Who Is Better? Cale Makar vs. Jack Wallace

In this new series, we will enthusiastically — but playfully — compare players from different areas of the sport to determine which one stands out. To add an extra challenge, and to do so in style, we begin the series by looking at two of the game’s premier elite offensive defencemen, as we attempt to identify who is truly the best: Cale Makar or Jack Wallace?

The Rules of the Game 

Staying true to our passion for ice hockey, we will assess the players using the traditional “5 S’s” of hockey scouting: skill, skating, size, sense, and spirit. Not only will this allow us to cover the full spectrum of each player’s makeup, but it will also offer an uneven number of criteria, thereby ensuring a winner (or so we hope, as this sport is full of surprises!). 

The Tale of the Tape 

Cale Makar 
Birth: October 30, 1998 
Position: Defence 
National Hockey League (NHL) Team: Colorado Avalanche 
Country: Canada 

Jack Wallace 
Birth: June 24, 1998 
Position: Defence 
Para hockey team: New Jersey Freeze 
Country: United States 

Preamble 

Speaking boldly, comparing Jack Wallace and Cale Makar is a natural fit that goes beyond style of play, touching the very core of how they thrive in their sport. Watching Makar play is a true joy for any hockey fan. To see a defenceman combine speed, skill, and grace to execute moves no other player would attempt — often in situations that would typically be considered too risky for the team — while making the entire process look so matter-of-factly effortless sparks our sense of wonder and challenges our understanding of where the true limits of playmaking lie. 

But the feeling we get when we watch Cale Makar play is the very same one we experience when we watch Jack Wallace do likewise. The excitement of the imagination, the marvel of new possibilities, and the curiosity of “what have we yet to see?” are all mirror images of one another. 

The cream rises to the top here — not just because it is good hockey, or even great hockey, but because it is beautiful hockey. 

Skill 

Obviously, both players earn off-the-charts ratings in this category. 

On the one hand, Cale Makar has proven his ability to consistently make plays thanks to his superior puck skills. Not only does he create offence, but he has unlocked new ways to do so along the offensive blue line — staying onside while deking defenders one-on-one, getting past them, and generating scoring chances by attacking the net. Erik Karlsson may have been the first post-lockout-era player to use this tactic, but never with the regularity and consistency of the Avalanche defender.

More than any other player, the Colorado blueliner has revolutionised offence from the back end and paved the way for the Quinn Hugheses and Lane Hutsons of the modern game. 

On the other hand, Jack Wallace brings his own unique touch. While Makar uses elite stickhandling from the blue line, Wallace prefers to get lower in the offensive zone and beat opponents one-on-one from there. Seeing Makar shoot from the high circles is a familiar sight, just as witnessing Wallace circling the opponent’s net has become one. 

Makar thrives on deception — faking one way before going the other — while Wallace is more transparent in his intentions, using his sled to shield the puck and his speed to gain a step, allowing him to execute his lethal angled turn. Indeed, the New Jersey native is never more dangerous than when he has a bit of wind in his sails and begins leaning into that favored turn, the perfect position to unleash his patented wrist shot. 

Unsurprisingly, their numbers support the praise. Makar is currently on his way to his third straight 90-point season in Denver, while Wallace left the competition in the rearview mirror by leading all defencemen in scoring at the 2025 World Championships. To put Wallace’s tour-de-force into context, his 19-point performance in five games was 13 points more than the second highest-scoring blueliner at the tournament. 

Edge: Makar is one of the most skilled players in the world, but he finished the 4 Nations tournament with one assist in three games, while Wallace more than tripled the second-best output in his best-on-best competition during the same season. Wallace takes this category. 

Scoreboard: 1-0 Wallace 

Skating 

Our sincerest sympathies go out to anyone attempting to go stride for stride with either of these players. 

Even more than his world-class stickhandling, Cale Makar’s foot speed and shiftiness are at the heart of his game. His ability to fake one way, then explode in the other direction and reach full speed in just a few strides allows him to consistently find the time and space needed to maximise passing and shooting lanes. That same skating excellence shines defensively, where his ability to close gaps, win loose pucks, and escape forecheckers is the stuff of legend. 

Similarly, Wallace’s sled can absolutely fly. He is among the elite when it comes to maintaining speed while stickhandling — an especially demanding skill given the nature of the Para sport. The American defender is also smart in how he uses it, constantly seeking opportunities to leverage the strength of his turns, and not just in the offensive zone. Watching the New Jersey resident circle his own net to retrieve a loose puck before pushing the play up ice is eerily reminiscent of Hall of Famer Paul Coffey. 

