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Vegas Golden Knights First Half Report Cards: Defensemen

By Richard Cardinale

LAS VEGAS, NV - DECEMBER 23: Nate Schmidt #88 of the Vegas Golden Knights warms up prior to the game against the Washington Capitals at T-Mobile Arena on December 23, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/NHLI via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - DECEMBER 23: Nate Schmidt #88 of the Vegas Golden Knights warms up prior to the game against the Washington Capitals at T-Mobile Arena on December 23, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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There’s a ton of defensemen depth on the Vegas Golden Knights roster, but there’s still room for improvement.

Everyone, including me, was extremely curious about the Vegas Golden Knights defense in the offseason. Not one defenseman averaged over 20 minutes last season for their former team. But Golden Knights Head Coach Gerard Gallant came into training camp with a plan.

In the preseason, Gallant planned to have all three defense pairs to split even ice time to and see who could/could not keep up with the NHL’s pace of play. The Golden Knights brought in ten defensemen for two reasons: A) to battle it out for roster spots and B) use defensemen as trade chips. However, they’ve yet to make any trades in the regular season thus far.

They’ve seen some players already exceed their expectations and some players underwhelmed in the first half of the year. Here’s how I’ll grade: Player performance, expectations coming into the season and the role the player serves. So without further ado, here are my grades for the blueliners of the Vegas Golden Knights. Jason Garrison and Clayton Stoner get incomplete grades due to not reaching the minimum amount of games.

Deryk Engelland

LAS VEGAS, NV – OCTOBER 10: Deryk Engelland #5 of the Vegas Golden Knights addresses the fans on the tragedy of the prior week in Las Vegas before the game between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Arizona Coyotes.
LAS VEGAS, NV – OCTOBER 10: Deryk Engelland #5 of the Vegas Golden Knights addresses the fans on the tragedy of the prior week in Las Vegas before the game between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Arizona Coyotes. /

Before coming to Vegas, Deryk Engelland was your prototypical middle of the road 5th/6th defenseman. I expected him to fill that role accordingly except he’s done so much more for this team on the ice and off it.

For those who don’t know, Engelland is a Las Vegas resident and loves this city. And when the tragic events of October 1st occurred, no one on the Golden Knights was more disturbed than the big 6’2 214 lb blueliner. When it came time for the home opener, everyone fell in love with Engelland for the speech he made to the people of Las Vegas.

As for his performance, Engelland has never looked better. He’s been a fantastic mentor to his pairing partner Shea Theodore. The Edmonton, Alberta native has put respectable numbers thus far totaling three goals, ten assists, and 13 points in 40 games played.

It’s almost certain that the 35-year old will set new career highs for his offensive numbers because of the ice time Gallant has given him. However, Engelland isn’t the type to score and put up a ton of points, but he’s physical, trustworthy, and defensively sound.

Engelland has shattered all expectations, and it looks like he’s getting better as the year goes on. It’s unclear if he signs an extension with the Knights in the offseason, but he’s been a pleasant surprise to watch this year.

Grade: B

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