The Unicorn
The banger slot that also quarterbacks your power play · 4 unicorns (2 clean + 2 borderline)
The Thesis
The banger slot is supposed to be cheap. A category unicorn locks Hits/Blocks and quarterbacks PP1 — 6–7 categories from one pick.
The Filters
- Pos = D
- Cmp > 60
- PPP ≥ 20
- PP1% ≥ 60
- Hits/G ≥ 0.85
Hits softened to 0.85 to admit Raddysh (0.92) + Dahlin (0.87). Shots > 2.0 was the wrong gate — it killed McAvoy.
🦄 True Unicorns PPP ≥ 20 · PP1% ≥ 60 · Hits/G ≥ 0.85 · 4 found
Moritz Seider
CLEAN28PPP
96%PP1%
10Goals
1.56Hits/G
2.19Blk/G
2.28SOG/G
84.4Completeness
54.4ADP
DET · 82 GP · The archetype — elite at BOTH ends. 1.56 H/G + 2.20 Blk/G locks peripherals while 28 PPP runs PP1. · live card →
Charlie McAvoy
CLEAN23PPP
100%PP1%
11Goals
1.15Hits/G
1.87Blk/G
1.61SOG/G
81.7Completeness
99.7ADP
BOS · 69 GP · The value backup — same unicorn shape, 100% PP1, ~45 picks cheaper than Seider. · live card →
Rasmus Dahlin
BORDERLINE22PPP
100%PP1%
19Goals
0.87Hits/G
1.03Blk/G
2.52SOG/G
82.5Completeness
35.6ADP
BUF · 77 GP · Clean PP1 (100%) but lightest peripherals (0.87 H/G). Drafted R3 as a QB1 anyway — hits are gravy, not the reason to reach. · live card →
Darren Raddysh
BORDERLINE26PPP
74%PP1%
22Goals
0.92Hits/G
0.94Blk/G
2.9SOG/G
84.5Completeness
50.4ADP
TBL · 73 GP · The flashy one — 22 G + 2.9 SOG/G — but 74% PP1 (role not locked) and a career-year breakout. Don't anchor. · live card →
How to draft it
Seider is the most critical D on the board. ADP 54 means reaching up a round-plus — plan a forward in R1, Seider in R2–3, then a PP1 QB (Josi, Morrissey) after. Miss him and McAvoy is the same clean shape ~45 picks later (ADP 100). Dahlin (ADP 36) is already drafted as a QB1 — the hits are gravy. Raddysh (ADP 50) is the flashy trap: 22 goals but a 74% PP1 role + career-year breakout you shouldn't anchor to.
⚡ Secondary-PP bangers PPP 10+ but not a locked PP1 QB · 6
Real peripherals + real points, but the PP production is PP2/secondary or unstable. Low PP1% = volume from the second unit (Hronek) or fading (Letang).
🧱 Pure bangers PPP < 10 · 13
The round-14 Hits/Blocks specialists — draft for the banger slot, not points.
| Player | PPP | PP1% | G | H/G | Blk/G | SOG/G | Cmp | ADP | Tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Filip HronekVAN · 82GP | 21 | 35% | 8 | 1.62 | 1.22 | 1.67 | 76.6 | 139.6 | Secondary PP PP2-derived |
| Dmitry OrlovSJS · 82GP | 18 | 46% | 3 | 1.5 | 0.94 | 1.11 | 64.2 | 146.9 | Secondary PP |
| Dougie HamiltonNJD · 77GP | 14 | 63% | 12 | 1.13 | 1 | 2.64 | 74.2 | 109.5 | Secondary PP |
| Artyom LevshunovCHI · 68GP | 11 | 74% | 2 | 1.4 | 1.07 | 1.24 | 61 | 174 | Secondary PP |
| Alexander NikishinCAR · 81GP | 10 | 36% | 11 | 1.63 | 1.16 | 1.51 | 69.3 | 139.6 | Secondary PP |
| Kris LetangPIT · 74GP | 10 | 5% | 3 | 1.28 | 1.27 | 1.41 | 66.6 | 127.6 | Secondary PP |
| Neal PionkWPG · 51GP | 2 | 1% | 3 | 2.18 | 1.47 | 1.9 | 60.6 | 123.9 | Pure Banger |
| MacKenzie WeegarUTA · 79GP | 6 | 60% | 4 | 2.11 | 2.21 | 1.95 | 69.8 | 111.6 | Pure Banger |
| Jacob TroubaANA · 81GP | 1 | 8% | 10 | 1.76 | 1.84 | 2.05 | 71.3 | 139.1 | Pure Banger |
| Sean WalkerCAR · 81GP | 1 | 4% | 9 | 1.74 | 1.54 | 2.21 | 68.9 | 141.6 | Pure Banger |
| Mattias SamuelssonBUF · 78GP | 0 | — | 13 | 1.69 | 1.97 | 1.4 | 65 | 128.7 | Pure Banger |
| K'Andre MillerCAR · 72GP | 3 | 6% | 8 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 1.71 | 69.7 | 134.6 | Pure Banger |
| Charle-Edouard D'AstousTBL · 70GP | 2 | 4% | 6 | 1.37 | 1.06 | 1.14 | 60.6 | — | Pure Banger |
| Simon EdvinssonDET · 72GP | 1 | 0% | 9 | 1.31 | 2.06 | 1.22 | 61.4 | 138 | Pure Banger |
| Rasmus SandinWSH · 73GP | 1 | 0% | 5 | 1.21 | 1.74 | 1.23 | 61.6 | — | Pure Banger |
| Brandon MontourSEA · 64GP | 8 | 14% | 11 | 1.17 | 1.22 | 2.72 | 75 | 116.6 | Pure Banger |
| Aaron EkbladFLA · 72GP | 5 | 36% | 4 | 1.17 | 1.43 | 1.35 | 61.1 | 131.5 | Pure Banger |
| Cole HutsonWSH · 14GP | 6 | 0% | 3 | 1.14 | 0.43 | 1.57 | 72 | 90.9 | Pure Banger ⛳14GP |
| Oliver Ekman-LarssonTOR · 78GP | 9 | 27% | 8 | 1.1 | 0.92 | 1.39 | 66.4 | 132.5 | Pure Banger |
▮ green = elite banger threshold (≥ 1.5/g) · light green = solid (1.0–1.5/g) · applied to Hits/G and Blk/G — the two categories that define a pure banger.
🤔 Why isn't Makar on this list?
The unicorn gate is Hits/G ≥ 0.85, not the Completeness score. Completeness is a percentile vs all skaters — a defenseman can be “complete” on paper and still not actually hit. These elite QBs are below the 0.85 line (Hits/G in red) — draft them R1–3 as your QB1, but you'll still need a separate banger to cover Hits/Blocks.
| Player | PPP | PP1% | Hits/G |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quinn Hughes | 34 | 100% | 0.1 |
| Evan Bouchard | 33 | 100% | 0.35 |
| Cale Makar | 29 | 100% | 0.47 |
| Miro Heiskanen | 28 | 100% | 0.27 |
| Mikhail Sergachev | 26 | 99% | 0.49 |
| Erik Karlsson | 26 | 82% | 0.27 |
| Roman Josi | 24 | 100% | 0.35 |
| Adam Fox | 24 | 100% | 0.44 |
| Jake Sanderson | 22 | 100% | 0.43 |
Also under the line: Werenski (0.40), Lane Hutson (0.38), Chychrun (0.73). None break 0.85.