Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider has graduated from a Calder Trophy-winning “freshman defenseman” to a sophomore amidst a sea of stars on the blueline.
The NHL’s crop of defensemen is so very rich and varied right now that I’ll admit I’ve spent some of my summer wondering to myself whether Seider will get lost in the shuffle of the Cale Makars, Miro Heiskanens and Roman Josis.
Long story long, I think it’s going to be hard for Seider to contend for a Norris Trophy even if he replicates his 50-point rookie season output.
All of that being said, It’s encouraging to see Seider listed among the Hockey News’s Jason Chen’s list of the Top 10 Defensemen for fantasy hockey poolies to pick:
Moritz Seider, Red Wings: Stylistically, Seider’s closest to Hedman; he can score points, quarterback a power play and contribute in both hits and blocked shots. In banger leagues, Seider’s upside is huge and should climb a few spots higher. The theory about sophomores hitting a wall is overblown, and most bumps in the road for young players are only temporary. The hype is real and Seider will be a Norris contender for years.
- Comparing Seider to Hedman is a massive amount of praise, but, given Seider’s underrated physicality, it’s also accurate in my biased opinion;
- Seider was pretty consistent over the course of his rookie campaign in 2021-2022, so I’m not expecting a fall-off in 22-23, either. At 21 years of age, with an AHL and a SHL campaign under his belt as well as a full NHL season, I think he’s a little less likely to hit a wall than Lucas Raymond..Though my suspicions are that both players’ time spent hitting that “sophomore wall” will be short, if they hit it at all;
- Again, with the aforementioned Makar, Heiskanen, Josi and now Hedman on the Norris list, and the NHL’s awards voters tending to value point production over an all-round game on defense, I think it’s going to take a couple of years for Seider to round into true Norris contention, but I believe he can do it.
Points mean everything to alot of those writers but Mo could become one of the best all-around d-men of his time.
I hate to hype him up like that but hes just so good, and will only get better, in every facet. Do the top point producers play a physical game as well?