. All I will say is Skjei will be the top blueliner in New York before too long, combining offense and defense. Rather than sticking with the team I write about, I decided to go down the New Jersey Turnpike and I-95 to Philly and Ivan Provorov.
Much of the attention for the Flyers is rightly on Shayne Gostisbehere for his offensive abilities. Ghost has been dominant, especially on the man-advantage, while his defense is rounding into form. Provorov entered the league with a decent amount of hype, but was overshadowed by Gostisbehere due to Ghost's offensive abilities. All Provorov did as a 19-year old was play almost 22 minutes a game, dish out 111 hits, block 116 shots, take 161 shots, make smart passes and prove to be a stalwart on the blue line. But the scary part is he is just scratching the surface of how good he will become as coach Dave Hakstol relies on the young d-man even more in the years to come.
Provorov has seen his ice time rise by three minutes a game and he is on pace to exceed every stat he posted as a freshman. In the future, look for Provorov to see even more time on the man-advantage and be on the ice almost always to protect one-goal leads. Ghost gets most of the hype, Provorov gets some, but it's time that he receives even more of the focus in the City of Brotherly Love.
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