Meet the NHL’s Next Great Shutdown Defender!

[Music] [Applause] Wyatt Kaiser is quietly becoming one of the most reliable pieces on the Chicago Blue Line. And through the opening stretch of the season, you could make a real argument that he’s been their top defenseman. Fans have definitely noticed. His name keeps popping up in my comments. Everyone wants to talk about Kaiser every game, it seems. And for good reason. Fans spent the summer talking about his potential, his future, and those long contract negotiations that dragged right up until training camp. When he finally locked down his spot last season, it felt like the beginning of something real. And the way he closed out last year, it raised the bar, raised the belief, and set the stage for what this season could become. Seven games into the 2026 season, he’s delivering on all of it. The eye test, the analytics, pick your angle. Kaiser’s checking every box. And if you’ve been watching those game score impact cards lately, you’ve probably seen the same trend I have. Kaiser’s name keeps leading near the top. Sunday Night was just another example. If you dig into the numbers on natural stat trick and filter for skaters who have logged at least 110 minutes at five on five through Sunday, you’ll find Wyatt Kaiser sitting in some elite company. He currently ranks 10th in the entire league and ninth among all defenseman in expected goals 4%. Basically, the stat tells you how much quality offense a player creates compared to how much they give up the other way. To put that in perspective, there are some bigname bluel liners sitting below him on that list. Mortz Cider, Seth Jones, Quinn Hughes, and Brock Faber, all trailing Kaiser in expected goals 4% early on. Now, I’m not going to sit here and pretend to be the biggest analytical junkie on the planet. I think advanced stats matter, but I don’t treat them like they’re all that matters the way some people do. Still, when the numbers are screaming at you, it’s hard to ignore them, especially when they line up perfectly with what you’re seeing on the ice. According to Moneypuck, Kaiser ranks 19th out of 119 NHL defenseman with at least 100 minutes played in all situations. When he’s on the ice, Kaiser is only giving up 2.58 expected goals per 60. And it gets better. So far, his plus minus rating of plus 6 is tied for third best in all of hockey. So, it’s not just the spreadsheets, it’s not just the eye test, it’s both. and that’s usually when you know you’ve really got something. We’ve also been seeing a different edge to Kaiser’s game this season. He’s playing with more bite than in any of his previous NHL looks. Through seven games, he’s already been credited with 10 hits. That’s 1.42 per night, a big jump from his career average of just 0.83. That same trend also shows up in his takeaway numbers. He’s forced six turnovers in these first seven games. For comparison, his careerhigh was 23 takeaways over 57 games last season. It doesn’t take a math whiz to see he’s tracking well ahead of that pace. When you look at the first round picks the Blackhawks have made since Davidson launched this aggressive rebuild, the spotlight has been intense. There’s been constant talk everywhere about the pressure on those young guys to grow into franchise level players. And for the ones taken at or near the top, that microscope is even tighter. Artim Levinov and Sam Renzel are widely seen as Chicago’s future pillars on the blue line. And it’s no coincidence that early this season, Levinov has spent most of his minutes next to Kaiser, while Renzel has been paired up with Alex Vlic. In a way, that dynamic adds a new kind of pressure on Kaiser, who’s only 23, and Vic, who’s only 24. They’re still growing into their own NHL games. Yet, they’re also being asked to guide the organization’s next wave at the same time. However, there are still moments that remind you Kaiser is learning, like the late penalty he took on Sunday. But those flashes are getting overshadowed by something far more important. He’s starting to look like a defenseman who belongs in key situations, playing real minutes on a team that expects to climb, not one that’s preparing for another top five pick. [Music] [Applause] [Music]

Wyatt Kaiser is quietly becoming one of the most reliable pieces on the Chicago blue line, and through the opening stretch of the season, you could make a real argument that he’s been their top defenseman.Fans have definitely noticed. His name keeps popping up in my comments, everyone wants to talk about kaiser every game it seems and for good reason. #chicagoblackhawks #nhl #chicago #blackhawks #wyattkaiser #nhl #hockey #icehockey
Main @MSZFilms
Audio Credit @WhiteBatAudio

22 comments

  12. It would be pretty nuts if the Hawks had 4-5 or even 6 legitimate top pairing defensemen in the system.. Obviously having too much talent is a good problem to have but it can also add an element of uncertainty and chaos because if you have multiple top pairing defenseman, you cant give them all the ice time they've earned, deserve or should get based on their talent and potential – especially when they're young and still developing… So over the next few years the Hawks are going to have to make some difficult decisions, and until proven those decisions will be criticized… So the Hawks may be in a situation a couple of years from now where they're loaded – because keep in mind some of these later picks are going to pan-out too, the Hawks WILL have some draft steals that may make some of the young studs today indispensable, so it will be interesting to watch everything that unfolds with this team over the next few seasons, because even right now they look BETTER than the Hawks looked in 2007 when they were at the same point in their rebuild before they became the team of the 2010's. And look at how much legitimate NHL talent that rebuild produced… The point being is that we're finally starting to see this team come to fruition after years of bottom feeding and if the Hawks play their cards correctly and chose wisely they could have an even better team or potential dynasty than the one that came before them …

  13. This teams gonna be like 2009 we are a year ahead of schedule we need to add some legit players like the ducks….get me Tage Thompson Kyle he's exactly what we need

  15. Love this kid , he probably will pass other Hawk D prospects that were drafted much higher. No wonder he held out for more $. No worries , if he keeps growing and stays healthy his next contract will be fine

  22. I know it may have meant cutting your own highlights from raw game footage but would have liked to see more clips of Kaiser "shutting down" other team's offensive threats like the video title foreshadows. Most of the clips were Kaiser contributing offensively…

    Also, I'm not sure the money puck ranking him 19th of 119 NHL defensemen has the same punch to it when apparently #3 on that list is Conor Murphy? Otherwise great video!

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