Not whimsy question - I’d love your take on the new Will article that came out). I mean, as a still learning about hockey person, it’s interesting and insightful, but would how does it track with what you’ve seen this year from him?
Random note - In my scrolling through tumblr, I saw the below clip of Will “trying” to jump into defending…Gaudette? Is that another storyline to add to the narrative? (I died at the jump when his feet leave the ice, an almost feet dangle).
Will had a pretty rough time last year. I have mentioned a few times but his rookie season was rocky. That guy went THROUGH it. So I find whenever these stats come out about his sophomore season they can be a bit misleading. ANYTHING should be an improvement over last year. But lets talk shop for a few minutes.
Zone Entries
Okay quick recap for hockey newbs. There are 3 zones. Offensive. Defensive. And Neutral. When you are talking zone entries it means how you get the puck out of the neutral zone into the offensive zone. Pretty much how are you creating plays that will score. Which is most of the job of a winger. They are play makers for cs. So this stat shows how many times Will got the puck over the blue line and then that play created a goal. So greatly improved here.
Puck Carries
This is about how you move the puck up the ice. Are you using speed on a breakaway. Is your edgework insane so you can pivot when blocked by the other team. Really really crafty stick handling which gets you into the slot. The slot is in front of the net. When you see a guy post up in front of the net waiting for a pass he is in the slot. Will is getting that puck into the slot at a much higher rate than last year.
Puck Recovery
Feel like this is self explanatory. Loose pucks happen after shots or because of a turnovers from the other team. Sometimes even a board battle will knock it loose. This shows how many times you are able to get that puck back. Nearly DOUBLED from last year. His ass is on the puck this year.
Shooting
The infamous truffle pig. Shots volume is literally how many times you are shooting the puck at the net. Ie. he is shooting way more. xG on Cycle Shots is kinda getting in the weeds but it is how much you are gonna score while your in the oz with possession. Think when you see 3-4 dudes passing the puck repeatedly and then scoring. So not breakaways. Not one timers.
Hope this wasn't too technical! Always open to further questions and feedback.