More than 650 active players make up the landscape of the National Hockey League. We hear about the superstars, the rookies, and the fans saying players are overrated. What the casual fans tend to not hear would be who are considered to be underappreciated. By underappreciated, I don’t mean by their team's fan base (although in some instances that could be the case). I’m talking about players who the common fan doesn’t see as a superstar, but does so much for a team that doesn’t show up on the recap highlight reel. These are more than just glue guys or energy guys, they can do it all, whether or not it gets noticed on a nightly basis.
Honorable Mentions: Filip Chytil, New York Rangers; Nick Schmaltz, Arizona Coyotes; Josh Norris, Ottawa Senators
Jesper Bratt, New Jersey Devils
Some could argue that given the star power he’s surrounded by in New Jersey that Jesper Bratt can get lost in the limelight at times. But the Swedish native has quietly been the second best player on the Devils so far this year having six goals and fourteen points in eight games. Last season, he was second on the devils in terms of goals and fourth in points. Bratt is entering his seventh season in the league and is somewhat unassuming at 5’10 and 175 lbs. What he lacks in size he makes up for in being a high end playmaker and above average defensive winger whose takeaways and forechecking have gone overlooked because it’s not seen on the scoring summary. He rarely takes a bad penalty, or any penalties for that matter. The Devils just extended him this offseason for 8 years at $7.875M per season. For the production he provides for that team at both ends of the ice, it’s safe to say he’ll more than earn that money.
Thatcher Demko, Vancouver Canucks
Classic case of a good player being on an underwhelming team, Thatcher Demko has been everything that the Canucks could hope for in net. Let’s not forget the Canucks chose to not re-sign Jakob Markstrom back in 2019, who finished that season in fourth place for Vezina voting. When he was given the reins fully, he put up back to back seasons with a .915 save percentage and sub 3.00 goals against average. Last year Demko dealt with injury issues and his numbers dropped to .901 save percentage and 3.16 goals against. Demko is a top 10 goaltender and somebody I predict to be an all star this year if healthy, who never gets talked about. This season he currently ranks top 5 in the league amongst all goaltenders with at least four appearances in goals against average, save percentage, goals saved above expected, and high danger shot save percentage. Vancouver struggled last year because Demko struggled last year. If he’s able to steal games for this team, they could be a threat to make it out of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference.
Jared Spurgeon, Minnesota Wild
Somewhat surprising to see the captain of an NHL team on this list, but it feels like Jared Spurgeon gets little to no respect outside of Minnesota. From 2018-2023, Spurgeon has ranked fourth in the league in regards to defensive impact amongst defensemen, with a .19 goals saved per 60 minutes. Partly due to his 5’9 frame as a defenseman that he doesn’t garner more attention, but Minnesota’s captain is somebody who does everything well. He plays top 4 minutes in even strength, the first penalty killing unit, as well as quarterbacking one of the powerplay units. He may not seem like a major point producer as he normally finds himself between 30-40 points per season, but he is Minnesota’s all time leader in points by a defenseman and fourth amongst all players. He doesn’t throw the body around, but he will lay his body on the line to block shots and is seldom caught out of position. Fans today expect either a complete shutdown defenseman or a highly skilled offensive defenseman. Yet Spurgeon has made a career of being a three zone threat on the ice.
Jaccob Slavin, Carolina Hurricanes
In my opinion, Jaccob Slavin is the best defensive defenseman in the NHL. He’s a shutdown player that eats a lot of minutes and will do anything needed on the ice for the team to succeed. There’s two major problems as to why he’s underappreciated. First of all, he’s in a small market in Carolina. If Slavin was in a Canadian market or a large market like New York, he’d be talked about in much higher regard than he’s spoken about now. Secondly, as a shutdown defensemen, he’s not putting up big point totals that make players like Cale Makar and Adam Fox household names. He's also on a blue line with names like Brent Burns who score more often, so he tends be overlooked by those outside of Raleigh. Slavin the reason that the Hurricanes offense feel comfortable being more aggressive, as they know he can be a difference maker on the back end. I’d argue that not only is Jaccob Slavin the best defensive defenseman in hockey, but he’s at least a top 10 defenseman, if not higher.
Kevin Fiala, Los Angeles Kings
Acquired from Minnesota in the 2022 offseason, Kevin Fiala is the playmaker that the Kings have been missing for a few years now. Fiala will never be a 40 goal scorer, but he can easily put up 50+ assists for any team he’s on. The one this about Fiala that has impressed me is his ability to make everybody look better, regardless of who his linemates are. Last season he was paired with Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe, the latter having put up 41 goals. This year he is linemates with newly acquired Pierre-Luc Dubois and rookie Alex Laferriere and still has one goal and 10 assists through eight games. The reason that Fiala doesn’t get the love that he deserves is due to so many of his contributions being things that you don’t notice unless you’re trained to look for them. He’s one of the best wingers in even strength opportunities. Last year for even strength opportunities, he ranked in the 98th percentile or higher in primary assists, primary shot assists, chance assists, high danger passes completed, rush offense, and zone exits (stats per TopDownHockey). Loosely translated, Kevin Fiala is the driver of the play, finds his teammates to create high end scoring chances, and his playmaking ability allows others to thrive. Not often in the limelight as he’s only been a one time all star, Fiala is a major factor in why so many players that have crossed paths with him found success in their career.
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