According to Sportlogiq, by primary assist rate, Doughty's 0.67 per game is tied for second in the league and is tops among all defencemen. In only six games, Doughty has one goal and seven assists, with a 1.17 assists per game rate that ranks only behind Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid right now. The sample size is small this year because of that injury, but Doughty's offensive numbers have been promising nonetheless.
In both of the two games he's played back from an injury (which he returned a few weeks early from) Doughty was on the ice for around 27 minutes. In Los Angeles, Doughty continues to play a big role, leading the team in average ice time a game (24:11) and playing in every situation. So should he make it, and how do you fit him on? And he's not at the end of his career at 31 years old. Team Canada loves him, he played at the last World Cup and the past two Olympics. In building out a potential line-by-line, pair-by-pair breakdown for Team Canada this week, Doughty wound up as my "extra" on the blue line just to get him on the team, but he feels like a player who absolutely could end up in the top six. This is the conundrum we face when trying to find a way to put right shot Drew Doughty on Team Canada's roster. Even if the lefty-righty split by pair isn't as important to a non-Mike Babcock coached team, it's hard to imagine not taking at least a second lefty. Of those five names, just one is a left shot, so it's reasonable to assume a second lefty will need to get picked out between the likes of Morgan Rielly, Darnell Nurse, Bo Byram or perhaps a more subtle defensive option like Devon Toews. 1 defender leads all NHL blue liners in scoring right now. And then there's Aaron Ekblad - Florida's No. Dougie Hamilton? Some will see him as a bubble player, while others will call you nuts for thinking he doesn't have a spot here. Shea Theodore is Pietrangelo's Vegas teammate and the best left shot defender Canada has to offer. Cale Makar? He might wind up being the team's best blue liner. Alex Pietrangelo was one of the first three named to the team, so he's on. Depending on your opinion, the men's Canadian Olympic team (with NHLers) could have as few as three and as many as five defence spots locked down.
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