DitchMarner
TheGlitchintheSwitch
In terms of defensive ability/impact, rate the following star centres:
Nathan MacKinnon
Connor McDavid
Auston Matthews
Jack Hughes
Connor Bedard
Jack Eichel
Tim Stutzle
Elias Pettersson
Trevor Zegras
Tage Thompson
Of the teams these players play for, I watch Toronto the most (obviously), followed by Edmonton. Objectively speaking, Matthews has always been solid to good defensively for a star centre. He routinely outscores the opposition at even strength and has good defensive metrics. He's a good positional player who can win battles and strip players of the puck. I guess you can argue that that he's not really in that Barkov/Kopitar group of defensive forwards since he doesn't play a shut down role, but he he's a two-way C.
I feel McDavid has improved considerably when it comes to defense. He's one of my favorite players to watch because of his offensive ability, but I feel as though he's transitioned from being a great rush and counter-attack player to being a guy who can more or less control games overall when he's on the ice. He's better in his own end than he used to be and he's another guy who constantly outscores the opposition at even strength and puts up good possession numbers.
I watch MacKinnnon a fair bit in the playoffs but not too much otherwise. He's a physical specimen and a force. I'm not sure his defensive skills are particularly refined or about his attention to detail in his own zone and such, but I don't think he's any sort of a liability.
Jack Eichel received praise for his two-way play in the 2023 playoffs. I'm not sure how good he is defensively most of the time, but I'm sure he also is no liability.
Pettersson has a reputation for being a smart player and reliable defensively and it seems fair.
My impression is Stutzle, Zegras, Hughes and Bedard are still developing their defensive games. I honestly have no idea about Thompson. I'm only familiar with his offensive capabilities. I never watched any of these teams unless they're playing a team I follow.
Nathan MacKinnon
Connor McDavid
Auston Matthews
Jack Hughes
Connor Bedard
Jack Eichel
Tim Stutzle
Elias Pettersson
Trevor Zegras
Tage Thompson
Of the teams these players play for, I watch Toronto the most (obviously), followed by Edmonton. Objectively speaking, Matthews has always been solid to good defensively for a star centre. He routinely outscores the opposition at even strength and has good defensive metrics. He's a good positional player who can win battles and strip players of the puck. I guess you can argue that that he's not really in that Barkov/Kopitar group of defensive forwards since he doesn't play a shut down role, but he he's a two-way C.
I feel McDavid has improved considerably when it comes to defense. He's one of my favorite players to watch because of his offensive ability, but I feel as though he's transitioned from being a great rush and counter-attack player to being a guy who can more or less control games overall when he's on the ice. He's better in his own end than he used to be and he's another guy who constantly outscores the opposition at even strength and puts up good possession numbers.
I watch MacKinnnon a fair bit in the playoffs but not too much otherwise. He's a physical specimen and a force. I'm not sure his defensive skills are particularly refined or about his attention to detail in his own zone and such, but I don't think he's any sort of a liability.
Jack Eichel received praise for his two-way play in the 2023 playoffs. I'm not sure how good he is defensively most of the time, but I'm sure he also is no liability.
Pettersson has a reputation for being a smart player and reliable defensively and it seems fair.
My impression is Stutzle, Zegras, Hughes and Bedard are still developing their defensive games. I honestly have no idea about Thompson. I'm only familiar with his offensive capabilities. I never watched any of these teams unless they're playing a team I follow.