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Niklas Hjalmarsson is Chicago Blackhawks’ Most Underrated Player

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By @seansarcu

Nick Hjalmarsson Chicago Blackhawks

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On a Chicago Blackhawks roster loaded with star talent, it’s easy for the less flashy players to go unnoticed. No member of the roster exemplifies this more than Niklas Hjalmarsson, who is by far the most underrated Blackhawk.

With Duncan Keith taking on less minutes and being used in a more balanced role for the past several seasons, the toughest defensive assignment each night has been left for Hjalmarsson. The sturdy Swede has flourished in the shutdown role, spearheading the defensive corps of the league’s best defensive team in 2012-13 while also gradually developing a more refined offensive game.

When he was used as a shutdown player, Keith’s success was attributable to his absurd speed and instincts. Hjalmarsson is fairly slow on his feet, but he makes up for it with impeccable positioning; few players demonstrate the spacial understanding of how to simultaneously fill both a shooting and passing lane like Hjalmarsson does. He has also helped make Johnny Oduya — generally regarded as a minus defender prior to his time in Chicago — into an above-average player in his own zone.

Across the league, people hear “Chicago” and think of Keith, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa. Hjalmarsson’s contributions are close to (or are) just as valuable as what that group brings to the table, but he doesn’t get much publicity for it. He’s one of the best bargains in the NHL, signed at a $4.1M cap hit through 2018-19 in the same world that has Brooks Orpik making $5.5M annually.

He’ll never get quite the recognition he deserves, but make no mistake about it: Chicago’s vast success has as much to do with Hjalmarsson as it does the team’s sexier names.

Sean Sarcu is a Chicago Blackhawks writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter or add him to your network on Google.

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