Three years into Dion Phaneuf's career and it's finally clear the rest of the league has caught on to what Calgarians have known for some time - Dion Phaneuf is one of the NHL's top two defencemen.
And as soon as Nik Lidstrom decides to retire it's clear the Calgary defenceman will be the one to carry the torch for quite some time as the game's very best rearguard.
While Zdeno Chara joined Phaneuf and Lidstrom as Norris Trophy finalists named yesterday, no one else outside Lidstrom comes close to offering what Phaneuf does to the Flames every night.
Given the number of points Lidstrom puts up and the great team he plays on, he'll continue to dominate the Norris for years.
However, no blueliner is as complete as Phaneuf.
No one hits harder, no one shoots harder and few in the game are as competitive as the ever-evolving Edmonton native. If not for Jarome Iginla he'd likely be considered or the captaincy of the club.
He fights, he scores and he's even added a playmaking element to his game tis year, learning how to dish off on powerplays instead of always hammering one-timers.
"You have to keep your head up at all times with Dion because he's coming at you trying to take it off," said Iginla yesterday.
A 20-goal scorer in his first year, it's no surprise he's one of the youngest Norris finalists in NHL history who drew comparisons yesterday from Mike Keenan to Mark Howe, Brian Leetch, Larry Robinson and Chris Pronger.
No one else in the league brings as many things to the game as he does.
The professional hockey writers got it right when they realized, en masse, he isn;t just one of the best young defencemen in the league - he's one of the best, period.
Now, if only he could give a decent interview.