For all you Oilers fans out there, I put together a few charts on every defenseman currently in the Oilers organization that played in the NHL last season. That list includes Justin Schultz, Nick Schultz, Jeff Petry, Ladislav Smid, Corey Potter, Andrew Ference and Philip Larsen. When looking at this data, keep in mind that Ference played on a dominant, deep Boston team, thus the favourable zone starts, Corsi on ice and more. On the other hand, Larsen played on a futile Dallas squad and played few meaningful games, similar to the Oilers regulars. For those of you not familiar with advanced stats, the ones I chose are fairly straightforward and easy to explain. Offensive Zone Start Percentage and Finish Percentage pertain to how often said player started a shift in the offensive zone, and how often they completed a shift in the offensive zone. Corsi On Ice is basically a shot differential including goals, missed shots, blocks and so on that is calculated for each individual player. On Ice Shooting Percentage refers to the teams overall shooting success while a certain player is on the ice, and On Ice Save Percentage refers to the same but for goals against. Well thats about it, not too terrifying is it? Lets take a look.
In this chart we see each players basic stats and ice time statistics. What do these numbers say? First of all, Justin Schultz runs away with the most points in this group, which can be largely attributed to the amount of power play time he received. Justin played 3:12 on the power play every night, a great deal for a rookie defenseman. His 3:12 minutes were almost 2 and a half minutes more than the next Oiler, Corey Potter, who played an honest 1:06 a game on the man advantage. Andrew Ference didn't get over worked, largely in part to a deep Boston blue line. His 19:29 of ice time a game will surely increase this coming season for the Oil. The main thing that jumped out at me was how much time Jeff Petry spent on the penalty kill, and how little he spent on the power play. Petry (along with Smid) was relied heavily upon to eat minutes on the penalty kill, and he performed admirably. He was also able to stay a plus player (+1) despite the tough minutes he faced, a testament to how underrated Jeff's game is.
This is the last chart today, promise. Here we have some deeper, more advanced stats. I won't talk too much, I'll let you digest most of it for yourself. I will point out a few key things though. First off, Ference is the only man in the group to post a positive Corsi rating here, due to the strong Boston team he played on which I previously outlined. He had favourable zone starts and faired well in most categories. Corey Potter actually showed some good signs this year. I know I know, right now most anyone who watched the Oilers last season is saying "You're telling me Corey Potter is good?! Yeah right." Take this with a grain of salt. Corey absolutely had a rough season, and it's not likely he remains an NHL caliber player with the Oilers for much longer, but he managed to post the best plus minus of Oilers defensemen, (excluding Ference, former Bruin) he was dealt harsh zone starts and yet still finished more in the offensive zone than he started, and his on ice sv% was incredibly high. I doubt we see him much more on the Edmonton blue line, but he performed decently considering the circumstances he was dealt, I.E. playing with Ryan Whitney all year.
Ladislav Smid was a beast, racking up hits and blocks, as well as holding his own quite nicely with zone starts. The last point I will make reverts back to Jeff Petry. Seriously, don't tell me this guy isn't physical enough. 112 hits, 86 blocks and 32 take aways. If you watch his games, he is noticeably one of the most intense and aggressive players out there every night for his team. Frankly I just have no patience for the argument "Petry's too soft for 6'3."
Okay, we're through it! There you have it, analysis of the Oilers blue liners. Of course you can expect Grebeshkov and Belov (KHL players) to draw into the line up many nights, quite possibly drawing an end to Potter and Larsen's stints with Edmonton. Oscar Klefbom could get a taste too, but for the most part there's a look at the squad Dallas Eakins will ice on the back end. Thanks for checking out the blog and I hope you enjoyed! Until next time -J
Follow me @JohannesHockey
Ladislav Smid was a beast, racking up hits and blocks, as well as holding his own quite nicely with zone starts. The last point I will make reverts back to Jeff Petry. Seriously, don't tell me this guy isn't physical enough. 112 hits, 86 blocks and 32 take aways. If you watch his games, he is noticeably one of the most intense and aggressive players out there every night for his team. Frankly I just have no patience for the argument "Petry's too soft for 6'3."
Okay, we're through it! There you have it, analysis of the Oilers blue liners. Of course you can expect Grebeshkov and Belov (KHL players) to draw into the line up many nights, quite possibly drawing an end to Potter and Larsen's stints with Edmonton. Oscar Klefbom could get a taste too, but for the most part there's a look at the squad Dallas Eakins will ice on the back end. Thanks for checking out the blog and I hope you enjoyed! Until next time -J
Follow me @JohannesHockey