We have seen some crazy statistics this year when it comes to scoring, especially among defensemen.

As of Sunday morning, there are already 17 defensemen at the 50-point mark, with another two only two points off. As well, 10 players have already reached the 60-point plateau, with two others only needing a point to reach that mark.

To put that in perspective, in the previous 21 seasons combined, there were only 58 cases of a d-man hitting 60 points. The last time at least 10 defensemen had 60 points in the same season was in 1995-96 when there were 11.

Even with the influx of elite defensemen, no one could have predicted this much scoring from the back end. Below are the top 10 surprising defensemen of the 2022-23 season. Not all of them reached 60 points, but they all outperformed preseason expectations.

10. Rasmus Dahlin

We all knew Dahlin was going to be an elite-producing defenseman, but not many would have guessed it would have happened this season. Even though he had 53 points last year, most of us would have guessed maybe 60 points if everything went well. Well, everything went superbly for the Sabres defenseman, as he already has 67 points and is on pace for 77. He was the second-most productive defenseman up to the start of February, trailing only Erik Karlson in points. Even though his production has been in a bit of a nosedive the last few weeks, many fantasy general managers owe a great first half to him.

9. K’Andre Miller

I follow some Rangers fans on Twitter, and they were raving in the preseason about Miller was going to have a break-out campaign this year. Swayed by their arguments, I drafted Miller in my points-only keeper league. Miller had four points in his first 18 games, so I dropped him when it came time for our one-and-only waiver draft. Since then, Miller has 37 points in 56 games, which equates to a 54-point pace. That’s pretty impressive for a 23-year-old who gets barely any power-play time. I’ve preached this often, but this is another valuable example of the number one fantasy lesson: Have patience with your young players/prospects. Too bad I didn’t follow my own advice.

8. Mike Matheson

Matheson may not be as obvious a name as many others on this list due to his injuries but what he has done in limited games has been excellent. With 30 points in 43 games, he’s only one off his career high. His 82-game pace is 57 points, an astounding number for anyone that was hoping Matheson would hit that 29-year-old breakout threshold. What’s even crazier is that his power-play production is not propping up his numbers as he has only nine man-advantage points. The advanced stats show that he starts in the defensive zone for the majority of his shifts, but 15 of his 22 assists have been primary. He won’t reach 40 points this year but keep him in mind as a “breakout” player next season.

7. Hampus Lindholm

When Lindholm started the season with 13 points in 13 games, we all believed it was a matter of time before he struggled. After all, we’re talking about a defenseman who usually nets 30 points and was about to lose his ice time and power-play time to the returning Charlie McAvoy. While Lindholm’s production did drop, it wasn’t as drastic as many of us anticipated. He has 38 points in 62 games since, a 50-point pace. He now has 51 points on the campaign and has 10 points in his last 12 games, coming through when fantasy general managers are relying on him the most.

6. Vince Dunn

Anyone would be forgiven for not seeing Dunn’s breakout season back in September. His previous high was 35 points, a mark he reached twice in his first five seasons. There was also a chance that newly-signed and former 50-point player Justin Schultz would monopolize the power-play time. There was also the opinion that Seattle, who was awful in its first season and was bottom five in goals, wouldn’t see much improvement. However, Dunn has excelled all season. He already has 61 points and hasn’t relinquished his power-play time. While his shot rate is disappointing at fewer than two shots per game, he’s also improved his plus-minus from a minus-20 to a plus-24.

5. Mikhail Sergachev

Victor Hedman‘s demise has been largely due to Sergachev’s uprising. When he usurped Hedman for the top power-play role early this season, Sergachev ran with it and made it difficult for the team to turn back to Hedman. Although Hedman did get it back, it wasn’t for long as Sergachev was back on the top unit on February 28 against Florida and hasn’t relinquished it since. It’s probably no surprise that in 18 games since that date, Sergachev has 19 points, eight of which have come with the man advantage. On the season, he has 59 points and seems like a lock to become the fourth dman in Lightning history to have a 60-point campaign (after Hedman, Roman Hamrlik and Dan Boyle).

4. Dougie Hamilton

It feels as if Hamilton is lost among all the hype of many others on this list, but considering he’s second for goals by a defenseman and third in points by a defenseman, he’s not in many of the top defensemen discussions. Hamilton’s previous career high was 50 points, back in 2016-17 with the Flames. Going into Sunday night’s action, he was already at 71 points this season, led by his 27 power-play points.

3. Brandon Montour

With five games remaining in the season, Montour has already set a Panthers record for most points in a season by a defenseman with 65 and counting. Considering his previous career high was 37, that’s a complete shock. If you had asked the question during the pre-season of which Panthers defenseman would hit 60 points, odds are almost everyone would have guessed Aaron Ekblad. However, Montour has far exceeded what everyone expected, and not just points either as he has 101 PIM, 222 shots, 92 hits and 82 blocked shots. To put it in perspective, he has a chance to be the first defenseman of the salary cap era to have 70 points and 100 PIM in a season, and the first since Chris Chelios in 1995-96.

2. Josh Morrissey

Morrissey picked the wrong time to go on a cold streak, pointless in five games leading into Sunday’s action and only two in his last nine. Despite the slump, he’s still on pace for 76 points, which crushes his previous high of 37. In years past, he and Neal Pionk would take turns manning the top power-play unit, but this season, Morrissey started there and never gave it up. That’s helped lead to 26 man-advantage points. He’s still contributing in other categories as well, with 83 hits and 113 blocked shots going into Sunday’s game against the Devils.

1. Erik Karlsson

Even the most optimistic of us would have had Karlsson pegged at a high of 70 games and/or 70 points. There’s no way we could have imagined him reaching 95 points, which is not only a career high, but just short of the 97 points he had in the last three seasons combined. He could be the first defenseman to reach 100 points since Brian Leetch had 102 in 1991-92, and if he finishes with 105 points, it would be the highest mark by a dman since Paul Coffey of the Oilers’ dynasty in the 80s. For this season, he’s 22 points up on the second-highest defenseman before Sunday’s action, while his 22 goals are already a career high and also lead the league.