While Cale Makar is tied for the highest-rated defenseman, Scott Wedgewood and Mackenzie Blackwood's overall ratings are credited to their successful seasons, with them cracking the top-20.
On Tuesday, the rankings and overalls for forwards were released for NHL 27, which included Nathan MacKinnon tied for the second-highest overall at 97, and four other Colorado Avalanche forwards with their ranks and overalls shown.
Today, the overalls for both defensemen and goaltenders were revealed, leading to the final rankings among all top players, including Cale Makar and Avalanche goaltenders Scott Wedgewood and MacKenzie Blackwood.
Makar In A Three-Way Tie For First
Makar, Zach Werenski, and Quinn Hughes have all been revealed to be 95 overall this season. The only advantage Makar has is that he is the highest-rated right-shot defenseman, with the second-highest overall going to Evan Bouchard at 91 overall. Both Hughes and Werenski are left-shot defensemen and are tied, with second place also being a tie with Rasmus Dahlin and Miro Heiskanen at 93 overall.
Though, according to the EA Sports NHL 27 Player Ratings, Makar is ranked the fifth-highest player, only behind Leon Draisaitl at four, Nikita Kucherov at three, MacKinnon at two, and Connor McDavid at 1. Behind him are Werenski at six and Hughes at 9.
Makar is coming off a season in which he finished with 20 goals and 59 assists for 79 points in 75 games played, earning him All-NHL Second Team honors and finishing second in Norris Trophy voting behind Werenski. Obviously, comparing last season to his 2024-25 season, which saw him score 30 goals and 96 points, it's a “down” season, but really, you can say it was.
While he played five fewer games, he also shot the puck less, dropping from 246 shots on goal to 199, and his shooting percentage from 12.2 to 10.1. He wasn’t a liability on the ice and still created so many scoring chances like usual, but alongside some cold streaks and the power play not helping the team out, it really hurt his production, which is still crazy to say when 29 of his 79 points came from the power play.
The Lumberyard Cracks The Top-20
The goaltender rankings have also been revealed, and both Wedgewood and Blackwood have cracked the top 20 list of goaltenders. Wedgewood has been given an 87 overall, which is a good ninth, just above guys like Lukas Dostal, Dustin Wolf, and Spencer Knight, but right behind guys like Jesper Wallstedt, Jake Oettinger, and Jeremy Swayman.
Blackwood was revealed with an 86 overall, ranking him 17th among goaltenders. That puts him above guys like Jet Greaves, Linus Ullmark, and Karel Vejmelks, but behind guys like Filip Gustavsson, Jakub Dobes, and Brandon Bussi.
It's a fair ranking for both goaltenders. It rewards and highlights the excellence Wedgewood showed last season, finishing with career stats across the board, including a 31-6-6 record, a .921 save percentage, and a 2.02 goals-against average in 45 games played. Both of those stats were the best among all qualified goaltenders last season.
Even for Blackwood, who started the season hurt and didn’t have a great season overall, but still managed to finish with a 23-10-2 record, with a .904 SV% and a 2.51 GAA, helping Wedgewood secure the William M. Jennings Trophy.
