The NHL’s top 10 most underrated defensemen and why they’re so valuable

[Buddy]

The NHL’s top 10 most underrated defensemen and why they’re so valuable

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[HipKat]

Who are the most underrated defensemen in the NHL?

It’s a topic bound to create ferocious debate because of its subjective nature. We have to inherently assume the way the hockey world rates every defenseman and then determine which players deserve a lot more recognition.

It’s a nearly impossible exercise but it’s worth going through because of how fun it is to shine a spotlight on high-end players who fly under the radar. We’re going to be cognizant of the Aleksander Barkov dynamic, which is to say that if a player has been unanimously dubbed as underrated for many years, he’s probably not underrated anymore. That means we’ll avoid names like Jaccob Slavin, Devon Toews and Adam Pelech, for example.

Here’s my personal take on the 10 most underrated defensemen in the NHL, presented in no particular order.

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Jonas Siegenthaler, New Jersey Devils

Two years ago, Jonas Siegenthaler couldn’t even crack the Washington Capitals lineup. He was behind Dmitry Orlov and Brenden Dillon on the left-side depth chart, and after the club signed Zdeno Chara to a one-year deal, it left Siegenthaler on the outside looking in. He appeared in just seven games during the shortened 2021 season until he was dealt to the Devils at the trade deadline.

From the moment he landed in New Jersey, Siegenthaler has emerged as one of the NHL’s premier shutdown defensemen. Over the last two seasons, Siegenthaler’s impact on lowering shot attempts and expected goals against both rank top-10 among NHL defensemen according to Evolving-Hockey’s RAPM model.

Sieganthaler’s steady, stay-at-home presence has been a perfect complement to Dougie Hamilton’s elite talent as an offensive rover. That fit is why New Jersey’s top pair has been one of the best in the NHL this season. The 6-foot-2 Swiss defender is exceptional at winning board battles, recovering loose pucks and can make a poised first pass. He defends the rush well, too. Here’s an example of him leveraging his mobility, reach and strength to eliminate a Connor McDavid rush.

The 25-year-old hasn’t been as dynamite recently as he was during the first 2-3 months of the season, but his overall track record with the Devils is glowing.

Brett Pesce, Carolina Hurricanes

The attention for Carolina’s blue line is always on Slavin and, by extension, whoever his partner is. All of that praise is deserved but it’s caused Brett Pesce’s strong value on the second pair to fly under the radar.

Contrary to what you may believe, it’s Pesce’s pair that absorbs the toughest matchups on Carolina’s blue line. Last year, the 28-year-old right-shot player ranked ninth among all NHL defensemen in terms of how often he matched up against elite players according to PuckIQ.

D who played toughest mins last season

RANK	PLAYER	5V5 TOI % AGAINST ELITE PLAYERS
1	Erik Cernak	43.3%
2	Darnell Nurse	41.7%
3	Drew Doughty	40.9%
4	Charlie McAvoy	40.7%
5	Mattias Samuelsson	40.4%
6	Jonas Siegenthaler	40.4%
7	Scott Mayfield	40.3%
8	Adam Pelech	40.2%
9	Brett Pesce	39.2%
10	Jamie Drysdale	38.8%

Despite handling difficult minutes, Pesce’s underlying numbers are dominant across the board and they’ve scored 11 goals more than they’ve allowed with him on the ice at five-on-five. Pesce and his partner Brady Skjei are usually first over the boards on Carolina’s penalty kill as well, which is second best in the league.

Pesce contributes in a lot of areas that help drive play, but one of his best assets is defending the rush. He has stellar numbers when it comes to preventing zone entries with control, breaking up neutral zone plays and preventing rush chances according to Corey Sznajder’s microdata tracking.

Pesce’s a surprisingly agile skater in tight spaces for a player who’s 6-3 and over 200 pounds. That helps him move pucks up the ice. In the clip below, watch how smoothly he changes direction to recover the loose puck, skate it up while fending off back pressure and then send a bank pass to spring a teammate for a rush.

Pesce’s chipped in with 58 five-on-five points since the 2021 season, which is tied for 36th among all NHL defensemen in that span.

Vince Dunn, Seattle Kraken

For years, Vince Dunn flashed the potential to be a high-end top-four driver but never lived up to the promise. He could crush sheltered third-pair duties in St. Louis, but he didn’t have the coaching staff’s trust and carried frustrating inconsistency, including a really rough 2021 campaign.

Then there were growing pains during his first season in Seattle. He was mediocre in second-pair usage, driving just 45.8 percent of expected goals, which ranked sixth among Kraken defensemen.

