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There may be no harder role in hockey to genuinely assess than that of the “elite defenseman.”

Between the differences in subjective opinions regarding what constitutes a good defenseman and the fact that many aspects of the position can’t be identified by statistics alone, most debates surrounding blueliners’ value often descend into chaos (just ask anyone who had anything to say about the last couple Norris Trophy winners).

Such is the case with Calgary Flames defender T.J. Brodie. The 26-year-old has risen through the ranks over the past couple seasons, drawing plenty of praise from those who see him often, and even some mild appreciation from the rest of the hockey community.

For those who see him often, calling Brodie elite is a no-brainer. But understanding the complexities of what makes his game above-average takes more than a quick glance at the numbers – advanced or otherwise. That’s simply the nature of the position.

A top-tier defenseman can put up points, demonstrate exceptional passing ability, or earn their wages by shutting down the best in the game – all of which can, more or less, be tracked statistically. But there are always outlying skills that also warrant consideration.

Offensive awareness isn’t simply the predecessor of piling up points, there’s also something to be said for a defender who has the skating ability and stickhandling skill to create space in all three zones. This is necessary in order to set up offensive plays directly (in the case of the neutral and offensive zones) or to push the play up ice with a perfectly placed first pass (in the case of the defensive zone).

And more crucial than that is the decision-making process that contributes to when a defender should jump up into the play and when they should hang back. This is again tied to factors like speed, skating ability, and stickhandling skill, as these all determine precisely how much risk a player is willing to take without getting burned.

On the defensive side, there’s an entirely different spectrum of skills to be assessed. Positioning, awareness of who is on the ice and deserving of closer coverage, the ability to not only read and cut off plays but to also bait opposing forwards into certain plays that are more easily defended.

And then there’s the matter of adding enough physicality to be able to win puck battles in key areas of the ice while still playing an intelligent game focused more on moving the puck than laying out the opposition.

There’s a vast criteria of skills involved in building an elite defenseman, and while statistics are crucial in highlighting some of these – often the most important ones – it takes first-hand viewing to appreciate the full scope.

And so we come to Brodie. First, a look at the numbers.

The Flames star’s first full season (aside from the lockout-shortened campaign in 2012-13) came in 2013-14. He amassed 31 points in 81 games that season, before upping that total to 41 points in the same number of games in 2014-15, and finally posting 45 points in just 70 games last season (which projects to roughly 53 points over a full 82-game season).

He’s averaged over 24 minutes a night in each of those three campaigns as well (over 25 minutes a night in the past two) while seeing significant time in all situations.

There are certainly aspects of Brodie’s game in need of fine-tuning. His shooting has fluctuated notably year-to-year, and he’s piled up an increasingly large number of turnovers over the past few seasons – though part of that comes with the territory of being one of his team’s primary puck-carriers (his 91 giveaways last season still ranked below other notable puck-carriers like P.K. Subban, Brent Burns, Drew Doughty and Erik Karlsson).

But as stated above, it takes a first-hand account of Brodie’s game to appreciate the finer details of what makes him so valuable. So let’s dive in to a few examples:

The two defining aspects of Brodie’s game, aside from his top-end fundamentals, are his patience and his mobility. Go back and watch film of the Flames while Brodie was injured. They were a much more frantic group, especially in their own end.

Brodie has an effortless, calming presence on the blue-line. It’s precisely for that reason that he and Mark Giordano work so well together. While the latter plays a more frenetic, relentless style of defense, Brodie brings a smoother, more patient style that seems to balance the pairing out.

That patience plays a key role in his offensive effectiveness, as is the case in the clip below – Brodie pinches in along the wall, but rather than forcing a play that isn’t there, he simply waits until something materializes, before firing a no-look pass onto the stick of Johnny Gaudreau:

Plays like the one above aren’t rare when Brodie is involved. And it does’t necessarily take Gaudreau being left alone in the slot for him to capitalize. He has enough skill to keep the puck on his stick for a longer period of time if he must, and again he often does so until the right play materializes, as is the case below:

His exceptional skating ability is on display in both of those clips, but the true value of that mobility comes in his own zone, as the young rearguard isn’t afraid to utilize his strengths to clear the zone when needed. Take these few examples, in which Brodie relies on his escapability in situations wherein others might opt for physical board play:

And yet, that flashy defensive style is combined with a more traditional awareness of the need to get under sticks, cut off dangerous plays, and create separation, as is the case here:

And here:

The result of the accumulation of that skill is Brodie reigning as one of the league’s best when it comes to clearing his own zone. Sportsnet‘s Andrew Berkshire confirmed as much in his recent piece discussing the finer details of efficient transition play.

Looking at players “who play a lot, are very involved in the play, have high raw zone exit numbers, but also see zone exits and loose puck recoveries represent a large percentage of their plays with the puck,” Berkshire assembled the following chart highlighting the game’s most efficient defenseman, in terms of their ability to move the puck out of their own zone in a controlled fashion:

Interestingly, of the 10 players identified in the above chart, Brodie ranked third, behind only Karlsson and Subban, when it came to blending that high-quality defensive zone ability with key offensive contributions and a heavy workload (he put up more points and played more minutes per night than the remaining seven defenders).

With all of that information in tow, it would seem natural that Brodie hear his name mentioned somewhere in the conversation of the game’s top blueliners, if only sparingly. But truthfully, he’s very rarely part of the discussion.

In many instances, he hasn’t even cracked top-20 lists. Part of the problem is that his value is grounded in the fact that he’s a well-rounded defenseman, not necessarily an elite scorer or possession player.

However, another factor seems to play a crucial role, and it’s the same issue Nashville’s Roman Josi has dealt with for the past few years. Quite simply, Brodie is often overshadowed because of his also-elite defensive partner, Giordano.

And considering the little attention the Flames get from the hockey community as a whole already, it is undoubtedly a recipe for anonymity.

The similarities between Brodie and Josi are fairly easy to spot. While the latter rearguard (who is the same age as Brodie) is much further along in his development and is truly establishing himself as being among the highest echelon of NHL defensemen, both succeed via a style grounded in exceptional skating ability and both have been largely ignored by the average hockey fan because they play with a big-name partner.

It’s taken arguably up until this year for most who weren’t already aware of Josi’s talent to realize the full extent of his skill, as it’s long been the Shea Weber show in Nashville. And yet, Josi has tallied a combined 116 points over the past two seasons (61 last season and 55 the year before), plays over 25 minutes a night, and gives away the puck far less than other notable offensive defenders (Brodie included).

Brodie appears to be on a similar trajectory, improving each season and redefining Flames fans’ perception of their club’s defensive corps.

While Giordano reigned supreme as the team’s number-one option for years, Brodie’s recent breakout has started to tip the scales slightly. The younger rearguard overtook Giordano in 2015-16 in terms of average ice-time – albeit by a slim margin – and proved to be, at the very least, as important as his veteran partner when it came to the team’s overall success.

Only just approaching his prime, the 2016-17 season figures to be a notable one for Brodie. A significantly improved goaltending tandem – Brian Elliott and Chad Johnson – should allow the Flames to play with less hesitation, and a beefed up forward corps, which now also includes Troy Brouwer and some gambles like Linden Vey and Alex Chiasson, should give the talented distributor even more outlets for his expertly placed dishes.

Giordano doesn’t seem destined to be shipped out of town, a la Shea Weber, any time soon, but it still seems Brodie may be on the cusp of putting forth a performance just dominant enough to force the hockey community to learn his name regardless.

Flames defender T.J. Brodie is the next Roman Josi