Luke Schenn is having a nice season.

One may look at the 16 points and minus 1 rating for Luke Schenn this year and assume he is having a poor season. Nothing could be further from the truth however. For one thing his average ice-time per game of 22:30 is higher than that of more reknowned defensemen Chris Pronger, Tomas Kaberle, Tyler Myers and Bryan McCabe. Perhaps that is a statement of the overall calibre of Toronto's defense brigade, but some other numbers show that Schenn is earning his playing time.

Schenn is first among defenders in Hits with 206, 22 more than second place Brent Seabrook and he sits 7th among D-men in Blocked Shots with 144. When these two categories are combined we get a real nice example of defensive prowess. Schenn is first overall among NHL defensemen in combined Hits and Blocks.

  1. Schenn, Tor 350
  2. Girardi, NYR 345
  3. Zanon, Minn 305
  4. Seabrook, Chi 302
  5. Gleason, Car 284
  6. Peckham, Edm 283
  7. Robidas, Dal 283
  8. Weber, Nsh 274
  9. Seidenberg,Bos 271
  10. Giordano,Calg 269

Not alot of big point producers on the list, but it's obvious that value is determined in stats other than goals and assists for defensemen, and Luke Schenn is definitely among the best of the under-rated young d-men in the game today.

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