Henrik Zetterberg of the Detroit Red Wings is one of the best players in the National Hockey League that you don’t hear too much about. This might be changing after the spectacular start he’s had to begin this season. Through 11 games Zetterberg has a league leading 20 points, 9 goals(tied for second best in the league) and 11 assists(tied for second best in the league), amounting to a 1.82 points-per-game average. He has put up a point in every game so far this season. Putting up points isn’t all that Hank does either, he’s one of the best defensive forwards around. He has a +8, good enough to be tied for 11th, to go with that point total. So why doesn’t a league leading point getter and a fantastic two-way player get much attention? Your guess is as good as mine. I’ve been waiting for years for #40 to be nationally recognized for the player that he is. He's even more special considering he was drafted in the seventh round. Placed on a line with Pavel Datsyuk, a paring nicknamed the “Euro-twins”, and Tomas Holmstrom, they make one of the most dynamic and powerful lines in the NHL. They’re role is usually against the top defensive and offensive parings of the opposite teams which shows how dominant they are considering the each are higher than +13 and Hank with a +26 last season. Zetterberg’s +26 is impressive considering he also added extensive penalty kill time throughout last season. One thing is for sure, if he keeps up his point-getting madness and solid defensive play, it’ll be impossible for others to not recognize him as one of the NHL’s elite players.
Picture from NHL.com
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