If Franklin D. Roosevelt played hockey: defenseman, rated 79

Franklin D. Roosevelt as a hockey player: scouting report

Franklin D. Roosevelt slots in on defense, the position that asks a player to steady everyone around him. His fireside chats on the radio were famous for their calm, plain, conversational tone, and a good defenseman does the same thing for his goalie, slowing the game down and making the simple play. Physical play is the best part of his card, so he is the defender who clears the front of the net and wins the battles below the goal line.

The surprise is how high his goaltending mark sits, right alongside his strength. It describes a defender who reads shots the way a goalie does, gets into the lane and knows exactly where his netminder wants the rebound to go. He spent his youth summers sailing the waters around Campobello Island in New Brunswick, and sailing teaches the same lesson hockey does: read the conditions before you commit. His passing is strong, so he can make the first pass out of the zone. He was also a serious stamp collector all his life, a patient, detail minded hobby that suits a defenseman who never forces a play.

Skating is the lowest mark on his card, so he plays a positional game rather than a racing one. He is not the defenseman who joins every rush, which is why he pairs best with a puck carrying partner who leads the rush while he holds the fort. Goalie is his next best spot, and center is a reasonable third. He won four presidential elections, which says something about staying power over a long schedule. Draft him as a top four defenseman who handles the hard minutes against the other team's best line and keeps everyone around him calm.

Plays like A calm, physical defenseman who runs the play from the point

Put Franklin D. Roosevelt in your lineup

8 rolls, a starting six and a bench, 82 games. Can you go 82-0? Free, no account.