Spoiler alert now that I've done the work for you, yes they do. So let’s get right into it. Here are two of the top-rated defencemen in the NHL when it comes to assists per 60 minutes of ice time. One obvious, one not so much.

Quinn Hughes

• Playing fast: passing in motion, deception

• OZ blue line: not afraid to hold onto the puck, eyes always scanning

• Puck protection: extended possession until something opens up

Hughes’ control hand, his bottom hand, pushes the puck and helps ensure accuracy on his passes. Just like the forwards, the last clip shows Hughes clearly scanning the ice prior to touching the puck after a D-zone faceoff. He doesn’t like what he sees, though, and opts for a drop pass, which ultimately ends in a goal at the other end.

Mattias Samuelsson

I know, I’m surprised too. But Buffalo’s resurgence in 2026 had to start somewhere, and as every defenceman will tell you, it usually starts with the D. Samuelsson led the league in primary assists per 60 minutes of ice time during the 2025/26 season. Let’s see how he did it.

• Under-handle: get it, move it, use indirects off the boards

• Work to position: don’t just get open, get your forehand in a position to receive a pass and be an easy target for teammates

• Deception: fool the forechecker, give it to Dahlin, winning formula

As has become tradition, pay close attention to the last clip for the scan before retrieving the puck. This is a detail that allows Samuelsson, a player none of my players had ever heard of (I asked), to play with a superstar like Rasmus Dahlin, a player all my guys know.

Rasmus Dahlin isn’t a left D or right D, he goes where he wants, when he wants, and Samuelsson has to read off that and be ready to make and take a pass at any time.

Awesome. I am obsessed with this stuff.