6/17, 11:00 AM - Building the Protoypical Team Part VII: Shutdown Defensemen
Shutdown Defenseman #1: Mike Komisarek (Montreal Canadiens)
Statistically Komisarek led all defensemen in hits and blocked shots in 2007-08 and was tied for 12th in takeaways.
Anecdotally, Komisarek was one of the few defensemen who could line up across from Alexander Ovechkin this past season and not look completely overmatched. He’ll never put up too many points, but any coach should feel comfortable matching Komisarek against his opposition’s top players or lines.
Shutdown Defenseman #2: Anton Volchenkov (Ottawa Senators)
Volchenkov is similar to Komisarek in many ways: he’s a big player, he has a heavy shot, he loves to hit and he’s one of the NHL’s best when it comes to blocking shots. What puts Volchenkov behind Komisarek is his tendency to get caught out of position going for a big hit and his overall lack of ability when handling or moving the puck.
Others considered: Hal Gill, Robyn Regehr, Jason Smith, Scott Hannan, Barret Jackman, Greg Zanon, Brendan Witt