Golden Knights roster review: Brayden McNabb

Background

Brayden McNabb’s game is just like the pickup truck he drives.

He’s dependable. He’s missed seven games in three seasons with the Golden Knights.

He’s tough. He’s one of the NHL’s premier hip-check artists. He’s never afraid to mix it up in front of his own net.

And he’s willing to do the grunt work while shinier, flashier players grab everyone’s attention. McNabb would scarcely be featured on a Knights’ highlights reel. But he would have done a lot of the work to make those plays possible.

As a result, McNabb is one of the Knights’ unsung heroes. He’s an understated defenseman who shows up, plays hard, handles tough assignments and happily cedes the spotlight to his teammates. His best games are the ones in which he goes unnoticed.

None of that has changed this season.

“We love having him out there,” former Knights coach Gerard Gallant said in January. “He does an unbelievable job on our penalty kill, and he plays against the top players every night. We don’t talk a lot about him, but he does his job perfectly.”

Performance

McNabb was thrust back into a familiar role this season: shutdown defenseman.

He and partner Nate Schmidt were often tasked with slowing opposing top lines. It’s a role the two performed well. McNabb’s shot attempts percentage (52.87), scoring chance percentage (53.59) and high-danger chance percentage (55.13) showed the Knights controlled the puck more often than not when he was on the ice at five-on-five.

Considering how tough his matchups were, that’s impressive. Schmidt credits McNabb for making it possible.

“He frees up a lot of room for a lot of guys, me in particular, so I really appreciate that,” Schmidt said in January. “You just have so much faith in him to the point where when the puck is on his side, I can start looking up and trying to find other guys coming into the zone not having to worry because I know he has such a good stick and blocks a lot of shots.”

McNabb ranks second on the team in penalty kill time, behind Deryk Engelland. His heavy lifting makes the lives of his teammates easier, and it’s a key reason for the Knights’ success.

Future

McNabb’s role shouldn’t change anytime soon.

The 29-year-old is under contract for another two seasons at a reasonable $2.5 million annual cap hit. That means he and Schmidt can continue to be a shutdown pair for the foreseeable future, giving defenseman Shea Theodore easier matchups to exploit offensively.

McNabb, of course, has no problem with that.

“It’s a fun role for me and a challenge for sure,” he said in January. “I like playing against the other team’s top players. It’s fun for Schmidt and I. We know we work well together. Some nights are more challenging than others, but it’s a part of the job. I never care if I don’t get any credit.”

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.