Gustav Nyquist

[The Zermanator]

The Hockey News mentions on his bio that he is a natural centre that has converted to wing. Is this true?
Once 13 is retired and 40 is declining is there any chance we see him converted back to centre? Assuming one or both of Jarnkrok and Janmark don't develop into top 6 centres.

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[Detroit Sports*]

Hopefully we have better Center options once Z and 13 are gone.

 

[kuick]

I remember reading he was a center when he was younger, but converted to the wing when he went to Maine because that was what the team needed.

Given that he hasn't played a professional game as a center, I don't see him going back now after establishing himself unless we were really desperate.

 

[Flowah]

What is the difference in training for being a center besides positioning and face offs?

I feel like if your positioning is sound, it shouldn't be *too* hard to convert back. I mean hell, people have converted guys like Ericsson and Brent Burns from Forward to Defense and vice versa with good results. Going from wing to center can't be *that* hard for a player with Nyquist's hockey IQ.

 

[tfong]

What is the difference in training for being a center besides positioning and face offs?

I feel like if your positioning is sound, it shouldn't be *too* hard to convert back. I mean hell, people have converted guys like Ericsson and Brent Burns from Forward to Defense and vice versa with good results. Going from wing to center can't be *that* hard for a player with Nyquist's hockey IQ.

For those that play hockey, it's a huge difference in mentality and habits. There is also a reason why so many players switch from center to wing, it requires significantly more stamina and play style vs playing a winger.

 

[Flowah]

For those that play hockey, it's a huge difference in mentality and habits. There is also a reason why so many players switch from center to wing, it requires significantly more stamina and play style vs playing a winger.

Yeah I mean I've played, but never professionally, obviously. There's some more skating, but Nyquist seems like he'd be able to handle it. Plus apparently he's played center before. I'm sure he has some idea of what it takes.

I'm not saying they should do it, but it's a thought if they really need it.

 

[RayMoonDoh]

Gus is the man.

He can block, tackle, score the touchdown, snap the ball and kick the extra point.

He'll fill up the gatorade cooler, walk the dog, and paint your back porch.

 

[Vladdy84]

I wouldn't mind seeing Tatar play some center.

 

[Bench]

One does not simply convert to center.

I don't have access to Photoshop, so just imagine Boromir saying that.

 

[Henkka]

Slava Kozlov had kind of same history, and he turned back to center on his Atlanta days. He was a center at Russia, but a winger over a decade in NHL.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

I don't think either Tatar or Nyquist should convert back in something other than injury desperation. Also the evolution of the position probably doesn't help here although they would certainly fair better in the East than the West should this situation arise. Although that can change as well, look at the one two punch Florida is trying to develop up the middle, very much like LA in terms of physicality and skill should Bjugstad and Barkov pan out.

One could endorse the Kariya idea somewhere down the road with Gus. Say Sheahan shows some offensive pickup, when they enter the offensive zone, Gus could man the offensive capacity typically attributed to the center role, high position and distribution, while defensively playing in a winger role. Sheahan and Gus are probably smart enough to make this exchange on a nightly basis, really Kariya mastered this, he was a center in the offensive zone and a winger in the defensive zone for years.

 

[Defeatist*]

Where do you guys think nyquist will settle in once bertuzzi comes back? He got his 2 goals in his debut but afredsson and weiss were out. You think he can stay on the zetterberg line long term?

 

[Pavels Dog]

Assuming no major trades we would still have Z-Weiss-Helm down the middle when Dats is gone. Of course by that time it's possible Z and/or Weiss have declined (that is if Weiss ever becomes good enough again to have any declining to do) so maybe one of them plays only Wing. But we'd still have Franzen who can play center.
And between Janmark and Jarnkrok we probably have atleast 1 2nd/3rd line Center.

So in conclusion I don't see how it will ever be needed to convert Nyquist. I don't think he'd have much problem going into a center role though. He basically plays like a center. Backchecks hard, retrieves pucks from deep down in the defensive zone, and skates the puck up starting offensive rushes.