Overnight, Dunn’s put it all together and started playing like a bona fide No. 1 defenseman. The 26-year-old has scored 60 points in 72 games, including the most five-on-five points of any defender besides Erik Karlsson.

The improvement spans far beyond his offensive explosion, however.

Dunn is averaging 23:48 per game which is three minutes more per game compared to last season. He’s also been asked to defend top lines which wasn’t the case before. Dunn’s taken a huge step in his two-way performance despite the significantly tougher usage, driving a 54.9 percent shot attempt share that leads all Seattle defensemen. With Dunn on the ice at five-on-five, the Kraken have outscored teams by a whopping 34 goals.

Dunn isn’t getting enough buzz for a player who’s dominating as the No. 1 on a team bound for the playoffs.

Jake Walman, Detroit Red Wings

Jake Walman looked like an afterthought as the third piece involved when the Red Wings shipped Nick Leddy to the Blues as a rental for a package that also returned a second-round pick and Oskar Sundqvist. Walman’s inability to crack the Blues’ weak left-side defense as an everyday contributor certainly wasn’t a ringing endorsement.

It turns out Steve Yzerman unearthed a diamond in the rough.

Walman was elevated into a top pairing role this season when Ben Chiarot initially struggled to mesh with Moritz Seider. He hasn’t looked back since. Walman boasts the strongest play-driving numbers of all Red Wings defenders this season, leading the team in five-on-five shot attempt share and expected goal differential despite facing some of the toughest matchups in the league. That territorial control has translated to a plus-10 goal differential at five-on-five.

Seider’s obviously the main driver of the pair but it isn’t a coincidence his game took off as soon as he was paired with Walman. Walman’s a sublime skater, competitive defensively and has cut down on the big mistakes that resulted in the perception of him as a high-risk player in years past.

Below is an example of how he uses his standout skating to drive play.

He races back to deny a scoring chance, wins the physical battle to gain full possession and then wheels around the net to escape pressure and snap the puck up the ice.

Juuso Valimaki, Arizona Coyotes

Just six months ago, Juuso Valimaki was trending toward becoming a bust. Injuries hampered his development, he was poor in his brief NHL opportunities following his ACL tear and didn’t play well enough in training camp to win a job. He was waived and picked up by Arizona where he’s rebuilt his career.

Valimaki was effective as an everyday contributor and has completely taken off now that he’s become the Coyotes’ de facto No. 1 defenseman. Valimaki’s scored 19 points in his last 25 games while averaging a team-high 22:39. In this top-pair role, he’s driven a positive shot share and 52.1 percent of expected goals, both of which lead Coyotes defensemen by a significant margin. That’s translated to a plus-6 goal differential at five-on-five during the last 25 games.

All of that is impressive considering the lack of help around Valimaki. Nobody’s suggesting the 24-year-old is suddenly a proven top-pair defenseman — he would need to keep this up over a much larger sample to earn that label. But within one season, Valimaki has gone from being waiver fodder to scoring 31 points in 69 games and excelling in the last couple of months while being deployed like a No. 1 defenseman. It’s a remarkable bounce-back story that’s flown under the radar.

Gustav Forsling, Florida Panthers

Gustav Forsling has scored 17 five-on-five goals over the last two seasons, which is tied for seventh-best among all NHL defensemen. For reference, Cale Makar leads the group with only five extra goals. Forsling’s tied for 12th in five-on-five points during that span, which is just shy of names like Quinn Hughes, Shea Theodore, Dunn and Devon Toews.

This season, Forsling leads all Panthers players in five-on-five ice time per game. He’s performed well in that workhorse role, controlling 55.9 percent of shot attempts and giving the Panthers a plus-13 goal differential when he’s stepped on the ice at five-on-five. Forsling’s skating and effectiveness jumping up in the play has been a unique fit in Florida.

Forsling’s probably being asked to do a bit too much on a thin Panthers blue line, and his value might not translate the same way on a team with an environment that’s less suited to his strengths, but he’s performing at a genuine top-pair level.

We also know he’s much more than just a product of Aaron Ekblad, who’s had a disappointing year. Forsling played some of his best hockey carrying the Panthers’ blue line alongside MacKenzie Weegar when Ekblad got hurt last season. This season, Forsling’s underlying numbers have actually improved in his minutes away from Ekblad.

