The Stockton Heat were largely driven this year by their defencemen. Three of their top six scorers were defencemen, all putting up 35 points or more and scoring at least 0.55 PPG. It’s not the only reason, but you could perhaps rest most of the blame for the Heat missing the playoffs on the fact that two of their best defencemen were on recall by the Flames during a crucial part of the schedule.
One of the most important, yet still somewhat unheralded for his efforts, this season was 2015 second rounder Oliver Kylington. In his third season with the team, he managed to finish tied for 15th in scoring, 10th in primary points, first in 5v5 points, and second in 5v5 primary points among all AHL defencemen.