Moritz Seider will surely rank among the NHL’s top defensemen in the years to come, after winning the Calder Trophy as top rookie for 2021-22.
Where does the Detroit Red Wings’ budding star rank heading into 2022-23? The NHL Network, in its countdown of the top 20 defensemen right now, put Seider at No. 11, one spot ahead of Vancouver’s Quinn Hughes and one spot behind Dallas’ Miro Heiskanen.
Seider, 21, led the Red Wings and all rookies with 43 assists and was first among rookies in power-play points (21) and fourth in points overall (50).
But it was the 6-4, 207-pound defenseman’s defensive play that enabled him to become Detroit’s first Calder winner since 1965 (goaltender Roger Crozier), and in a landside (170 first-place votes compared to 15 for runner-up Trevor Zegras of Anaheim).
Four of the past five Norris Trophy winners topped NHL Network’s list of top current defensemen, led by 2022 winner Cale Makar of Colorado. Victor Hedman of Tampa Bay (2018) was second, followed by Roman Josi of Nashville (2020) and Adam Fox of the New York Rangers (2021).
Here is the complete list:
1. Cale Makar, Colorado
2. Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay
3. Roman Josi, Nashville
4. Adam Fox, New York Rangers
5. Charlie McAvoy, Boston
6. Kris Letang, Pittsburgh
7. Aaron Ekblad, Florida
8. Devon Toews, Colorado
9. John Carlson, Washington
10. Miro Heiskanen, Dallas
11. Moritz Seider, Detroit
12. Quinn Hughes, Vancouver
13. Jacob Slavin, Carolina
14. Morgan Rielly, Toronto
15. Shea Theodore, Vegas
16. Zach Werenski, Columbus
17. Drew Doughty, Los Angeles
18. Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo
19. Alex Pietrangelo, Vegas
20. Brent Burns, Carolina
NHL Network will unveil its rankings of the top 10 goaltenders on Sunday (6 pm). Its top 50 players will be revealed in five segments on each of the following Sundays starting on Sept. 11.
Detroit’s Dylan Larkin did not crack NHL Network’s list of the top 20 centers revealed last month and no Red Wing made the list of top 20 wingers.
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