Top Players Under 1000: Defensemen

[Hogan 1,406]

       Last week, I came up with the idea to showcase the best centers that never broke the 1000 TPE mark. This idea went over well with the league and I ended up with positive reactions from many different members. This week, I will be revisiting my idea with a slight change. Instead of centers, this week's focus will be on looking at the best defensemen that never hit the glorious 1000 TPE mark. To be considered for this list, players must have played their entire career as defensemen. With this criteria we lose a few great players who spent only a few seasons as D-men such as Henrik Zoiderberg, Rudolph Scmeckeldorf and Dan Montgomery.

 

#5 Elasmobranch Fish 839 TPE @Sharkstrong

S65-71

 

74 Goals 274 Assists 348 Points ( 0.69 PPG) 1007 Hits 929 Shot Blocks

 

   Fish, across seven seasons, was almost the perfect example of a solid depth defensemen. He only ever placed top ten in defensemen scoring once in his career in season 67. That year he tied Piotr Jerwa for eighth place in defensemen points with 62. He never managed to reach point totals that high again with his second highest being his rookie season. As a rookie, he finished with 58 points which was good enough for third among all rookies. Fish’s most important aspect of his game was playing well in his end of the ice. With nearly 1000 shots blocked Fish consistently was a force to other teams. In his rookie year Fish led all players in most shot blocks with 197, 22 more the closest competitor. While never being a star, Elasmobranch Fish was an extremely reliable and consistent defencemen that his multiple GM’s could count on no matter where he played.

 

#4 Viktor Alexi Kamenov 778 TPE @BigTittySmitty

S73-79

 

89 Goals 282 Assists 371 Points (0.74 PPG) 1197 Shot Blocks 53 Playoff Points 72 Games (0.74 PPG)

 

   Kamenov played all seven of his seasons with the team who drafted him, Malmo. With this team, they managed to win the cup twice in seasons 75 and 79. Previously mentioned player Elasmobranch Fish and

Kamenov both had similar careers and stats. It’s quite fair to call Kamenov a slightly improved Fish as both men were always solid in their opponents' zones, but dominant when close to their own nets. Kamenov played in a higher scoring era than most on this list meaning it was harder to crack the top ten. Even with a career high of 68 points in season 77, he could not make a top ten list in defensemen points in any of his many years.. Kamenov’s true skills shined in his shot blocking ability. He only reached the top of the leaderboard once in most shot blocks with a first place victory in season 77 following an impressive 233 shots to his body. He also holds a second and tenth place in seasons 78 and 76 respectively. 

 

#3 Sidney Crosby 999 TPE @SidTheKid87

S63-69

 

93 Goals 350 Assists 443 Points (0.77 PPG) 1445 Hits 1153 Shot Blocks

 

    Crosby just barely makes the cutoff for this list, being only one TPE short of being excluded. It would be a shame had he been taken off as he boasts the best defensive stats out of anyone. Crosby is the first player on the list so far to have laced up the skates for eight total seasons, all of them being with Helsinki. Crosby, like most defensemen, didn't produce a ton on the scoresheet but instead defensively . His greatest seasons were in the middle of his career where he scored 63, 77 and 70 points throughout seasons 65 to 67. In these three years, he finished in top ten defensemen twice at a strong fourth and sixth place. During this stint he also won his first in only cup after netting 14 points in 9 games in the season 66 playoffs. Crosby finished first and second in shot blocks over the course of his career. Most notably in 63 where he blocked more than the nearest opponent by a massive 68 shots. 

 

#2 Robert Malenko 748 TPE @pennypenny

S62-68 

 

133 Goals 377 Assists 510 Points (1.01 PPG) 947 Shot Blocks

 

   Malenko burst out of the gates running. By his third season he had hit his highest point total with 106. He would never see anything near this again in the following seasons with his closest being a 83 in the following year. Digital frequently changed teams, only playing for the same club two seasons in a row once. In seven seasons, Malenko was featured on the leaderboard among the league's highest scoring defensemen five times, the most of anyone mentioned. In season 64 he topped both the assist and defensemen lists, winning him the Alexander Beketov and Valiq for most assists and top offensive defensemen . Malenko’s final three seasons in the league were rough. He played for 3 different teams, New York, Calgary and DC. In these seasons, he scored 61, 61 and 33 before retiring and ending his career in hockey. Despite the final seasons, Malenko’s early career cemented him as a top defensemen that never earned a ton of TPE.

 

#1 Bobby Digital 919 TPE @gorlab

S49-56 

 

35 Goals 451 Assists 486 Points (0.84 PPG) 1533 Hits 964 Shot Blocks 56 Playoff Points in 67 Games (0.84 PPG)

 

  Bobby Digital started off slow, only scoring 95 points in his first three seasons, a number he would beat by two in a single season during his final year in the league. In season 52 Digital turned from a below average defensemen to a star, netting 62 points and a cup following 22 playoff points in 17 games. In his remaining four seasons, he averaged 82 points to finish with 486 in his career. These seasons were clearly his most successful with back to back cups in seasons 52 and 53. In season 54 he won the Alexander Beketov award for most assists after beating Elijah Dotran by five for a total of 80. The following year, he won the Grimm Johnson for best leader on his team. In his final season Digital went to Riga. During his time there he had 97 points and won the Victory Cup given to the best regular season team. In the conference finals, Riga fell short to HC Dynamo, ending Digitals career.. Overall, Digital finished in the top ten defensemen five times across his career with his best being fourth place and worst seventh. He also finished twice in top ten shot blocks. Digital earns the title of best defensemen under 1000 TPE due to his consistency, offensive performance and defensive ability.

Edited October 28, 2021 by Hogan

[McWolf 3,114]

2 minutes ago, Hogan said:

In season 64 he topped both the assist and defensemen lists, winning him the Alexander Beketov and Valiq for most assists and top offensive defensemen

But he didn't win the Labatte and got so pissed he ditched.

[Ledge 1,131]

I love this series, helluva job hogan

[CowboyinAmerica 2,840]

Review: 10/10

 

Agree with the above, really do like the idea behind this series. You clearly did your research into VHL history, and I can't really argue with the list as you've put it together. The presentation here was extremely smooth, both in the stat boxes as you've put them together as well as they way you've formatted the player names and team logos. If I tried to nitpick it might be comparing the players to one another a bit more (aka why Digital's more impressive than Malenko), but honestly that's me scraping the bottom of the barrel for something to say. Excellently done, really enjoyed the walk through the past.

[Hogan 1,406]

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