By Brian Hayward
FOX Sports West & PRIME TICKET
Nov. 1, 2010
Ducks fans are trying real hard these days to forget about Scott Niedermayer.
Forget that he played significant roles on the Duck's penalty-killing and power-play units.
Forget that he read the game better than virtually everyone.
Forget that his skating ability allowed him to join the attack at will and yet almost never get caught out of position.
Forget that he was one of the rare players who truly made those teammates around him better.
(VIDEO:Replacing a Legend: A look at Ducks training camp where the Ducks look to replace Niedermayer with young blueliners Cam Fowler and Luca Sbisa.)
No doubt, losing two future Hall of Fame defensemen in Niedermayer and Chris Pronger in back-to-back years would make life tough for the rebuilding Ducks this season, but who knew just how painful life would be just three weeks into a regular season in which the Ducks seem to always take one step forward and then fall two steps back.
Ducks fans were spoiled beyond belief having both Pronger and Niedermayer on the Anaheim blueline at the same time. In today's NHL, the prevailing adage amongst coaches and managers is that teams need to move the puck better. The key puck distributor is the first guy to get to the puck in your defensive zone, and 90 percent of the time, that player is a defenseman.
Fans can count the truly great defensemen in the game today on two hands - perhaps even one. I'm talking about defensemen who at the final horn you legitimately could say dominated large portions of the game.
My list would include:
If we're talking playoffs, I'd add Pronger and then Shea Weber of the Predators to the list. The NHL comprises the best 700 hockey players in the world, but there are really only six or seven truly great defensemen on my list.
Contrast the relatively short list of blueline stars with the extensive list of superstars playing the forward position in today's game and it begs the question, why? Why do we have so many great young offensive stars come into our sport while it seems that the can't-miss, blue-chip impact defenseman is such a rare commodity coming out of the entry draft each summer.
Perhaps it's as simple as the best athletes gravitating toward the more glorified position of goal scorer. Maybe it's because defensemen must skate backwards as fluidly as they skate forward, and this job requirement narrows the candidate pool considerably.
Great defensemen play upwards of 28 minutes per game while great forwards play 21 minutes per game, so time alone suggests which position player is ultimately more impactful on the outcome of the game.
All the defensemen listed above play on teams expected to be there in late April and May contending for a Stanley Cup, as a great defenseman usually plays for a great team.
And that's not a coincidence.
READ MORE FROM BRIAN>>>>
