Carolina Hurricanes Defenseman Jaccob Slavin is a Hidden Gem in the NHL
Anyone who follows the Carolina Hurricanes knows that Jaccob Slavin is one of the most underrated players in the NHL. It is time his presence is know around the league.
Since November 20th of 2015, the Carolina Hurricanes and their fans have been graced with Jaccob Slavin‘s presence on their blue line. 125 games later, it is no surprise to anyone who cares about Canes hockey that Slavin finds a way to make a positive impact in every game he plays in. The guy is simply a stud and arguably the Carolina Hurricanes’ best player this season.
Despite his early NHL success, Slavin is almost always overlooked as one the league’s top young d-men. A lot of that has to do with Slavin playing in a smaller hockey market. Still, if you look at the company he is with, it is wildly unfair to keep disregarding him as a elite, young NHLer.
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For example, lets look purely at offensive production. Among blueliners in the league that are under the age of 24, Slavin (who is 22) ranks 13th in points and 9th in assists this season. He outpaces more renowned players than himself like Aaron Ekblad and Morgan Rielly in both categories. Even on the Hurricanes, Slavin is only 2 points behind Justin Faulk‘s season total.
As Canes fans know, Slavin doesn’t make his money from his offense. He is a complete, all-around, puck moving defenseman. So let’s look at his entire game. In two areas in particular, you can really see just how good he is. The first is plus/minus and the second is when he is shorthanded.
Although plus/minus can be a misleading statistic, in this instance, it shows just how impressive Slavin’s overall game is. For defensemen under 24 years of age, Slavin is tied for 4th at +14. The only other players in the top 10 in this catergory who don’t play for playoff caliber teams are his partner Brett Pesce and Winnipeg’s Josh Morrissey. Slavin doesn’t have the luxury of dynamic offenses to buoy his rating unlike Seth Jones, Zach Werenski, and Matt Dumba, all who rank above him.
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Even if that doesn’t convince you Slavin is special, his play shorthanded certainly is. Slavin plays on one of the league’s best penalty kills (it was the best before the Canes traded Ron Hainsey). Slavin is 11th in the league in total ice time shorthanded. He also has the league lead in shorthanded points with 3, tied with Mark Giordano. At this point, it should be no surprise that Slavin also is 6th in the league in short handed blocked shots.
Still not convinced?
What more does this kid have to prove? Just wait though, he has one more mind blowing stat to share with everyone. Out of the entire league, Slavin has the most takeaways this season with 64. The next closest player is T.J. Brodie with, wait for it, 51. That’s right, Slavin has 13 more takeaways than the next closest NHL player.
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Again, to Canes fans, none of this is much of a surprise. To everyone else though, this is probably a pretty big shock. Slavin isn’t flashy and he plays for a very underwhelming team right now. But here is the thing. Jaccob Slavin is a seriously good NHL player and until he gets the recognition he deserves, he will be the Carolina Hurricanes’ little secret.