With less games played than the rest of the West Division, the Vegas Golden Knights are sitting pretty in first place. They experienced a small speed bump on Thursday evening, getting shut out by John Gibson and the Anaheim Ducks, but the future looks bright for the club.
Speaking of the future, three young defensemen have been playing big, important minutes for the team in 2021. Zach Whitecloud, Nic Hague, and Dylan Coghlan have all been productive members of the team and are playing at a National League level.
Whitecloud finished last season and started this season with the big club. He has returned to reprise his role as a solid two-way blue liner. Whitecloud has maintained that he’s a player to be reckoned with in both ends and he’s showing it. Whitecloud recorded one assist and a plus-3 rating in his 16 regular season games last season.
Nick Holden got the opening night start alongside Whitecloud, but Hague quickly cracked the lineup and stuck. His chemistry with Whitecloud has carried over from their AHL days, as the top pair for the Chicago Wolves. The big fella, like Whitecloud, has been noticeable in all three zones, fresh off his 38-game 2019-20 season (1 goal, 10 assists).
First-pair defenseman Brayden McNabb went out with a lower body injury on January 27. Soon after, Alex Pietrangelo made it to the COVID list, but only missed three games played, thanks to a few postponements. Thankfully, Coghlan was available and ready to go, filling the void left by the two, top-pair vets.
Coming out of training camp, Head Coach Pete DeBoer spoke highly of both Coghlan and Hague, referring to the pair as “NHL ready defensemen”. He clearly knew what he had in them because both are playing well and are noticeably getting more comfortable with each shift.
“I got to know Dylan pretty well in the bubble (2019-20 playoffs).....He’s a world class skater.....He’s knocking on the door.”
- Pete DeBoer
In this past two-game set with the Ducks and a 1-0 shut out of the Avalanche, all three defensemen showed why they got the call and why the coach entrusts half of his defense corps to three first and second year players.
On Tuesday evening, the Golden Knights lost Shea Theodore for the entirety of the third period. Consequently, they coughed up a three goal lead, but even that was no problem for the young kids.
Hague played solid defense in his own end, using his long reach and big body to negate several Ducks opportunities. He made it hard for the Ducks to get in the zone and complete their passes due to his range.
Arguably just as important, he made smart and efficient breakout passes to get the puck going the other direction. Hague did have one puck, while playing with Coghlan, that took a bad bounce off the end boards, leading to a goal. Other than that, his night was commendable.
Coghlan did much of the same. He made smart passes, he was very decisive in the offensive zone, opting to shoot more than a rookie typically would. His offensive upside is valuable and without Theodore, it’s a necessity.
Taking a look at last season’s final 16 teams, following the play-in round, there were 45 defensemen with at least 20 points, but only 10 with 40+. It is evident that a solid, productive blue line helps teams make the playoffs, without necessarily needing one of the elite point producers. Of the 10 players with 40+ points, only two - Shea Theodore and Victor Hedman - made the conference final round.
Production from the blue line is crucial, even more so when your offense has been prone to cold streaks like we’ve seen in Vegas in isolated stretches. This season, the Golden Knights have two elite offensive defensemen in Theodore and Pietrangelo, but also have solid support in the three young blue liners and Alec Martinez.
All three kids will be feeling good, fresh off a 1-0 shutout of the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday evening. Nathan MacKinnon returned from injury and the Avalanche were still unable to score. The Vegas defense corps did a great job nullifying their skilled zone entries.
With 13-of-65 games in the books, the kids boast the following stat lines:
Dylan Coghlan: 6 GP, 0 goals, 1 assist, 1 point, 7 shots, 52.12 Corsi For % (EV)
Nic Hague: 10 GP, 1 goal, 3 assists, 4 points, 13 shots, 50.22 CF% (EV)
Zach Whitecloud: 13 GP, 2 goals, 2 assists, 4 points, 16 shots, 50.98 CF% (EV)
With no sign of slowing down, the Golden Knights will have a very bright future with these three skilled, up-and-coming defensemen. All three have 20-40 point potential and it will be a treat to watch them blossom. What used to be a National League weakness, has quickly become a strength of the Vegas Golden Knights.
They’ll put that defense back to work on Tuesday night in Vegas, for Game Two of their four game series with the Avalanche. Another win is crucial before they hit the road for the back half of the series, which includes the outdoor game at Lake Tahoe.
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