Every NHL team wants and needs a reliable shutdown presence on their blue line, and the demands of the contemporary game mean that they also have to skate well, make a solid first pass, and get the puck up ice without issue.
If you’re looking for that sort of player at the 2023 NHL Draft, then Sioux Falls Stampede defenceman and Michigan State commit Maxim Štrbák is your guy.
“I’d say I model my game after Moritz Seider. I think he’s a bit more offensive than me,” Štrbák told EP Rinkside. “There are some similarities, and he’s a very physical player. He can pass the puck up the ice offensively. He plays a really modern type of hockey, and I like to watch him. NHL teams like that as well.”
A goalie’s best friend is a defenceman who you can get the puck to and know it will be safely transport
