With NHL 25 about to release, EA Sports has given fans a preview of the top-10 players at different positions. Roman Josi ranks the highest of any Nashville Predator in any position, sitting in second amongst left defensemen in the NHL this year.
There is really no arguing that Josi deserves to be ranked in the top-2 as he finished second in Norris Trophy voting last season as well as in 2021-22. This is assuming the team that creates the overall ratings for players takes from a few seasons back as well.
Josi is a former Norris Trophy winner too, he hasn’t just placed second a couple of times. He has received votes for the best defenseman in the NHL in nine of the last 10 seasons, only failing to earn a vote in 2022-23 despite scoring 18 goals and 59 points in 67 games. With a full season, I guarantee Josi gets a little Norris attention.
The only defenseman that ranks higher than Josi in NHL 25 is the Norris Trophy winner from last season, Quinn Hughes. While Josi is the only d-man to receive a 93 overall rating, Hughes is a 94 overall. The closest defensemen behind Josi are both Miro Heiskanen and Victor Hedman at 92 overall.
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Josi has gotten better with age it seems. He does everything for the Predators. He has averaged over 24 minutes of ice time per game for 11 consecutive seasons and recorded his second point-per-game season of his career. It also happened to be the second in the last three years.
Nashville’s captain scored 23 goals and recorded 85 points in 82 games. He logs an immense amount of time on the power play and sees some time on the penalty kill as well. This all came at 33 years old and there isn’t much sign of him slowing down. There’s a chance Josi only gets better again this season as the Predators have vastly improved around him. He will definitely live up to the high rating this season.
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