Babcock calls Morgan Rielly “one of the best players in hockey”

Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly has picked off right where he left off this season with an outstanding three goals and 13 points in his first 13 games of the 2019-20 NHL season. Rielly, of course, finished with a career high 20 goals and 72 points in 2018-19 and even garnered himself some Norris Trophy consideration last campaign.

This season, Leafs head coach Mike Babcock believes his star defenseman has established himself as “one of the best players in hockey.”

Babcock made the declaration to the media yesterday when discussing his team’s power play formation. 

Check out the video below:

It says a bit grandiose, especially for someone who has never received a major award nomination, but Rielly’s numbers don’t lie so far this season. Having said that, Washington Capitals blueliner John Carlson is blowing away the Norris Trophy competition early in the season with an incredible 13 goals and 21 points in just 13 games. Roman Jose, Brent Burns, Kris Letting and Dougie Hamilton are also having outstanding seasons so far, so let’s just pump the brakes on calling Rielly, “one of the best players in hockey.” That’s not even taking into account the seasons that forwards like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are having. I mean... McDavid are nearly averaging two points per game apiece. If they can continue to keep up anything remotely close to that pace over an 82 game season, you'll be hard pressed to find anyone, Babcock included, who doesn't believe McDavid is King of the Castle. 

Still, there’s no denying Rielly’s impact on his team and it’s clear that his stock is rising across the league. Teams have started to key in on him during the Leafs’ break out and it’s clear that Rielly has become a target of the opposition on the forecheck. Let’s just hope the 25 year old can continue to take the punishment and keep putting points on the board the way he has so far this season. So far, so good, but the season has just begun. Let's reserve such praise to see how Rielly performs over the course of a gruelling 82 game schedule.