Jonas Brodin, Minnesota Wild

Jonas Brodin is arguably the best shutdown defender in the entire sport. Over the last five seasons, Brodin’s five-on-five impact at limiting quality chances is the best of any active NHL defenseman who’s logged at least 1500 minutes according to Evolving-Hockey’s RAPM model.

Defensive impact leaders since 2018

RANK	PLAYER	XGA/60 IMPACT
1	Jonas Brodin	-0.21
2	Jonas Siegenthaler	-0.20
3	Chris Tanev	-0.19
4	Jared Spurgeon	-0.19
5	Adam Pelech	-0.18
6	MacKenzie Weegar	-0.18
7	Brandon Carlo	-0.17
8	Devon Toews	-0.16
9	Charlie McAvoy	-0.16
10	T.J. Brodie	-0.16

Elite mobility is the foundation of Brodin’s game, especially his backward skating which is unmatched around the league. It gives him the superpower of almost always being able to stay in front of speedy puck carriers, match their pace off the rush and kill plays.

On top of that, Brodin has elite defensive instincts. He’s a step ahead in anticipating plays which allows him to extinguish fires all over the defensive zone.

Here’s an example below. In this clip, Brodin makes a sharp read to recognize that his partner, Matt Dumba, probably won’t win the loose puck race. Brodin dashes all the way across, leveraging his elite skating to aggressively close the gap and reach with his stick to block a pass attempt into the slot. Then when the puck is dumped deep, Brodin turns sharply on his edges to evade the forecheck pressure and makes a poised pass into the middle to orchestrate a clean breakout.You won’t see Brodin making highlight-reel plays but he consistently executes sequences like the one above that drive outstanding defensive results.

Nick Jensen, Washington Capitals

Nick Jensen exudes so many qualities you love to see in a modern second-pair defenseman.

He’s played the most minutes matched up against elite players of any Caps defender over the last couple of seasons according to PuckIQ. Jensen’s performed well in that arduous workload, helping the Capitals gain a modest edge in shot attempts and expected goals. Since last season, the Capitals have scored 25 goals more than they’ve allowed with Jensen deployed at five-on-five.

It’s a huge advantage for your team if you have a second-pair defender that can not only absorb the toughest matchups but decisively win them. It’s especially rare to find that type of second-pair impact from an affordable right-shot defenseman, which Jensen is.

Jensen drives these quality results because of his excellent skating ability. He and former partner Dmitry Orlov both had strong puck-moving numbers, but Corey Sznajder’s tracking this season indicates Jensen was the real workhorse at being the first man back to cleanly retrieve the puck in the defensive zone. That ability to transition the puck is why he’s consistently driven excellent defensive results — whether it be in terms of his shots, scoring chances or actual goals-against rates.

Mattias Samuelsson, Buffalo Sabres

The Buffalo Sabres are an elite offensive team, ranking third in the league behind Edmonton and Boston with 3.57 goals per game. They’ve faded from the playoff race because they lack quality defensive players. That’s put a spotlight on the importance of Mattias Samuelsson, their go-to rugged defensive defensemen, who’s been in and out of the lineup because of injuries.

Buffalo has a 28-16-4 record when Samuelsson’s played and a dismal 7-15-2 record when he’s been hurt.

Samuelsson is 6-4, 231 pounds and plays a throwback style with his physical nature. He’s also mobile which combined with his long reach and excellent stickwork makes him an excellent one-on-one defender. Watch how he effortlessly eliminates a Brayden Point rush.

Here’s another example of a brilliant defensive stop against a puck carrier with speed.

Samuelsson, 23, is going to be a crucial piece for the Sabres as a caddy for either Rasmus Dahlin or Owen Power.

Mikey Anderson, Los Angeles Kings

It wasn’t too long ago that some looked at Drew Doughty and his $11 million cap hit through 2026-27 as one of the worst contracts in the NHL. Doughty deserves lots of credit for bouncing back over the last 2-3 years, but Anderson’s emergence as Doughty’s partner has been a pivotal force for the veteran’s resurgence, too.

Anderson, 23, is an elite shutdown defenseman. He skates well, employs fantastic body position, disrupts with his stick, can play an assertive physical style and blocks lots of shots. Anderson is the complete package in his own end. He’s allowed a controlled entry on just 41.2 percent of zone entry attempts against him according to Sznajder’s data, which leads the Kings and is one of the best marks in the NHL.

Anderson’s surrendered just 2.15 goals against per 60 minutes since the 2020-21 season, which ranks 35th out of the 233 defensemen who have logged at least 1,000 five-on-five minutes. The eight-year extension he signed at a $4.125 million cap hit already looks like a bargain.