If it seems like we're in an age of amazingly talented young defensemen, it's because we are. Rasmus Dahlin had the best teen season output for a rearguard in almost 40 years, which is also as long as it had been since the last time two defensemen (Cale Makar, Quinn Hughes) who were age 21 or younger scored at a 0.75 point pace in the same season. Quite a few of the Top 50 Defensemen prospects have tasted NHL action thus far, but which of the NHL's promising young d-men ultimately will have had the best single season outputs when all is said and done?

That's where today's poll comes in. You'll be voting on which five of the 20 voting choices will have the highest single season point outputs by the time their careers are over. By that I don't mean which five will have the most total points – I'm talking about who'll rank one through five in best single season output (i.e., points, not points per game pace) between now and the end of their career.

To be clear, you shouldn't vote for fewer than five if you think a player will have more than one of the top five single season outputs – this is for the five best outputs from five different d-men. Suppose you think that of the top five outputs, two will be by the same player. That doesn't mean you should vote for that player and just three others. Only a player's best single season counts, so you should vote for that player and the four others you believe will have the next four best single season outputs among the 20 choices. Hopefully that makes sense.

Lastly, to narrow things down I limited the options to just players who are currently age 25 or younger and who have played at least one game thus far in 2020-21. Here are the 20 voting choices, listed in alphabetical order. The link to cast your votes will be at the end of the column.

Rasmus Andersson – Although it could've been realistic to foresee Andersson skating over 21:00 per game this season, who'd have thought 3:30+ of that would be PP time? If it seems like a stretch to think of Andersson in the same league as these other youngsters, keep in mind that Mark Giordano posted 74 points in 78 games for Calgary a couple of seasons ago, so there's room for a rearguard to thrive offensively for the Flames, and that somebody might just be Andersson.

Adam Boqvist – Still getting acclimated to the NHL, Boqvist has nevertheless shown flashes of the talent that had him ranked #1 on the Top 50 Defensemen Prospects list for a full year. The former eighth overall pick can wait out the Hawks' rebuild and be set to star once the team turns things around.

Evan Bouchard – Yes, 2020-21 is the Tyson Barrie (and Darnell Nurse, who's not eligible since he's 26) show, and Oscar Klefbom figures to be back healthy next season; but the rearguard on which astute poolies are keenly focused, and who's ascended to #4 on the Top 50 Defensemen Prospects List, is Bouchard. The Oilers are being careful thus far with their top prospect, but with seemingly more offensive tools than Klefbom or Nurse, it is Bouchard who figures to be running the Olier PP for many seasons to come and, in doing so, picking up plenty of assists on goals by the likes of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

Erik Brannstrom – Picked by Ottawa before the breakout of Thomas Chabot (spoiler alert – he makes the list too), the undersized Brannstrom rocketed up the Top 50 Defensemen Prospects list thanks to nearly point per game AHL output in 2019-20. Yes, Chabot is inked through 2028; however, one would think Brannstrom will find a way to make his mark as well, whether on the Sens or if dished to another team.

Bowen Byram – Another constant in the top ten of the Top 50 Defensemen Prospects list (now ranked third), Byram is seemingly hurt by the presence of Makar and Samuel Girard (spoiler alert – both of them make the list). But Makar's ascent might actually help Byram, as the Avs could feel comfortable moving him as part of a Cup run deal, paving the way for Byram to shine.

Thomas Chabot – Who's had the best single season output of all 20 voting choices thus far? That would be Chabot, with 55 points (in 70 games) in 2018-19. Yes, Ottawa has Brannstrom who, as noted above, likely has a bright future. However, Chabot seems pretty entrenched and is getting superb deployment, most sixth among all rearguards in PPTOI per game in 2020-21. Also, by the time Ottawa will be hitting its stride, Chabot should be in the thick of his prime.

Jacob Chychrun – Astute poolies noticed that although Chychrun wasn't breaking out over the past few seasons, his scoring pace and SOG totals had quietly been inching upwards, while the veteran Oliver Ekman-Larsson's offensive game looked to be waning. Sure enough in 2020-21, which is right at his breakout threshold, Chychrun has looked elite, and that's without getting heaps of PP time. As he matures and likely further improves, the Coyotes should reward him with more offensively-favorable deployment and who knows how high this star might rise.

Rasmus Dahlin – When you put up stats as a teen not witnessed since Hall of Famer Phil Housley in the early 80s, and on a Buffalo team that, over his first two seasons, was in the bottom half of the league in PP conversion and 24th in goals, people start rightfully predicting greatness. Although Dahlin has started slow this season, he's still only 20. If Housley's career is to be used as a model, Buffalo's 2018 first overall pick should have an extremely bright, and high scoring, future.

