The top 10 left and right-handed defensemen in NHL 25 have been revealed.
NHL 24 cover star Cale Makar headlines the list at 95 overall, followed by one of NHL 25’s cover athletes Quinn Hughes at 94 overall, and 2020 Norris Trophy winner Roman Josi at 93.
Hughes won the 2023-24 Norris trophy and led defensemen in scoring with 92 points. Josi and Makar were the Norris runners-up and were the second and third-highest scoring defenders.
The top 20 defensemen by overall are:
Cale Makar – 95
Quinn Hughes – 94
Roman Josi – 93
Miro Heiskanen – 92
Victor Hedman – 92
Charlie McAvoy – 92
Adam Fox – 92
Rasmus Dahlin – 91
Devon Toews – 89
Josh Morrissey – 89
Jaccob Slavin – 89
Jonas Brodin – 89
Noah Dobson – 89
Alex Pietrangelo – 89
John Carlson – 89
Evan Bouchard – 89
Brett Pesce – 88
Moritz Seider – 88
Zach Werenski – 88
Drew Doughty – 88
The top 20 contains six Norris Trophy winners in Makar, Hughes, Josi, Hedman, Fox, and Doughty, and one nominee in Carlson. Those seven players have 21 combined top-three finishes in Norris voting.
Shea Theodore, Thomas Chabot, Erik Karlsson, Dougie Hamilton and Kris Letang drop out of the top 20 from NHL 24’s original top 20, replaced by Jonas Brodin, Noah Dobson, Evan Bouchard, Brett Pesce, and Zach Werenski.
View the 7 images of this gallery on the original article
The biggest overall improvements from the end of NHL 24 are Brodin going from 87 to 89 and Pesce from 86 to 88, highlighting their defensive skills.
Aging defensemen Pietrangelo and Carlson seem a tad high, but given their accolades an 89 is justifiable. Bouchard was incredibly important to the Edmonton Oilers‘ cup run and his overall should see a boost if he starts the season strong.
Hughes and Makar were listed among NHL 25’s fastest skaters yesterday. Some additional attribute highlights include 96 passing for Makar, Hughes and Fox, 94 stick checking for Slavin, 94 slap shot power for Bouchard and Hedman, and 93 wrist shot power for Carlson.
A deep dive into each defenders attributes can be seen on the EA website.
NHL 25 will be available on early access Sept. 27, and will be released in full on Oct. 4.
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