Vegas Golden Knights fans voted Brayden McNabb as this year’s recipient of the team’s Seventh Player Award.
The Seventh Player Award recognizes the player whose performance on the ice most exceeded fan expectations this season.
Previous winners include William Carrier (2022-23), Nicolas Roy (2021-22), Alec Martinez (2020-21), Chandler Stephenson (2019-20), Ryan Reaves (2018-19), and William Karlsson (2017-18).
This year, that award is going to Brayden McNabb — and he is more than deserving of it.
He’s as reliable as it gets in the NHL, appearing in all 82 games for the second consecutive season. Only two other VGK players — Ivan Barbashev and Jonathan Marchessault — played in all 82 games this year.
For a team that saw every other defenseman miss time this season, McNabb was a bit of a security blanket.
But he operated more like a brick wall. His 207 blocks not only led the team, but it set a new career high and ranked third in the NHL.
And he was excellent on offense, too.
His four goals were his most since the 2017-18 season (the Vegas Golden Knights‘ inaugural season). He also tied a career high with 22 assists and set a new career high with 26 points.
Not bad for a defenseman.
McNabb and Shea Theodore form one of the best defensive pairings in the league. If the Golden Knights want to make a run at another title, they’ll need this pair to play their best hockey of the season.
The good news is they have Alex Pietrangelo, Noah Hanifin, and Martinez to lighten the load.
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