EA Sports revealed the top rated defensemen in NHL 26 on Monday morning, and a St. Louis Blues big man made the list.
Colton Parayko did not make NHL Network's Top 20 Defensemen list -- perhaps deservingly so --, but he's among the top-rated right-handed defensemen in NHL 26.
Cale Makar sits at 95 OVR in #NHL26.
— EA SPORTS NHL (@EASPORTSNHL) August 25, 2025
Adam Fox trails at 90, too big of a gap? 🤔
See Defensive Ratings here: https://t.co/1ZOOUJeVAz pic.twitter.com/S004oecFDS
Colorado Avalanche defensemen Cale Makar is way ahead of the pack at 95 overall, with New York Rangers blueliner Adam Fox boasting the only other rating in the 90s.
After that, Charlie McAvoy of the Boston Bruins gets the only 89 rating before a bunch of right-handed defensemen rated 88 overall, including Parayko.
EA Sports also revealed some of the in-depth ratings that helped order all of these 88 overalls, so yes, Parayko has the fifth-highest rating among right-handed defensemen in NHL 26.
Parayko is coming off a season in which he put up a career-high 36 points, and set another personal best with 16 goals in just 64 games. He's been averaging over 23 minutes per game for the last four seasons, and that should continue for the 2025-26 season.
The big right defenseman will have Justin Faulk and the newly acquired Logan Mailloux behind him on the depth chart. That trio should be able to hold things down on the right side to give the Blues a chance at making the playoffs this season.
You can play with Parayko and the Blues in NHL 26, which will be released on September 12.