We nominated, you voted, and the results are in. All this week Jets Nation will be revealing your reader picks with our writers’ perspectives for the 2013 Year-End Awards. We present this article to hand out the virtual hardware, but also to show our discipline as we held ourselves to just one subtle dig at Olli Jokinen. 

While I probably would have voted Tobias Enstrom if he would have played even a half-season’s worth of games, I’ll have to go with Zach Bogosian here.

His offensive game was in solid form – much better than I remember it being last year, even though pro-rated, his numbers actually come out a little lower than the previous season – and defensively, he was reliable, and even at times, nasty. When the Jets went on their late season win streak, Bogosian was at the top of his game. Coincidence, or a case of a really easy schedule?

Perhaps the thing that makes Bogosian’s year most valuable to the Jets is the fact that he yet again missed significant time to injury, which may help to drive his cost down a little bit in his contract talks.

When it’s all said and done Bogosian is steady and forceful presence on the blueline, and when he’s on his game, and healthy, he’s the Jets best defenceman.

For best defenseman I chose Zach Bogosian.  Bogosian did a little bit of everything for the Jets this year, which I feel really separated him from any other player on the blue line.  Along with Hainsey, he was constantly matched up against the oppositions top line, yet didn’t have the same defensive mistakes as Byfuglien, Clitsome, or many others.  He contributed offensively with 5 goals and 9 assists for 14 points, which tied him with Jokinen for 10th on the team.  He hit, fought when he felt it was needed, and provided a dimension that was dearly missed when he was out for injury.  Hopefully the concussion he suffered at the end of the year turns out as nothing major, as number 44 was the Jets best defenseman.

Either we all know what we’re talking about, or writing for Jets Nation is a small cult. I agree – Bogo ftw. I happened to write the nomination paragraph on him, so forgive me for repeating myself a bit. Bogosian played the toughest competition alongside his regular partner (Hainsey), but chipped in more offensively – taking 2nd in goals and shots on goal among defencemen despite playing only 33 games. Given his tough assignment and 45% zone starts (2nd toughest behind Hainsey), his -5 RelCorsi is understandable. As a two-way, rugged defenceman with a tough assignment, it can be hard to quantify his performance. Still, if we aggregate all the way up to wins, the Jets with Bogosian were 18-13-2 this season, while the Jets without him managed to go just 6-8-1. If I were on television, I’d shout that he was a monster until I ruined Mike Commodore’s evening.

Consensus reigns, as you chose Bogosian with 64% of your vote. Enstrom (despite playing just 22 games) took second with 27%. Maybe we’ve explained the Jets’ season as easily as that – Bogosian was our best defenceman and missed 15 games. Enstrom was the second best and was out more than half the year. A silver lining to look forward to in 2013/14?

 Your 2013 Best Defenceman, Zach Bogosian:

 *****

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