The advent of analytics for hockey has done much to change the way we view the game, and in a lot of cases, it has also shifted the perception of players. One of those players is Shea Weber, whose status as one of the league's best defenseman has been called into doubt by some of the new metrics.
For many, it's hard to square that skepticism with what they see from Weber on the ice.
Weber seems to check all the boxes for an NHL defenseman. In 2013, McKeen's Hockey said that the 6'4", 236-pound rearguard "can suffocate one-on-one, exploiting a strong body, textbook positioning, and impressive foot speed." That trio of qualities would seem to make Weber the definition of an elite shutdown rearguard.
Add in perhaps the most powerful slap shot in hockey and a high degree of hockey sense, and the typical analyst ends up sounding a little like the mother from Seinfeld when he discusses Weber.
The contradiction lies in the fact that the Nashville Predators really haven't been better with Weber on the ice than they have with him on the bench. When we look at the team's performance at even strength since the 2012 lockou ...
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Article written by Jonathan Willis
Is the Nashville Predators’ Shea Weber Really an Elite Defenseman?
March 26th, 2016 by Jonathan Willis Leave a reply »
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