(All stats are as of 2/15/16)

When the Devils signed David Schlemko this summer a lot of people, including myself, were a bit confused by the signing. The Devils had a plethora of young defensemen fighting for roster spots with the NHL club and it didn’t seem that there would be a regular role for Schlemko. He was also coming off a rough season in 2014-15 where he had 4 points in 44 games between the Flames, Coyotes and Stars.

Despite those poor numbers, there were reasons to be optimistic about Schlemko having a bounce back season in 2015-16. One stat used to help better predict whether a player will regress or bounce back is “individual point percentage” (IPP). IPP shows how often a player is given a point when his team scores a goal and when he’s on the ice. The league average for defensemen is just around 30%. Schlemko’s IPP last season was just 8% (via Puckalytics).

If you were a team like the Devils looking to make low-risk, high-reward signings last summer, Schlemko was just the kind of player you were looking for. He’s enjoyed quite the season for the Devils so far. In 49 games played, he leads Devils defensemen with 7 goals and 9 assists for 16 points. He’s fifth on the team in shot suppression; allowing 45.8 shot attempts per 60 minutes. That’s also second best for defensemen on the team, just behind Eric Gelinas.

Despite his solid shot suppression numbers, Schlemko’s zone start rate in the defensive zone is only 25.4%; only Gelinas has a lower rate. Hynes has been sheltering whoever plays on the bottom defensive pair, whether is Gelinas, Schlemko, or Merrill. They don’t get the toughest defensive assignments and rightfully so. Those are consistently given out to Andy Greene and Adam Larsson, who lead the team in in defensive zone starts at 41.9% and 42.7%, respectively.

While Schlemko may not be given the tough defensive assignments, his play on the power play has been invaluable to the Devils this season. Prior to this season, he had 11 power play points in his whole career. Through forty nine games this season, he already has 10 and will most likely continue to add to his total.

Just how good has Schlemko been on the power play? In his last 11 games, he has 6 points and is producing at a rate of 13.3 points per 60 minutes. Only Travis Zajac has a better number than Schlemko during that time span. He’s a big reason why the Devils power play has converted on just under 50% of their chances since before the All-Star break.

On the season, Schlemko is producing at a rate of 7.07 points per 60 minutes with the man advantage, which is the best mark on the team by a wide margin. The next best number on the team is Travis Zajac’s 5.50. His 7.07 points per 60 is also second best in the entire league for defensemen behind Kevin Shattenkirk and just ahead of Shayne Gostisbehere.

Schlemko doesn’t just rank highly amongst defensemen in the NHL either. His 7.07 points per 60 is good for eighth best in the NHL amongst all players who have seen more than fifty minutes with the man advantage this season. Even though he’s seen limited ice time on the power play compared to other players in the NHL, it still gives you a good idea at the rate he’s producing with the man advantage this season and shows how valuable he is for a Devils power play that is producing at unbelievable rates over the last month or so.

With his value high and being on an expiring contract, Ray Shero may decide to move Schlemko at the trade deadline, especially if it can help bolster the team in the long-term. If he is indeed moved, the Devils got all they could’ve asked for and more out of him. His power play totals are the best of his career by a wide margin and he has helped make up for the struggles of Jon Merrill and Eric Gelinas. He’s helped put the Devils in a position that many of us thought they wouldn’t be in at the start of the season. At the end of the day, that’s the most we could ask for.