MuleFHL Defence Rankings
Here’s how the MuleFHL’s
top 6 defencemen for each team fare when comparing them to the rest of the
teams in the league. Also, in no way
did we take into consideration FHL re-rates or the NHL re-rates (which can make
a very big difference), so this is a list for the present only.
-
Niklas Lidstrom(84OV), Scott Stevens(81OV), Mike
Komisarek(79OV), Brian Rafalski(78OV), Oleg Tverdovsky(77OV), and Jason
Smith(76OV)
- An obvious choice for 1st place. When your number 1 defencemen is in 1st place for all time assists your team is gonna be successful. Lidstrom is paired with Stevens to make a dangerous 1st pairing. Supporting them are young star Komisarek, team leader Jason Smith along with Tverdovsky and Rafalski.
- Chris Pronger(86OV), Paul Mara(78OV), Andrew Ference(78OV), Josef Melichar(77OV), Thomas Kaberle(77OV), Michal Roszival(73OV)
- Chris Pronger is the perfect player to lead this young defensive squad into the playoffs. He is paired with a very young Paul Mara who has risen to 2nd place in the Calder watch standings. Backing up these two are other future stars Andrew Ference, Thomas Kaberle, Joseph Melichar and Micheal Roszival.
3.
Los Angeles Kings (77.0avg)
- Tom Poti(79OV), Ron Hainsey(77OV), Richard Jackman(77OV), Jason Crain(77OV), Chris Dyment(77OV), Jaroslav Modry(75OV)
- An amazingly talented group of defenseman considering how young they are. Tom Poti is currently the number 1 guy, but he is followed by three others at 77. This is just one of the reasons why Los Angeles will contend shortly.
4.
Philadelphia Flyers (76.5avg):
- Derian Hatcher(81OV), Dan McGillis(77OV), David Ytfeldt(76OV), Eric Desjardins(76OV), Jeff Woywitka(75OV), Jim Vandermeer(74OV)
- Derian Hatcher is the leader on this team for defense and is solid defensively. Behind him he has 5 other solid players with respectable defensive ratings themselves. This is largely the reason that Philadelphia is in the top 5 for both goals against and shots against.
5.
New York Rangers (76.5avg):
- Bryan Leetch(79OV), Sergei Zubov(79OV), Scott Niedermayer(78OV), Mike Mottau(76OV), Alexei Vasiliev(74OV), Filip Novak(73OV)
- With three Star Quality players in Leetch, Zubov and Neidermeyer the Rangers are solid on the blue line. Although these players aren't getting any younger the Rangers have some youth that will be able to take their places.
- Matthieu Schneider(79OV), Wade Redden(79OV), Adam Foote(78OV), Mike Crowley(75OV), Jon Klemm(75OV), Eric Weinrich(73OV)
- Colorado has a good mix of young and old defensemen. Leading the way is Wade Redden who is not only a young star but has lots of experience and leadership as well. Unfortunately this teams defense sucks due to the intense gayness of Mike Crowley
7.
Ottawa Senators (76.2avg):
- Rob Blake(82OV), Jason Beckett(76OV), Chris Phillips(75OV), Zdeno Chara(75OV), Derek Byfuglien(75OV), Julien Vauclair(74OV)
- Although Rob Blake is one of the best in the league the talent level drops off significantly after him. Fortunately there are a couple players who are still very young and will be able to step up shortly.
8.
Vancouver Canucks (76.2avg):
- Ed Jovonovski(80OV), Teppo Numminen(76OV), Brad Sopel(76OV), Rene Vydareny(76OV), Justin Kurtz(75OV), Bryan Allen(74OV)
- Ed Jovanovski who is playing at an amazingly high skill level compared to his age should be the number one dman in Vancouver for the next several decades. He is backed up by a fairly strong group of other youngun's.
9.
St. Louis Blues (75.8avg):
- Al MacInnis(78OV), Lubomir Visnovsky(77OV), Bryce Salvador(76OV), Aki Berg(75OV), Darryl Andrews(75OV), Alexander Khavanov(74OV)
- Al MacInnis leads a group of fairly young players on the blue line of this team. Unfortunately Al Maccinis is 37 years old and some young players will have to take over for the old man in the next couple of years.
10.
