Christian Ehrhoff & Alex Edler

Could Vancouver end up with 2 #1 D-men by next year? I'm not expecting it, but I did not expect Ehrhoff to come in and perform the way he did.

At times, he legitimately looked like he was a #1 defensemen last season. I'll be interested to see if he can maintain that level of play next year. I'm thinking he can, although improvement from last year I think is expecting too much. He's a great skater with tremendous offensive vision, if he can pull his defensive game to the next level I don't see how anyone could say he's not a #1 d-man. I suppose if he brought his offensive game to yet another level, he could be considered a #1 as well, ala Dan Boyle or Mike Green. As it stands now, 9th in Norris voting, 3rd among defensemen in +/- with a +36, first among Canucks d-men with a TOI average of 22:47/game, and 1st among Canucks d-men in points with 44 points (13th overall amongst d-men).

Alex Edler made some real strides in the playoffs this past season, showing that he could use his body to make defensive plays and be effective. He was dynamite against the LA Kings and looked like he could be a #1 defender, especially when he played physical. He idolized Mattius Ohlund and adapted a bit of Ohlund's style, but he seemed to have left the physical aspect Ohlund has back in Sweden. If he is anything like Ohlund, he'll be a dependable, durable, solid defenseman in the NHL for years to come. I'm really hoping he takes the next step this year, but at the same time, we've been waiting for that next step for a few years now. I feel he's been a bit of the victim of expectations, he's a young D-man (24) and defensemen tend to be late bloomers, but if he doesn't take that next step soon I fear he'll be nothing more than a #3-4 d-man. Not that being a #3-4 is terrible of course, but Vancouver's swimming in that type of D-man currently.

Right now, it's wishful thinking on my part for Vancouver to have 2 #1 d-men by the end of this coming season. Stranger things have happened so I cannot rule it out (can anyone sit there and tell me they thought Hank Sedin would win the Art Ross and Hart Trophy? Ever?), but chances are, not gonna happen. I do feel that if any d-man makes the transition to a #1 defender, it'll be Ehrhoff, not Edler. Ehrhoff's entering his prime now and poised to lead the offensive charge in Vancouver. With the additions of Dan Hamhuis and Keith Ballard, I don't expect Edler to be relied on as much and that could impact his game, possibly for the better, possibly for the worst.

It'll be interesting to see how things unfold with these two defenders.