Noah Dobson – Who's been ranked at #2 in the top 50 defensemen prospects list for just under a year? That would be Dobson. In his case it's talent plus opportunity, as Nick Leddy is no longer an offensive catalyst and the Isles seem unwilling to install Ryan Pulock (he's also 26, and thus disqualified) as PP1 QB, so Dobson has stepped up and is averaging just under 3:00 of PP TOI per game. Although it is difficult to envision the Isles being enough of a high scoring team for Dobson to truly flourish, Barry Trotz won't be the coach forever, and whomever comes next likely will let Dobson's talent shine to its fullest.

Aaron Ekblad – With the most NHL games under his belt of any of the choices, Ekblad scored at a 50-point pace last season with nearly no PP1 deployment. With Keith Yandle on likely his eighth or ninth life and Ekblad finally getting PP1 minutes, Ekblad is seemingly turning into a true #1 rearguard in all aspects, and could see his points explode accordingly.

Adam Fox – Some worried that the presence of Tony DeAngelo would impede the progress of Fox. Well DeAngelo's behavior took care of that issue, leaving Fox the unquestioned top option for blueline offense in New York sooner than envisioned and placing him squarely in the top five for defenseman PPTOI within the entire NHL. With the Rangers already a very good team and poised to still further improve, Fox is likely to be elite sooner rather than later.

Samuel Girard – After Makar's rookie season and the Avs bringing in Devon Toews, many figured that Girard would be somewhat of an afterthought, or at best a third wheel. Well, he apparently did not get that memo as he's off to the best start of his career. Whether it is alongside Makar or on another team, Girard looks to have the tools to put up great numbers.

Miro Heiskanen – Sure, John Klingberg has been the big story this season so far when it comes to Dallas rearguards, yet Heiskanen is still quietly putting up very solid numbers even without precious PP1 time. Let's not forget his nearly point per game numbers in the 2020 playoffs. Klingberg is a UFA after next season, at which point my guess is the Heiskanen show will be on full display in Dallas for years to come.

Quinn Hughes – Speaking of elite, Hughes has already shown he's a superstar or one surely in the making, as he had the most PP minutes of all d-men in the 2020 playoffs despite only logging 17 games. Just like Fox, he's on a team that figures to be very good if not great for years to come. It sounds cliché to say the sky's the limit, but for Hughes it just might be.

Cale Makar – You've already read his name several times, and for good reason, as by the time his second NHL season ends he could be a career point per game player. And he's doing this despite the presence of Byram, Girard and Toews. The only reason he doesn't get even more written about him is because he's already so superb.

Charlie McAvoy – Yes, he was not gifted PP1 minutes for the Bs this season, disappointing many poolies who figured that would be the key to jumpstarting McAvoy's career. Most likely he will follow the path of Ekblad, and slowly improve before breaking out just when people might be thinking he doesn't have it left in him. The only concern is whether the potent Boston core will still be there to support him once that happens.

Ivan Provorov – If you're trying to pinpoint the next do it all defenseman ala Drew Doughty or Shea Weber, look no further than Provorov. He hits, blocks, shoots and, most importantly, scores. Despite being on a team with Erik Gustafsson and Shayne Gostisbehere, it's Provorov who's still commanding PP1 minutes. The only question is whether his scoring output will be high enough to match what will be his huge "real hockey" value.

Mikhail Sergachev – Yes, Victor Hedman is the only defenseman to score at a 63+ point pace over each of the prior four seasons and, at 30, shows no signs of slowing. However, Tampa Bay has been willing to experiment with Sergachev on PP1, and the young Russian is making it clear he can be the heir apparent once that day comes when Hedman needs to step aside.

Shea Theodore – Those who thought Theodore's 2020 playoff output might've been a fluke are no longer left wondering, as he's begun 2020-21 just as scorching hot, and this despite seeing only 55% of his team's PP minutes and the presence of Alex Pietrangelo. We saw in St. Louis that Kevin Shattenkirk was able to thrive offensively despite Pietrangelo being in the fold, plus Vegas knows that Theodore's talent lies in the scoring department more so than being a pure defenceman, so he should enjoy many more seasons of high scoring rates.

Zach Werenski – If he played anywhere other than Columbus, chances are Werenski would be a bona fide star by now. Despite being stuck in a defensive-minded system he's still one of just two rearguards over the past 30+ seasons to have 11 or more goals in each of his first four NHL campaigns. Either John Tortorella will be eventually gone from Columbus or Werenski will leave as a UFA, paving the way for his scoring floodgates to open.

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There you have it – I wasn't kidding when I said the NHL has a lot of young rearguard talent in its midst! Your difficult job is to pick the five who you believe will have the highest single season totals during their career, meaning those whose career best single season points outputs (not points pace) will be represent the top five out of these 20. To cast your votes, click here.

Questions for Mailbag column: Next week's Roos Lets Loose column will be my monthly mailbag, which has room for perhaps a few more questions. And remember it's never too early to send me a question for the following edition. To get your question to me, you can either private message “rizzeedizzee” via the DobberHockey Forums or, instead, send an email to [email protected] with “Roos Mailbag” as the subject line.