With Gudbranson's newfound skating ability, Fabbro returning close to the form he showed last year and Severson cutting down on turnovers and living up to his contract, I am really beginning to think that under Bowness, the CBJ top six Defensemen are as good as any in the NHL.

I want to however give a special shout out here to the youngest member of the D corp, Denton Mateychuk. I saw his advance analytics in an article in the Athletic earlier today and that data matched my eye test since the first puck drop back in October: this young guy has grown into a mainstay top four D and has the potential to be an NHL top two D. Think about this comparison: Zack's first full year in the NHL, in 78 games had 11 goals and 36 assists. Thru 61 games in his first full year in the NHL, Mateychuk has 11 goals and 17 assists. I'm not saying Denton is a lock to keep developing on that same trajectory, but that is pretty good company to keep so early in his career. As a bonus, he seems to fit into the locker room really well for such a young guy.