Imagine the thrill of the Chicago Blackhawks stringing together back-to-back victories – it's the kind of momentum that could redefine their season, especially with rising stars like Wyatt Kaiser and Jason Dickinson anchoring the defense like pros. As they gear up to hit the ice against St. Louis on Wednesday, fresh off a hard-earned win, it's the perfect time to spotlight these two unsung heroes on our day off from the action.
Wyatt Kaiser's standout defensive prowess
Kicking things off with the young defenseman Wyatt Kaiser, who's been turning heads right from the season's opening face-off. Just yesterday, HockeyStatCards dropped an update on net ratings, and guess what? Kaiser is deadlocked for the top spot in the entire NHL alongside Los Angeles' Brandt Clarke. For those new to hockey analytics – and trust me, these stats can feel like decoding a secret language at first – net ratings measure a player's overall impact on the game's flow, factoring in everything from scoring chances to puck possession. This early in the 2025-26 campaign, it puts Kaiser squarely in the conversation as one of the league's premier shutdown blueliners.
Diving deeper into the numbers via Natural Stat Trick (check it out here: https://www.naturalstattrick.com/playerteams.php?fromseason=20252026&thruseason=20252026&stype=2&sit=5v5&score=all&stdoi=oi&rate=n&team=ALL&pos=D&loc=B&toi=65&gpfilt=none&fd=&td=&tgp=410&lines=single&draftteam=ALL), we've got nine NHL defensemen who've logged at least 65 minutes of even-strength (that's 5-on-5) play through Tuesday's matchups. Kaiser's expected Goals For percentage (xGF%) clocks in at an impressive 52.03, landing him fifth overall. To break it down simply: xGF% estimates how many goals a team should score based on the quality of chances created during a player's shifts – it's like a crystal ball for offensive potential while defending. He's trailing only heavyweights like Gustav Forsling, Devon Toews, Drew Doughty, and Adam Fox. And get this: only Doughty edges out Kaiser in expected Goals Against at 1.76 compared to Kaiser's 1.95, which tracks the goals opponents are likely to score against you. Doughty and Fox? They've got Norris Trophies on their shelves as league-best defensemen. Forsling and Toews have snagged votes for that honor too. For a young Blackhawk, rubbing shoulders with this caliber of talent is no small feat – it's the stuff that builds legends.
Jason Dickinson's defensive brilliance taking center stage
Shifting gears to forward Jason Dickinson, whose two-way game is lighting up the stat sheets in ways that scream reliability. Per Natural Stat Trick (link: https://www.naturalstattrick.com/playerteams.php?fromseason=20252026&thruseason=20252026&stype=2&sit=5v5&score=all&stdoi=oi&rate=n&team=CHI&pos=S&loc=B&toi=0&gpfilt=none&fd=&td=&tgp=410&lines=single&draftteam=ALL), after four games, the Blackhawks boast five skaters excelling at 5-on-5 with a Scoring Chances For percentage (SCF%) of 50 or better. SCF%, by the way, counts high-danger opportunities that could lead to goals, giving us a snapshot of who's generating real threats. Leading the pack is Dickinson at 64.71, followed by Ryan Donato (58.33), Artyom Levshunov (57.14), Kaiser (56.41), and Louis Crevier (50.00). Remarkably, this same group surges past 50% in xGF%, with Dickinson topping them all at 69.13 – that's elite-level chance creation even while locking down the opposition.
Zooming out league-wide (minimum 32 minutes at 5-on-5), Dickinson sits 11th in xGF% and 17th in SCF% as of Tuesday's tilts. He's also 12th in Shots For percentage (SF%) at 68.42, which measures how often his line peppers the net compared to the foes. But here's where it gets intriguing – and maybe a tad controversial: Dickinson is the sole player cracking the top 15 in both SF% and xGF%, plus the top 20 in SCF%, while posting a Corsi For (a possession metric tracking shot attempts for versus against) below 50%. In other words, he's thriving in advanced metrics despite not dominating the puck battle outright. Is this a sign of smart, efficient play, or could it be a small-sample fluke that regresses? That's the debate worth having.
More Blackhawks updates to keep you in the loop
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And this is the part most people miss: while Kaiser's and Dickinson's stats scream promise, skeptics might argue it's too soon to crown them as franchise cornerstones in a rebuilding phase. But what do you think – are these performances sustainable, or just early-season fireworks? Drop your takes in the comments below; I'd love to hear if you're bullish on the Blackhawks' defensive future or if there's a counterpoint I'm overlooking!
