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Colorado Avalanche: Samuel Girard does all the little things right

By Dave Stevenson

MONTREAL, QC - JANUARY 12: Colorado Avalanche defenseman Samuel Girard (49) looks on during the warmup of the NHL game between the Colorado Avalanches and the Montreal Canadiens on January 12, 2019, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by Vincent Ethier/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - JANUARY 12: Colorado Avalanche defenseman Samuel Girard (49) looks on during the warmup of the NHL game between the Colorado Avalanches and the Montreal Canadiens on January 12, 2019, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by Vincent Ethier/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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The Colorado Avalanche have had a pretty disappointing 2018-19 season. Samuel Girard’s emergence on the blue line gives them hope for the future. 

Entering this season, the Colorado Avalanche were coming off a surprising postseason appearance. Despite a strong start, they are most likely going to miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs. To say the Avalanche are disappointed is an understatement. They’ve wasted terrific seasons from Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen. One of the few bright spots on the team has been the emergence of Samuel Girard.

The Avalanche loved the young defenseman so much, they targeted the then Nashville Predators blue liner as a part of the Matt Duchene blockbuster trade. It’s easy to see what they loved about him. Girard might be small, but his potential is sky high. After earning a full-time spot in the Avalanche’s lineup last season, he’s emerged as one of their best defensemen.

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One could argue he has been their best defenseman this season, or at least their most efficient and effective. According to Evolving Hockey, Girard’s 1.4 WAR is the highest among all Avalanche defensemen.

Most of this value comes from his extremely unique ability to draw penalties without committing them. In fact, no defenseman in the league has more value here than him, according to Evolving Hockey. Girard ranks 10th among all defensemen with at least 800 minutes at five-on-five in penalties drawn per hour. Everyone above him also tends to commit penalties, piling up no fewer than 1.08 penalty minutes per hour at even strength.

Meanwhile, Girard has the third-lowest penalty minutes per hour rate among all defensemen. Only John Klingberg and Trevor van Riemsdyk are more efficient at staying out of the penalty box. This is extremely rare to see from a defenseman, especially one who plays as much as Girard.

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At the age of 20 years old, he already has two seasons with at least 20 points in his first two seasons. The list of defensemen to accomplish this feat since the 2004-05 lockout is small. Here’s a full list.

Three of those players have won at least one Norris Trophy. An additional one (Jones) was a Norris Trophy finalist last season. The low end of these players are Myers and Trouba, both of whom received more playing time per game than Girard. Hanifin and Girard the only two players on the list to play less than 1,500 minutes in each of their first two seasons.

He has a very unique skillset for a defenseman. Girard is listed at 5’10” and 162 pounds. Both are below average for defensemen. He’s able to survive at a position filled with bigger players by excelling with his stick work and skating.

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The Avalanche are building around their blue line. They already have Tyson Barrie and Erik Johnson. Girard’s emergence, along with Cale Makar proving he’s NHL ready, could lead to one of them being expendable in a trade for some much-needed scoring help. At just 5’9″, he is proving small players can play anywhere on the ice. Even at a position historically dominated by size.

All stats are as of March 15.

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