NHL's best Under-rated player. Who knew?

So next time you are sitting around in a bar with friends catching a game. Try a different formula to measure which player is truly under-rated.

*Warning: many of the factors in my formula are intangible so you must pay close attention while measuring your selection.

During any game you watch you will assuredly hear the colour commentator mention a certain player being used in the "key" moments of the game. (i.e. big face-offs or defending in the last minute while the opponent has an extra attacker). This is generally what you need to watch for.

Shot-blocking is a huge stat in my opinion as well. It proves dedication and determination in a player. A desire to ensure success. (note: I grant forwards more points for shot-blocks than defensemen, only bceause most times a forward must make a concentrated effort to block a shot. Defensemen get credited with shot-blocks when a puck happens to hit them while they clear slot area).

Ice Time or lack thereof is another scoring tool. A player that seems to leave his mark on the game even though they play 3rd line/5th-6th defensemen minutes. Matt Stajan was an excellent example of a player that did this well in his days under Pat Quinn in Toronto.

The final factor of the formula is the one you must be most patient with. It's simply familiarity. You as the judge must take the time to watch a player or an extended period of time. We all spew out the intangibles about the players on our favourite teams, yet usually use stats to prove or disprove how good/bad a player on another team is. That is simply because we have grown an appreciation for the players on our favourite team over time. This is the same approach you must apply when trying to judge the best under-rated player.

Point totals are a by-product of what this player does well. Again the player with the highest point total out of this group of players does not necessarily mean he is the best. Points must be factored in with the other units of the formula. Again Brendan Morrsion would have been a prefect negative example of using points. Compared to the players we are talking about he would have played far more minutes on average per game and most certainly would have been paired with better line-mates.

Finally, I won't name one player I think is the best under-rated player in the league right now. Instead I'll name a few I think are deserving of getting consideration the next time you have this discussion with other armchair hockey experts.

Rod Brind'Amour, Blair Betts, Matthew Lombardi, Johan Franzen (even after his playoff performance), Henrik Tallinder, Vern Fiddler and Patrick Sharp to name a few.

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