Defenseman John Carlson is the NHL’s surprise points leader so far

Just as we all predicted, the NHL’s points leader in the late stages of October is none other than Washington Capitals’ defenseman John Carlson.

Early season hockey play often generates weirdness. Outside of playoff hockey, October hockey may be some of the most fun during a season thanks to the general unknown of the first few weeks of the year. So far in the 2019-20 hockey season, teams like the Buffalo Sabres and Edmonton Oilers have impressed while usual powerhouses like the Tampa Bay Lightning have been middling in the early goings.

It’s usually difficult to take early season NHL trends as gospel since there’s so much hockey left to be played, but when the NHL’s overall leader in points is Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson, it’s time to take notice.

The hockey season is a few weeks deep now, with teams starting to level out as more games start to be played. The top of the NHL’s leaderboards in terms of points looks to be how you’d expect it to look with names like David Pastrnak and Connor McDavid, but instead it’s defenseman Carlson leading the league with a mind-blowing 20 points in 11 games played for the Capitals.

Carlson also leads the NHL in assists (15) and is one of only four players to hit double digits in helpers so far this season. With the amount of points Carlson has totaled so far this year, he’s become the fourth defenseman in history to register 20 or more points in the month of October. Out of those defenseman, Carlson became the second fastest to do so, just one game behind Paul Coffey in the 1988-89 season.

More from NHL

• NHL Rumors: Latest on Hart, Hellebuyck, Gibson trade possibilities
• NHL Rumors: 5 forwards most likely to sign early extensions this summer
• NHL Rumors: Where things stand with Erik Karlsson, Penguins and Hurricanes
• NHL Rumors: Penguins nearly traded for Erik Karlsson at deadline
• New York Islanders Rumors: Isles could lose prospect, Parise’s future in the air, need for youth

Those stats are something to behold, considering Carlson also got to 20 points on the season faster than anyone in franchise history, including prolific goal-scorer Alex Ovechkin. If you’re besting Ovechkin at something, especially something that includes putting points up on the board, you’re having a phenomenal season.

It’s safe to say this start for Carlson has been the best of his 11-year NHL career. The defenseman is on the Capitals’ top pairing every night, and at an average of 25:37 minutes per game via Hockey Reference, Carlson is far and away the Capitals’ most used skater so far in the early goings of the season. Carlson’s shooting percentage is at an all-time high of 21.7 percent, a number that will no doubt decline as his career shooting percentage sits at 5.8 in his first 10 NHL seasons.

Even with a regression likely headed for the defenseman — as his 149 point pace is incredibly unsustainable even for a top-end forward — the fact that a blue liner is leading the NHL in total points this season is something to celebrate. Carlson has put up points in all but one of his games this year, and is currently riding an eight-game point streak after adding two goals Tuesday night in Calgary.

Everything is going right at the moment for Carlson and the Capitals. The team is leading the Metropolitan Division with a 7-2-2 record, having won four in a row thanks to the hot hand of Carlson, and his hot start has been a fun surprise to start the 2019-20 hockey season when we normally see the league’s top forwards get a jump early in the standings.

Carlson’s overall point pace may be unsustainable, but it’s very possible the defenseman sticks around in the Art Ross conversation as one of the NHL’s top point producers. The goals will no doubt go down for the defenseman, but playing on the team’s top line means he’ll be feeding Ovechkin passes to his office at the left circle for the remainder of the season. Not a bad spot to be in to rack up the points.

Last season was Carlson’s best in terms of point production, as he posted a career-high of 70 points in 80 games, while also totaling a career-best 57 assists on the season. If the defenseman can stay healthy over the course of the season, there’s no reason not to believe that Carlson could put up another year of career statistics thanks to this historic run of games.