Fighting has stirred up quite the discussion in Vancouver this week. The Canucks' rookie defensemen, Zeev Buium, Elias Pettersson, and Tom Willander, took their practice to a new level by working on their fighting skills. Then, on Thursday night, Buium put those skills to the test, dropping his gloves in a clash with LA Kings defenseman Brandt Clarke.
To dive deeper into this topic, I teamed up with Dan Gallant from hockeyfights.com, a go-to resource for tracking hockey bouts across leagues. With its comprehensive database, we compiled a list of NHL rookie defensemen who have also taken part in fights this season.
Let's start with Alexander Nikishin of the Carolina Hurricanes. He faced off against Oliver Moore, and it was a clear victory for Nikishin, with 93% of voters on Hockey Fights giving him the nod.
Adam Wilsby made headlines when he delivered a big hit on Tyler Pitlick. The broadcast caught Vinnie Hinostroza skating over to Wilsby, asking the age-old question, "You want one?" Though the cameras were a bit slow to catch the action, the moment was captured.
Logan Mailloux has had a couple of tough encounters this season. He squared off against Colton Dach and later against Zack Ostapchuk. Unfortunately for Mailloux, he came up short both times, with all voters siding with Ostapchuk in their recent bout.
Tampa Bay’s Declan Carlile has taken on some of the league's toughest players, like Jonah Gadjovich and Garnet Hathaway. His fight with Gadjovich was part of a heated preseason game against Florida, and he faced Hathaway in January. Carlile has also seen action in the AHL this season.
Alec Regula had a showdown with Tye Kartye, while Donovan Sebrango of the Florida Panthers has been particularly active, dropping the gloves five times. Despite being mostly a healthy scratch, Sebrango has stepped up as an enforcer in his 29 appearances.
Honorable mentions go to Scott Morrow and Dmitri Simashev, who each participated in an AHL scrap.
In total, six of the 29 rookie defensemen in the NHL have fought this year, including Buium. With 11 games left in the season, there’s still time for Tom Willander to join that list. Stay tuned to see how these rookies continue to make their mark, not just with their sticks, but with their fists as well.