Old-style ‘D’ a big hit
WASHINGTON — As the NHL shifts toward speed and skill and away from size and physicality, defensemen like Deryk Engelland of the Golden Knights and Brooks Orpik of the Capitals are becoming rare species in hockey. Mobile puck-movers like Erik Karlsson are prized and behemoths like Hal Gill are gone.
Orpik went 824 days between goals before scoring the winner in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final.
In that span, the bruising defenseman blocked 446 shots and dished out even more hits. That won’t make him look more valuable on the stat sheet but certainly builds up respect among Capitals teammates.
“He plays extremely hard,” forward Tom Wilson said. “They don’t make ’em like Brooks Orpik anymore.” They really don’t. And yet Orpik and Engelland have helped their teams reach the finals and shown there’s still value in having a big defensive defenseman along for the ride — especially this time of year.
“In the playoffs, teams get to the net a lot harder,” Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. “Everybody’s jamming things at the net and everybody’s getting numbers to the net and trying to create chaos around them. Sometimes those stay-at-home guys are very valuable. They can box you out and protect your goaltender in terms of not having to face second and third shots. So they’re quite valuable in series where there’s a lot of net pressure and low play.”
Analytics don’t tell that story. Defensemen like Orpik routinely start in the defensive zone and are placed in positions to be on the ice for more shots Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 Game 6* Game 7* against than shots for, so the numbers aren’t pretty.
Orpik has the eighthworst Corsi percentage — a measure of shot attempts that simulates puck possession stats — among defensemen to play in at least 10 playoff games. Yet he has been incredibly effective at age 37 by clearing space in front of the net, delivering hits and clearing the puck out of the defensive zone.
“I know Brooksie from Pittsburgh and he stays in tremendous shape,” Engelland said. “You try not to have guys standing around in front of the net too much and give your goalie some room. He’s a physical presence back there and maybe gives guys a second less to think with the puck. It’s always good to have that on the back end.”
Maybe a decade from now there will be less of an emphasis on hulking defensemen hired to hit more than score. But Orpik and Engelland still represent the kind of throwback players teammates want to have around.
“They compete, they make it hard on guys in front of the net,” Capitals goalie Braden Holtby said. “They’re always thinking defensively with how they can help the team that way.”
Off the ice, there’s more players like Orpik and Engelland can do. Knights defenseman Nate Schmidt, who broke into the NHL as Orpik’s teammate in Washington, said Engelland has helped young Shea Theodore develop.
“They help guys on the mental aspect of things more than anything,” Schmidt said. “I think that’s where they really come into play. That really translates to guys being able to flourish on the ice.”