Jake Walman

Last Season

Eight goals and 20 points in 53 games, on just under nineteen minutes a night. The minus-17 is ugly and is partly inherited: he has spent most of his career on teams that were outshot every night.

The Finesse Game

He skates beautifully. Long, easy strides, real top speed for a defenseman, and the ability to carry the puck out of trouble rather than pass out of it — he will take the puck end to end two or three times a game and it does not look forced when he does.

The shot is heavy and he gets it through. Eight goals from the back end in 53 games is a genuine rate, and it comes from a willingness to walk the line and find a lane rather than firing blindly into shin pads.

The reads are good rather than perfect. He joins the rush aggressively, and the judgment about when to go has improved a great deal over the last three seasons without becoming conservative.

The Physical Game

Six-one and 218, and he is stronger than he looks. He defends the rush with his feet, closes gaps well, and is willing to finish a check, though nobody would call him punishing. He has an edge to him that occasionally spills over into the sort of penalty that makes a bench sigh.

The Intangibles

He was a third-round pick who took the long route — St. Louis, Detroit, San Jose — and arrived here as a legitimate top-four defenseman at an age when most players have stopped improving. That is unusual and speaks well of him.

The reservation is defensive consistency. He will lose a coverage in his own end, and the same aggression that produces his offense is what produces the goal against. On this roster that is a trade the club is happy to make.