SUNRISE, Fla. — As a kid on Long Island, Adam Fox’s favorite NHL defenseman to watch was Nick Lidstrom. And after the Red Wings captain retired in 2012, when Fox was 14, Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang combined to take Lidstrom’s place.
“I think those offensive D-men were fun for me to watch, try and pick their games,” Fox told The Post on Friday night after the NHL All-Star skills competition. “Put little things into my game that I saw.”
Karlsson, currently with the Sharks, isn’t just attending All-Star weekend. He and Fox are currently the top two contenders for the Norris Trophy, given to the NHL’s best defenseman each year.
The 32-year-old Swede is currently in the midst of an out-of-nowhere season, with 16 goals and 50 assists headed into the break. Fox, who is 12 years younger, is playing more than 25 minutes a night for the Rangers and has 48 points (10 goals, 38 assists) to make the case for his second Norris Trophy in three seasons. If Karlsson wins, it would be his third career honor, but his first since 2015.
“He’s obviously a very good player,” Karlsson told The Post of Fox. “I think ever since he broke into the league you could tell that he has a poise to his game. He has a really good flow to situations. He’s a very high-skilled player.
“I think his best part is he’s a guy that understands timing. That’s what makes him so good. I can appreciate guys like that. It’s nice to see younger guys coming in and doing that. Cause it’s rare to see.”
Karlsson and Fox haven’t met each other yet, but Karlsson pointed to Fox’s hockey sense as the area in which he most excels.
“I’m sure he played hockey from a very young age very freely and had to figure things out for himself,” Karlsson said. “He’s not the biggest, fastest, strongest guy out there. He had to rely on his instincts and his timing, and that’s what makes him extremely successful against all the pros around the league today.”
Though this is his first time at All-Star weekend, Fox is used to being in the spotlight. That said, it’s not lost on him that he’s now considered to be in the same class as players he once idolized.
“When you look at it from that lens, I guess it’s pretty cool to see how far I’ve come and being matched up with guys you grew up watching,” Fox said. “I’m sure a lot of guys grew up admiring and seeing what they were able to do.”
If Fox wins the Norris this year, he’ll be just the second Ranger ever to win the trophy multiple times, and he will have completed the achievement just four years into his career. The first Ranger to earn the trophy twice, Brian Leetch, texted Fox congratulations on Friday.
The historic angle of the pursuit, though, is something Fox would prefer to downplay. So, too, is the pursuit itself.
“I didn’t really start playing hockey to win Norris [Trophies] or anything like that. Obviously it’s gravy and everything. But I think the most fun I have playing hockey is when we’re winning,” Fox said. “Obviously you want to be a contributor to that and play well, help the team. But when it comes to that stuff, I think that’s outside people voting for something, what they think. It’s out of my control in that sense.
“It’s certainly an honor when you’re in that conversation, but it’s not something I’m exactly thinking about on a daily basis.”
Still, Fox is putting himself in the conversation not only with the league’s best current defensemen, but also with the Rangers’ best defensemen ever.
He’ll need to do it over more than four years to cement himself within that conversation, but he is well on the path already.
