New York Islanders Mid-Season Player Grades

6 of 8

NHL: New York Islanders at Boston Bruins /

First Defensive Pair

Only one of the Isles current top pairing of Nick Leddy and Adam Pelech (in for Travis Hamonic) made the top defensive pair based on my rankings. And he’s the rookie. Based on 5-on-5 production and Corsi-differential compared to the rest of the league Adam Pelech ranks number one for Isles defensemen.

Remember that defencemen were ranked against other defencemen. So when I talk about the league I’m talking about all other defencemen in the NHL.

79. <table> <tbody> <tr> <td align=. New York Islanders. . Adam Pelech

Adam Pelech has been a revelation this season. He’s only played in 13 games for the Isles this season, but he’s slotted in perfectly next to Nick Leddy on the Isles actual top pairing. Only 9% of the league’s defensemen have produced more points-per-60 than Pelech. He’s also the only Isles player to record an even Corsi-differential at zero. I can’t wait to see more of Pelech this season.

72. <table> <tbody> <tr> <td align=. New York Islanders. . Dennis Seidenberg

Dennis Seidenberg has been fantastic for the Islanders. It’s hard to believe that the same GM signed him is the same one that signed Andrew Ladd. After being bought out by Boston it seemed to be all over for Seidenberg at the NHL level. Until he showed well at the World Cup of Hockey. And his form has thankfully carried over. To be fair, he’s a little insulated on that third defensive pairing. But his numbers don’t lie.