By the Numbers: NHL Edition (1-9)
I am starting a new series called “By the Numbers”. Here I will rank who I feel is the best active NHL player wearing each number. I want to preface this by saying, I am a newb to this. This is really the first full season I have sat down and enjoyed hockey. So, don’t be totally alarmed if I say someone that I shouldn’t. In this series, I will rank players in intervals of 10, so in this particular article, I will rank 1-9. The next set will be 10-19 and so on. In doing so, not only will it be an interesting discussion piece, but I can use this experience to put numbers to names better. Hopefully this won’t be a total disaster.
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Number 1: G, Jeremy Swayman, Boston Bruins
We’re kicking it off with a traditional Goalie number, so no surprise, a goalie is the best active player with numero uno. All active players are in fact goalies, but Swayman stands above the rest of the actives. While Swayman is the backup to Linus Ullmark, both goalies are having a tremendous season and are a big reason why the Boston Bruins are dominating the league this year.
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Number 2: D, Evan Bouchard, Edmonton Oilers
This number was a tough choice because no player really stands above the rest of the league. Bouchard is probably the best choice I have. Artem Zub and Luke Schenn are a couple others, but that is about it. Calen Addison is having a good year on the offensive side, but there really aren't many worthy candidates. Alexander Edler is another potential candidate as well, but the number 2 is fairly weak.
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Number 3: D, Brayden McNabb, Vegas Golden Knights
Looking at the list, I felt like McNabb stood above the rest. John Klingberg is having a down year with his new team and Adam Pelech is currently injured and not really having a great year either, so McNabb seemed like an obvious choice to me.
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Number 4: D, Miro Heiskanen, Dallas Stars
This was another tough choice, but in a good way. There were a lot of worthy choices like Rasmus Andersson with my Flames, Cam Fowler with the Ducks, and Seth Jones for the struggling Blackhawks. Heiskanen was my choice because he’s really the only one of those players that seems to be improving. Those other players are very good, but other than Andersson, who I think is just having a somewhat down year, the rest of the choices are trending downward. He also is averaging 25:20 minutes of ice time.
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Number 5: D, Aaron Ekblad, Florida Panthers
My other choices were down to Matt Benning, Cody Ceci and Brenden Dillon. Nils Lundkvist feels like he could be in consideration in future years, but Ekblad is the favorite among the 16 active players with the number 5.
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Number 6: D, Adam Larsson, Seattle Kraken
Lots of good players with the number 6, but Larsson stands above the rest. He has been a menace since entering the league in 2011. He is receiving the most ice time of his career and it appears that he will smash his career high in points. He also currently has a +30. Jakob Chychrun, Brock Boeser, John Marino, and Travis Sanheim were my other options.
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Number 7: D, Dougie Hamilton, New Jersey Devils
Brady Tkachuk, Alex Pietrangelo, Jordan Eberle, and Devon Toews all wear number 7, so the choice was difficult. I went with Dougie Hamilton because he seems like he may have a career year and that is saying quite a lot considering the career that he has had. I think this pick may cause the most controversy, but I think it is pretty much a toss up between those 4 or 5.
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Number 8: D, Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche
There are a lot of heavy hitters that wear the ocho. Jacob Trouba, Drew Doughty, Noah Dobson, Brent Burns, Chris Tanev, but this is obviously a two-man race. Makar and Alex Ovechkin. Ovi is a legend and he seems to have a fountain of youth trait, but I think Makar is a better player at the moment. Makar leads the league in ice time among skaters and is a reigning Norris and Smythe winner.
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Number 9: C, Jack Eichel, Vegas Golden Knights
The biggest concern with Eichel was his ability to stay on the ice. While he has been on the mend this season for a little while, he is back and when he is in, he is great. Number 9 also has JT Miller, Filip Forsberg, Clayton Keller, Adrian Kempe, but I’ll give the edge to Eichel.
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