Anton Stralman
#6 / Defenseman / New York Rangers
5-11
193
Aug 01, 1986
Birthplace: Tibro, SWE
Drafted: 216th (TOR)
| Assets | Has plenty of offensive and puck-moving skills. Owns decent size. Is good on the power play point, mainly due to a hard, accurate shot. |
| Flaws | Struggles to defend against big forwards in the NHL. Doesn’t play a physical game at all, which limits his overall defensive effectiveness. |
| Career Potential | Offensive depth defenseman with a little upside. (Assets, Flaws, and Career Potential via The Hockey News player page) |
Career Individual Usage, via somekindofninja (click to enlarge):
2013 Rangers Player Usage, via Hockey Abstract:
Why you should know who he is – Stralman is fifth amongst John Tortorella‘s defensemen (behind Dan Girardi, Marc Staal, Ryan McDonagh, and Michael Del Zotto) in ice time, but has spent significant time with several different partners this season, including McDonagh in Game 48. Stralman is coming off a strong 2011-12 postseason run with the Rangers, putting up six points from the blue line in 20 games (while only averaging 16:55 of ice time per contest). While the Swedish-born defenseman won’t be knocking knuckles with any of Washington’s forwards, he possesses a smart first instinct on the breakout and can contribute in the offensive zone with his hard, low shot and peripheral awareness. If you need a painful reminder of his offensive abilities, recent playoff memory has one.
How the Caps can stop him – While much of the Capitals‘ focus will be rightly placed on defensemen Girardi and McDonagh it would be foolhardy to overlook Stralman’s ability to get the Rangers up and running through neutral ice and the potential damage he can do inside the offensive zone. Washington will need to physically engage the smaller Stralman to keep him honest and force turnovers in his own zone. In the offensive zone Stralman’s shots tend to find their way through bodies and can turn into fantastic rebounds for the Rangers’ hungry forwards. To eliminate Stralman’s outside threat the Capitals’ wingers may need to stay a step high in the defensive zone to keep him from creating looks for the other four blue shirts on the ice.