San Jose Sharks (75.5avg):
- Sandis Ozolinsh(78OV), Magnus Ragnarsson(76OV), Brad Stuart(76OV), Lars Jonsson(75OV), Christian Laflamme(75OV), Gord Murphy(73OV)
- Sandis Ozolinch is this teams star offensive defenseman but he is a huge defensive liability. Fortunately players like Ragnarsson are more than capable of picking up the slack.
- Janne Niinimaa(77OV), Jiri Fischer(77OV), Jesse Wallin(77OV), Matthieu Biron(75OV), Sean O’Donnell(74OV), Craig Rivet(73OV)
- Plenty of depth with Ninnima, Fischer and Wallin aren't enough to make Montreal one of the top defensive teams. A clear cut number one guy is also not present on this team.
12.
Detroit Red Wings (75.5avg):
- Darius Kasperitis(76OV), Jay McKee(76OV), Paul Martin(76OV), Colin White(75OV), Mattias Ohlund(75OV), Matthieu Dandeneault(75OV)
- When your best defensemen are only rated 76ov you would expect the team to have some problems but this group of young defensemen seem to be doing alright. Detroit currently sits in 2nd place in the Western Conference.
- Roman Hamrlik(79OV), Jonathan Girard(75OV), Jonathan Aitken(75OV), Andrei Markov(74OV), Anders Ericksson(74OV), Richard Jackman(74OV)
- This team has no shortage of depth or youth on defence. Roman Hamrlik leads a group of young dmen including Jonathan Aitken, Richard Jackman, Anders Ericksson, Andrei Markov and future star Jonathan Girard.
14.
Phoenix Coyotes (75.2avg):
- Danil Markov(78OV), Kimmo Timonen(76OV), Radoslav Suchy(75OV), Vitaly Vishnevsky(75OV), Mike Rucinski(74OV), Kim Johnsson(73OV)
- The young defensive specialist Markov is the best the desert dogs have on the blue line. Behind him is not a whole lot of depth but strong youth should make up for that in years to come.
15.
Edmonton Oilers (74.7avg)
- Francis Bouillon(78OV), Chris Hajt(76OV), Wade Belak(74OV), Thomas Mojzis(74OV), Sean Brown(74OV), Sheldon Souray(72OV)
- Although the Oilers are in 4th place in the west their defensive pairings are not up to par with the other contending teams. In order to elevate their game to the next level they will need to bring in a little more depth at this position.
16.
Florida Panthers (74.7avg):
- Dan Boyle(78OV), Rhett Warrener(75OV), Robert Svehla(75OV), Brad Ference(74OV), Cale Hulse(73OV), Peter Ratchuk(73OV)
- Dan Boyle has really elevated his play over the past two seasons and has taken control of this team. He is backed up by a group of hard-hitting, defensive defencemen that get the job done. This group will likely over-achieve, especially with Luongo in the nets.
17.
Chicago Blackhawks (74.7)
- Carlo Coliacovo(76OV), Steve McCarthy(75OV), Dmitri Yakushin(75OV), Anton Volchenkov(74OV), Josh Dewolf(74OV), Alexander Karpotsev(74OV)
- This is a very young group of defencemen, containing a very good combination of offensive and defensive-minded players. These guys will be a real force in a year or two if they continue to develop this well, so look out for the Hawks in the near future.
18.
Calgary Flames (74.6avg):
- Derek Morris(78OV), Phil Housley(76OV), Tony Lydman(75OV), Jordan Leopold(74OV), Burke Henry(73OV), Dennis Gauthier(72OV)
- Although Derek Morris is the teams defensive star Phil Hously also plays an extremely important role by adding invaluable experience and leadership to the otherwise young defense. Other defensemen include Burke Henry, Toni Lydman, Denis Gauthier and Jordon Leopold.
- Eric Brewer(77OV), Kyle McLaren(75OV), Alexei Semenov(75OV), Alexei Zhitnik(74OV), Scott Hannan(73OV), Stephane Robidas(72OV)
- With no stand out superstar Buffalo has to rely on strong Depth at the Defensive position. Eric Brewer has tremendous potential and leads a group that includes Kyle Mclaren, Scott Hannan, Stephane Robidas, Alexei Semenov and old man of the group Alexei Zhitnik.
20.
