Earlier today, the Hockey News’s Jason Chen suggested that Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider is one of the 10 best NHL defenders for fantasy hockey poolies to pick. This evening, NHL.com piggybacks on the NHL Network’s rankings of the top 20 players at each position to engage in a “thought experiment” article, in which 6 NHL.com writers discuss which defenseman they believe will be the NHL’s best some 3 seasons from now.
Seider earns the support of a pair of writers, tying Cale Makar in that department:
Moritz Seider, Detroit Red Wings
The 21-year-old certainly got off to a great start in his NHL career when he won the Calder Trophy voted as the League’s rookie of the year last season. I see him improving steadily during the next three seasons. He led rookie defensemen with 50 points and 43 assists and was second among them with seven goals (Martin Fehervary of the Washington Capitals scored eight). He led Detroit with 21 power-play points (two goals, 19 assists) last season. Seider’s already used to a good amount of ice time (he led the Red Wings with an average of 23:02 per game). With Detroit adding some veterans this offseason, including defenseman Ben Chiarot, Seider can keep improving without too much pressure. He showed great personality when he accepted the Calder at the 2022 NHL Awards He seems like a cool customer, and the Red Wings will benefit from his improvement during the next three seasons. — Tracey Myers, staff writer
Seider’s outstanding rookie season could just be the tip of the iceberg. He produced offensively, his 50 points in 82 games the most by a Red Wings rookie defenseman since Nicklas Lidstrom had 60 in 1991-92. And he was able to play against the top players in the NHL; he was one of 11 defensemen to average at least 18:00 of ice time per game at even strength (18:16), at least 2:30 on the power play (2:53) and at least 1:30 on the penalty kill (1:53), and the only rookie. And he didn’t shy away from physical play, leading the Red Wings in blocked shots (161) and finishing second in hits (151; Adam Erne had 161). And did we mention he’s just 21 and has a frame (6-foot-4, 197 pounds) that will allow him to get stronger? More experience, more strength, and in three more seasons he’ll have more than a Calder Trophy on his shelf. — Adam Kimelman, deputy managing editor
Again, here’s hoping, because NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman’s pick is probably among the deepest crop of star defensemen I can remember since the mid-to-late-90’s. Cale Makar’s one of the better defensemen I’ve seen in a long time, and he’s just one of at least a dozen excellent NHL defensemen out there right now, so “Mo” Seider has his work cut out for him.
