Kraken's Star Defenseman Named One Of The Five Most Underappreciated Defenseman In The NHL

julian gaudio

Tue, Aug 20, 2024, 1:50 p.m.·2 min read

Seattle Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn was named one of the five most underappreciated defensemen in the NHL according to Jacob Stoller of The Hockey News.

Who are the most underappreciated defensemen in the #NHL?@JLStoller lists his five:https://t.co/cj4m7e2Vuw
— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) August 20, 2024

Dunn is 27 years old and is entering his fourth season with the Kraken after they selected him in the expansion draft from the St. Louis Blues. With the Blues, Dunn showed flashes of being a two-way top-four defenseman but in his second season with the Kraken, he had his breakout campaign.

In 81 games he scored 14 goals and 64 points, finishing 10th in goals and points among defensemen.

His offence from the blueline has been greatly appreciated by the Kraken but his ability to play against the opponent's top line at 5-on-5 and play critical minutes on the penalty kill has increased his value exponentially.

H-I-S-T-O-R-I-C!

Vince Dunn scores the first-ever #SeaKraken goal at @ClimateArena! pic.twitter.com/qVWhhoyRLu
— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) October 24, 2021

Stoller has noticed this and the stats back up what he thinks of Dunn.

"Vince Dunn is probably just shy of being Norris-worthy, but boy, has he ever been a fantastic pickup for the Seattle Kraken. Over the last two years, Dunn has stealthily evolved into one of the NHL’s best puck-moving defensemen. The mobile, six-foot 27-year-old can make effective plays with the puck in all three zones. Since the start of the 2022-23 season, Dunn ranks eighth in 5-on-5 goals per 60 minutes (0.43) and seventh in 5-on-5 points per 60 minutes (1.49) among NHL defensemen who played at least 500 minutes, according to naturalstattrick.com."

The signing of Brandon Montour may mean that Dunn loses some of his power play time quarterbacking the top unit but his ability to play in every scenario will mean that Dunn won't lose his ice time.

Jared McCann featured in the forwards list and now Dunn has featured in the defensemen list and if both can continue to play well show why they shouldn't be considered underappreciated, the Kraken could find themselves in a playoff spot come April.

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