“Few things can help an individual more than to place
responsibility on him, and to let him know that you trust him.”
-- Booker T. Washington
It is an example of the turnover on the Washington Capitals
blue line that at the age of 26 and having played in more than 60 games in a
season twice in five seasons with the club, Dmitry Orlov is now second among current
Capitals defensemen in games played with the franchise (283). Orlov, who appeared in every regular season
game of the past two seasons, has developed into a productive offensive player
from the blue line. Orlov (14-48-62,
plus-38, over the past two seasons), along with John Carlson (17-59-76, plus-23)
and Matt Niskaken (10-61-71, plus-30), provides a trio of reliable offensive
contributors on defense.
Orlov also provides a physical dimension in his play that
does not get much attention outside of the occasional highlight-worthy hip
check…
Over the past two seasons Orlov has 243 credited hits, trailing
only Niskanen (304) and Brooks Orpik (306) among Capitals defensemen.
If there was a cloud over his 2016-2017 season, it was in
the way his production slipped a bit in the last half of the regular season. After going 4-22-26, plus-23 over his first
51 games, Orlov was 2-5-7, plus-7 over his last 31 games. Nevertheless, he was a top-three defensemen
for the club in a number of categories:
- Games :82 (T-1st)
- Goals: 6 (2nd)
- Assists: 27 (3rd)
- Points: 33 (3rd)
- Plus-Minus: plus-30 (2nd)
- Penalty Minutes: 51 (1st)
- Shots on Goal: 125 (3rd)
There are odd facts (below), and there is what might be an
odd reflection of his youth and picking his spots in games. The grittier arts of defense are hitting and
blocking shots, and for Orlov the results did not exactly align in terms of
outcomes. In 16 games in which he
recorded three or more hits, the Caps were 8-6-2. Meanwhile, in 23 games in which he blocked
more than one shot, the Caps were 17-5-1.
Odd Orlov Fact… Dmitry Orlov is the third defenseman in
Capitals history to appear in at least 250 games by the age of 25, score at
least 20 goals, record at least 75 points, and post a plus-minus of plus-40 or
better. The others are Mike Green and
Scott Stevens.
Bonus Odd Orlov Fact… All six of Orlov’s goals last season
were scored at home, and all of them were recorded in wins, and all of them
were against Eastern Conference opponents.
Fearless’ Take…
Dmitry Orlov was the 20th defenseman selected in the
2009 entry draft (second round/55th overall). He has outperformed his draft position in his
statistical rankings in his class of defensemen:
- Games: 283 (10th)
- Goals: 20 (10th)
- Assists: 73 (9th)
- Points: 93 (9th)
- Plus-Minus: plus-43 (2nd)
- Penalty Minutes: 114 (13th)
And, even though he has averaged less than 18 minutes per
game in his career to date, his per-82 game scoring line of 6-21-27, plus-12,
is an impressive scoring line for a defenseman who has been a regular for only
two seasons.
Cheerless’ Take…
Two seasons, 24 postseason games…no goals. He attempted 57 shots in the 2017 postseason
last spring without finding the back of the net. Only six of 75 defensemen with no goals in
last year’s playoffs did so with more shots on goal than Orlov (21). You could call this an odd fact, but Orlov has
one point, an assist, in 13 career home playoff games. Then there is the matter of ice time in the
postseason. The Caps are 5-0 when he
skated fewer than 13 minutes, 8-11 in games in which he skated more than 13
minutes.
Potential Milestones to Reach in 2017-2018...
Potential Milestones to Reach in 2017-2018...
- 300 games (currently has 283)
- 100 assists (currently has 73)
- 100 points (currently has 93)
The Big Question… Is Dmitry Orlov ready to move up into a more
responsible role -- a top pair role -- on a permanent basis?
Unless Caps General Manager Brian MacLellan pulls a rabbit
out of his hat and makes a trade for a defenseman, Dmitry Orlov is going to be
asked to do more for the Caps this season on a regular basis. Orlov is already getting a bigger dose of responsibility as a “veteran” skating along with one of the young defensemen
the Caps have brought into training camp.
There are other responsibilities that might start showing up on a more regular
basis. For example, last season Karl
Alzner averaged 3:03 per game in shorthanded ice time. Orlov averaged 14 seconds per game. One might expect that to change.
One thing unlikely to change much is Orlov’s even strength ice
time, since his 18:09 per game average last season led the team. Orlov has demonstrated an ability to
contribute on the power play. He was
1-5-6 in 93 minutes of power play ice time last season. However, with Carlson and Niskanen still with
the club (they were first and second, respectively, in total power play ice
time last season), he would seem unlikely to get much more, if any more ice
time on the power play.
In the end…
Last season, with Orlov and Nate Schmidt being young,
relatively inexperienced and untested defensmen, the Caps felt the need to go
out and secure a bigger, more proven producer for the blue line in Kevin
Shattenkirk as part of its “all-in” strategy.
Schmidt is gone, as is Shattenkirk, and Orlov will be working without a
net. In somewhat limited situations,
Orlov had demonstrated a certain level of responsibility in terms of his possession
numbers. Last season Orlov was ninth
among all NHL defensemen playing at least 1,000 5-on-5 minutes in Corsi-for
(54.32 percent; numbers from naturalstattrick.com).
Departures create opportunities for prospects. They also expand the range of
responsibilities for players entering the prime years of their careers. When combined with the investment that the
Capitals made in Orlov this past summer – a new six-year/$30.6 million contract
for the would-be restricted free agent – he will be asked to take on a broader
set of responsibilities. It is the
natural progress of a player of whom Barry Trotz said when he arrived in
Washington, “we talked about a young player being patient, allowing him to
grow, allowing him to make mistakes, allowing him to get to the next level. And
with a good plan and his work ethic and him buying into it, he’s turned himself
into a pretty good player, a good piece for us, and he’s getting paid for it.”
Orlov is now a more well-rounded player who has grown into the next level and
in whom the Caps are placing a good deal of trust this season.
Projection: 82 games, 9-29-38, plus-24
Photo: Patrick Smith/Getty Images North America