Perhaps one of the best pure defenders I have seen out of this 2008 class is Ryan Hecker, and I think there will be a team more than happy to select him when their turn comes up to make their pick. His strong defensive play is part of what allowed Chicago Mission’s offense to operate at such a high level. He times his stick checks well, closes down players quickly and effectively, and engages physically by means of throwing a big hit or pinning his man up against the boards and wrestling the puck away. He defends odd-man rushes very well by taking away the pass and then smothering the puck carrier before he is able to get a shot away or slip the puck across. I have no doubt that his defensive prowess has been noted and I think he has earned every bit of that recognition.

There were some very important defensive involvements from Ryan Hecker in this contest and he wound up being a very important part of why his team were able to avoid having this game slip away. There were some odd man rushes for the Rockets that Hecker was tasked with breaking up and he was able to do so in a very effective manner, using his well timed poke checks to intervene after patiently waiting for the attacker to get into a position where he could break up the play. He had an excellent dive that blocked a pass on a two on one that was almost certainly going to lead to a high danger chance. He stuck to the puck carriers very well and was able to keep the play in front of him and quickly close down and get physical with the opposition. He is hugely important to their team and showed precisely why in this one.