Washington Capitals (74.2avg):
- Sergei Gonchar(81OV), Brendan Witt(73OV), Calle Johansson(73OV), Pavel Trnka(73OV), J-F. Fortin(73OV), Remi Royer(72OV)
- This defence is well….Sergei Gonchar. Gonchar can easily carry the offensive load for any defense, but he’s not the greatest defensively. This is why the rest of the Caps’ defencemen tend to be those guys who don’t get noticed too often…which can be either a good thing or a bad thing.
21.
Dallas Stars (74.2avg)
- Chris Chelios(78OV), Darryl Sydor(76OV), Mike Rathje(75OV), Tommi Rajamaki(73OV), Chris Therrien(72OV), Richard Matvichuk(71OV)
- The Stars have one of the oldest defenses in the league and will have to make some changes in the following seasons to get some young blood. They are led by veteran Chris Chelios.
- Aris Brismanis(77OV), Branislav Mezei(75OV), Adrian Aucoin(74OV), Lubomir Sekeras(73OV), Roman Martinek(73OV), Eric Cairns(71OV)
- A shortage of depth and youth will hurt the Isles for many years to come and drastic changes will be necessary if the isles want to make a playoff run.
- Nikos Tselios(76OV), Bryan McCabe(75OV), David Tanabe(74OV), Marek Malik(73OV), Cory Cross(72OV), Niclas Wallin(71OV)
- Carolina has a couple young up-and-comers in Tanabe and Tselios, as well as a steadying force in Bryan McCabe, who’s NHL performance will ensure that he’s key to this team for many years to come.
24.
Toronto Maple Leafs (73.7avg)
- Kenny Jonsson(78OV), Victor Uchevatov(74OV), Brendan Bell(74OV), Kirill Safronov(73OV), Agris Saviels(72OV), Uwe Krupp(71OV)
- An obvious re-building team the Maple Leafs defense looks pretty bare after number one guy Kenny Jonsson. Despite this the Leafs have many undeveloped prospects at this position and shouldn't be down close to the bottom for long.
- Patrice Brisebois(75OV), Keith Carney(74OV), Jaroslav Spacek(73OV), Pavel Kubina(73OV), Frantisek Kaberle(73OV), Dale Purinton(73OV)
- Defence is easily Anaheim’s weak spot, but with Kubina playing well in the NHL, maybe he can lead these guys to the next level in a year or two. Also, with steady guys like Carney and Purinton, these guys can keep a team in the game, although they won’t put a team ahead in a game.
- Matthieu Descoteaux(75OV), Brett Clark(74OV), Dmitri Kalinin(74OV), Deron Quint(73OV), Jiri Slegr(73OV), Yannik Trembley(70OV)
- Atlanta’s defence is slowly improving, with the acquisition of Descoteaux as well as the development of Clark and Kalinin. Don’t expect much from this defence any time soon, but they’ve got the tools to keep getting better and better.
- Dmitri Yushkevich(76OV), Mark Eaton(74OV), Pavel Skrbek(73OV), Niklas Havelid(72OV), Grant McNeill(72OV), Karlis Skrastins(71OV)
- Yushkevich is the undisputed leader for this Nashville team, who expect an influx of young defencemen over the next year or two. He will be given the job of leading both on and off the ice in bringing out the potential of some of the many youngsters Nashville has in the organization.
28.
Tampa Bay Lightning (73.0avg)
- Ben Clymer(75OV), Brad Tiley(74OV), Kurt Sauer(74OV), Sascha Goc(72OV), Cory Sarich(72OV), Agris Saviels(71OV)
- Another obvious rebuilding team. They have many of their better defensemen in the minors in hopes of improvements. Their Defense should improve in years to come because of solid youth.
29.
Columbus Blue Jackets (72.1avg):
- Frederik Olausson(75OV), Jamie Heward(74OV), Petteri Nummelin(73OV), Jamie Pushor(71OV), Jyrki Lumme(70OV), Lyle Odelein(70OV)
- Columbus’ defence is old, but experienced. They will be very valuble down the stretch and if Columbus makes the playoffs, but in the near future, they are going to need to acquire some young talent on defence.
30.
Minnesota Wild (71.8avg)
- Willie Mitchell(75OV), Filip Kuba(74OV), Ladislav Benysek(73OV), Brad Bombardier(71OV), Dave Manson(69OV), Andy Sutton(69OV)
- The Wild have a good combonation of experience and youth and, despite the ranking, are doing very well for an expansion organization.
List made by Richard Eisenbraun and Brian McNaughton