Edge: Skating is a core strength for both players, but while Wallace often beats defenders with pressure on his back, Makar more consistently creates separation and space. Makar takes this category. 

Scoreboard: 1-1 

Size 

Makar may not be the biggest dog in the fight, but he may have the biggest fight in the dog. His 29-point performance during the 2022 NHL playoffs attests to his ability not just to survive but to thrive in tight-checking environments. Even more impressive is the relatively small number of penalties he takes given his ice time and the amount of stick work he endures. Staying true to a skill-based game when opponents begin stretching the rulebook requires immense mental toughness — and Makar has it. 

Conversely, Wallace’s ability to use his wingspan is the measuring stick his peers are evaluated by. He also has more sandpaper to his game, having famously engaged in a fight during the 2022 Para Hockey Cup gold medal game against Canada — and then jumped back into the pile after his opponent had decided he had had enough. With the puck on his blade, the Team USA defender uses his body as well as anyone, shielding the puck and sliding it to the shooting or passing side of his sled. 

Edge: Wallace… go get ’em, Jack. Never change. 

Scoreboard: 2-1 Wallace 

Sense 

Once again, neither player has anything to envy here. 

Despite the offensive opportunities he creates, Wallace rarely gets caught up ice. At the 2025 World Championships alone, he finished with a +20 differential — in just five games. In the gold medal game against defending world champion Canada, he recorded four points and finished +2, proving he wasn’t merely padding stats against weaker competition. Furthermore, truly great defencemen aren’t just productive; they’re difficult to score against at five-on-five. Wallace’s anchoring presence, combined with his heavy workload, makes any Team USA lead feel safe and forces opponents to chase leads early. 

Makar, meanwhile, impacts the game differently. While he may be less of a defensive anchor, his decision-making is second to none. Several times per game, he attempts moves no coach would ever endorse due to the risk involved — and yet they always work. It’s not just skill; it’s foresight. He seems to know what will succeed before he even begins. The puck finds him, he finds open ice, and he extracts maximum production from his abilities. It’s hard to imagine him getting more out of his skill set—and out of sympathy for goaltenders everywhere, please don’t ask him to. 

Edge: Makar, whose mind has opened the door to a new generation of offensive defensemen. 

Scoreboard: 2-2 

Spirit 

Both players are leaders on championship teams. Both lead by example. Both deliver in key moments. In his first 444 NHL games, Makar scored 28 game-winning goals. Similarly, at the most recent World Championships, Wallace not only scored the golden goal but broke the spirit of the Canadian team in the process. 

Makar is the only one of the two with a letter on his jersey and famously waved off a penalty against an opponent when he felt the referee had misjudged the play — an iconic act of sportsmanship. Wallace, meanwhile, has become one of his sport’s most important ambassadors, constantly engaging with new fans and helping them understand the similarities and differences within para hockey. And even more importantly, the way he plays ignites a desire to try the sport itself, regardless of the observer’s physical ability. 

Any team would be lucky to have either. 

Edge: Tie 

Scoreboard: 2-2 

Overtime 

A tied game needs to go overtime, so perhaps the trophy cases can break the deadlock. Interestingly, since both players were born in 1998, we are catching them at the same point in their careers. 

It’s difficult to think of an award Makar hasn’t won. Individually, he has been an AJHL MVP, NCAA MVP, NHL Calder Trophy winner, two-time Norris Trophy recipient, and Conn Smythe Trophy winner. Collectively, he is a two-time AJHL champion, World Junior gold medalist, 4 Nations champion, and Stanley Cup winner. 

Wallace’s resume is equally staggering. He is a two-time Paralympic gold medalist, four-time World Champion, seven-time Para Hockey Cup gold medalist, and three-time Para Hockey Cup champion. Individually, he has been named Best Defenceman at both the World Championships and the Paralympics, led all defencemen in scoring at two Para Hockey Cups, and scored two golden goals. Somehow, he also found time to become a Pan American champion in Para canoe — and has his sights set on the 2028 Games. Clearly, this man was born to win things on water, frozen or otherwise. 

Both trophy cases are overflowing, and at this point, each player can basically only continue winning awards they have already claimed. 

Edge: Tie 

Scoreboard: Still 2-2 

Last minute of play  

So, regardless of the criteria we choose, we arrive at a dead heat. 

Therefore ... who wins? 
 
Well, truth be told, we can’t tell. And honestly, at this point, we just want to see these two hitting the ice in Milan. 

Game on.