ST. LOUIS -- There were always glimpses of this kind of play with Vince Dunn when he was with the Blues.
Sure, the maturation of a young defenseman will give you ebbs and flows. There's good, and there's bad. But Dunn, who won a Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019, has really come into his own with the Seattle Kraken.
Dunn, who played in his 400th NHL game on Tuesday in Seattle's 5-3 win against the Blues, is in his sixth NHL season, the first four spent with the Blues.
He was a 21-year-old when he made his NHL debut averaging 17 minutes of ice time with a veteran-laden group; he averaged 17:14 his rookie season, then followed it up with 17:32, 16:16 and 19:15 in 2020-21.
The Blues had to make a decision in the summer of 2021: protect Dunn from the expansion draft where the Kraken would fill their roster, or leave him exposed and protect other assets at the time.
The Blues protected seven forwards, three defensemen, and one goalie. The Blues protected Colton Parayko, Justin Faulk and Torey Krug.
Dunn was exposed, and the Kraken pounced, giving a 24-year-old at the time a two-year, $8 million contract and Dunn has certainly not disappointed.
Now as a ripe, wily vet at 26, Dunn is thriving, playing on Seattle's top defensive pairing with Adam Larsson and averaging a career-high 23:50. He already has set career-highs in assists (33) and points (44) in just 60 games.
Dunn has Seattle poised to make the playoffs in its second season, and although maybe at the time his omission from St. Louis was tough at first, it's evident that moving to the Northwest has paid huge dividends.
"I think just opportunity and confidence," Dunn said. "Coaching staff and the management, my teammates have put me in really good positions to succeed. So I think just taking the opportunity whenever it’s given. It’s been a lot of change to adapt to for me, but I think overall, I’ve been getting pretty comfortable lately and just getting that confidence back that I tried to show most of the time here in St. Louis."
Dunn, selected by the Blues in the second round (56th overall) of the 2015 NHL Draft, has always been known as an offensive defenseman, but he's really honed in on his defensive game that lacked at times in St. Louis, making him a versatile two-way blue liner.
"It's just been a whole different dynamic of a position that I’ve been given here in Seattle," Dunn said. "I’ve been more of a go-to guy for the team, and that’s something that I’ve always wanted to be and wanted to show. Yeah, I think a lot of it is just opportunity and taking advantage of that.
"Yeah, I think especially as a defenseman, that’s where you can kind of see some immaturity. I think for myself, I really wanted to develop as someone that’s very reliable at both ends of the ice."
Dunn's been someone that coach Dave Hakstol has trusted now in multiple situations, not just the offensive side of the ice.
"Vince just continues to take strides in terms of the obvious things that everybody sees," Hakstol said. "The minutes that he's playing, some of the matchups that he's drawing. But again, it's more about the moments of the game and being able to handle those. The critical moments, and that's where we're continuing to see growth for 'Dunner.'
"He's been in those situations for us over the last year and a half. He's continuing to improve his ability to be successful in those critical moments of the game. So for me, that's the most important thing. It's not in the other pieces that are easy to see by watching the game. It's the little pieces -- I use the term mindset -- for our team. It's his mindset and his ability to perform in those situations."
Blues coach Craig Berube had Dunn as a young skater with the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League in 2016-17 when Dunn was just a 19-year-old, so imagine coaching him on the finer points of being a two-way defenseman as an offensive mind.
But Berube saw it then, and certainly sees it now.
"Yeah ... big time," Berube said. "Vision ... like, strength. He's got it all. Skating, shot.
"I think he's gone to Seattle and he's grown up is the way I'll put it. He's grown up, and he's a good player. He was a good player here. He's better even now. He's taken another step in his game and that's just getting a little older, smarter, being a better pro. He's come a long way."
Seems that getting older brings forth tendencies to be a smarter player, and being a smarter player normally enhances one's ability to be a better pro.
Dunn has adapted quite nicely and has become a staple for the expansion franchise in Seattle.
"My game has developed," Dunn said. "Really happy to be part of this team and try to be a leader in the dressing room. Just think that the opportunity has been so much greater for me here."
But Dunn will never forget his grass roots.
"Always a place I’ll call home," he said. "A lot of special moments. A lot of special people still in the organization and a lot of special people in the city that supported me since the start of my career. It’s always nice to be here.
"Weird coincidence (playing 400th game in St. Louis. It’s pretty special. It was either here, Toronto or Seattle, that’d probably be where I’d want it to be. Time really flies. It’s been a good change for me in Seattle. I’m really adjusting to the team and the city. But a big chunk of those games were in St. Louis, where I started my career, developed as a person and as a player. So it’s a really exciting landmark and hopefully there’s going to be 400 more."
Dunn will be a restricted free agent this summer with arbitration rights. It's hard to imagine Seattle not signing him to a contract, but the way he's played himself into a top-pairing d-man, he's going to be paid well beyond his $4 million average annual value.