Dylan DeMelo is never going to rival John Carlson in the defenseman scoring race. What Dylan DeMelo may do, however, is establish himself as one of the most underrated, unknown, highly-effective commodities in the National Hockey League today. Since being acquired by the Ottawa Senators in the trade that sent Erik Karlsson to San Jose, DeMelo has done nothing but good things. His start to the 2019-20 season, in particular, emphasizes that he is a player who can make the most out of any situation.
The blog title reads as follows: The Unsung Hero. It’s a hyperbolic claim to consider a third-pairing guy as an unsung hero, to be sure, but it’s also one that is meant to highlight just how good DeMelo has been for the Ottawa Senators this year. The Senators roster is really, really bad - almost completely devoid of elite-level NHL talent. For DeMelo to be doing what he’s doing with the cast of characters around him is beyond spectacular; it’s quite frankly unbelievable.
Consider that, per Natural Stat Trick, 131 defenders have played at least 250 minutes of five-on-five action in the league this year. Among them, DeMelo ranks 25th in CF%, helping the Senators to control 53.47% of the shot attempt share when he’s on the ice. Ranking 25th doesn’t sound excessively impressive on the surface, but drilling down further into the numbers reveals even more.
Exhibit A: Perhaps most impressive is the fact that DeMelo ranks 2nd among those 131 defenders in five-on-five expected goal share. This is while playing for a team that is competing for Alexis Lafreniere rather than the Stanley Cup. He does this by driving play in the offensive zone for the Senators; he moves the puck up the ice with ease, which leads to him ranking second in expected goals for per 60 minutes of five-on-five ice. He’s an unsung hero because he’s making things happen without any of the associated points or accolades coming his way.
With all this in mind, the Senators have a really interesting decision to make. In DeMelo, they currently have affordable control of one of the league’s premier third-pairing defenders. The question is whether the team re-signs the pending Unrestricted Free Agent, or deals him for futures at the trade deadline:
Ottawa Senators Blogger • 
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