 

[InjuredChoker]

Where do you guys think nyquist will settle in once bertuzzi comes back? He got his 2 goals in his debut but afredsson and weiss were out. You think he can stay on the zetterberg line long term?

it depends.

if weiss gets his **** back, one would expect him to center the 2nd line. in that case, zetterberg would probably go to datsyuk's wing. and because it's babcock, some big gu there like bertuzzi. and then nyquist would probably be on line with weiss.

but if weiss continues to suck, and helm's hot streak ends, babcock may split zeta and dats. and nyquist would probably play on zeta's wing in that scenario.

 

[Flowah]

Where do you guys think nyquist will settle in once bertuzzi comes back? He got his 2 goals in his debut but afredsson and weiss were out. You think he can stay on the zetterberg line long term?

As long as he's top9 I'm happy.

I wouldn't mind seeing him on the third line just because I know he has chemistry with Tatar and because of the matchups. Plus he'd still get good minutes. The third line plays over 10-12 minutes a night, and he'd get PP time to add a couple more on there. And I love the way he plays, but I'm not sure I put him above guys like Alfie, Zetterberg, Franzen just yet for wingers.

I *think* when everyone is healthy, Babs will try to go back to Z/D/B. It worked well, it has very good skill and some size. We'll see whether it's Weiss or Helm for 2C, but it might be Helm for a while until Babcock feels comfortable with Weiss's game after injury. Franzen and Alfie though probably aren't leaving that second line. Alfie might, but Franzen won't. So I think if Nyquist gets slated anywhere, it's the second line with Helm/Weiss and Franzen. More likely, third line. He did great things there last year, and we could really use that matchup to add some much needed depth scoring.

 

[Kronwalled55]

Weiss - Datsyuk - Alfredsson
Nyquist - Zetterberg - Franzen

This would be my ideal top 6. Weiss needs to be jumpstarted, and that 2nd line works. Then we could go with

Tatar - Helm - Abdelkader
Miller/Samuelsson - Andersson - Cleary/Bertuzzi

 

[InjuredChoker]

Weiss - Datsyuk - Alfredsson
Nyquist - Zetterberg - Franzen

This would be my ideal top 6. Weiss needs to be jumpstarted, and that 2nd line works. Then we could go with

Tatar - Helm - Abdelkader
Miller/Samuelsson - Andersson - Cleary/Bertuzzi

switch weiss and zeta for me.

that would be my ideal top 6. ofc weiss would have to play like legit top 6er then.

 

[JPE123]

Weiss - Datsyuk - Alfredsson
Nyquist - Zetterberg - Franzen

This would be my ideal top 6. Weiss needs to be jumpstarted, and that 2nd line works. Then we could go with

Tatar - Helm - Abdelkader
Miller/Samuelsson - Andersson - Cleary/Bertuzzi

I like those lines. And as long as we're stuck with Cleary, putting him on the 4th and maybe rotating him with Bert would be okay. Bert's health and age would be okay to play pert time this year and benching Daniel for 1/2 the games is a positive by subtraction

 

[SoupNazi]

Weiss - Datsyuk - Alfredsson
Nyquist - Zetterberg - Franzen

This would be my ideal top 6. Weiss needs to be jumpstarted, and that 2nd line works. Then we could go with

Tatar - Helm - Abdelkader
Miller/Samuelsson - Andersson - Cleary/Bertuzzi

That looks good to me. I like those lines a lot.

 

[GoAwayDanCleary]

[Yt]GzaA7qCBuLY[/MEDIA]

By far my favorite part of Gus's game is his takeaway ability. He's relentless out there. Like Tatar, he always wants the puck on his stick, even when he doesn't have it.

 

[Henkka]

Where do you guys think nyquist will settle in once bertuzzi comes back? He got his 2 goals in his debut but afredsson and weiss were out. You think he can stay on the zetterberg line long term?

I don't think Bert is any kind of threat for Nyquist in his line. Gus is a perfect feeder for Zetterberg right now, so we don't need Datstyuk there. And this is a superb luxury! Also Mule does the Bert's role on that line.

But at some point, it would be nice to see that Griffins-line together. Tatar - Andersson - Nyquist.

We'll see.

I just think (and hope) that Pavel is the man who'll get Weiss going as a winger. His skating isn't maybe enough for our center play. We have to go with the most ideal Zeta-Dats-Helm -axel in 1-2-3 lines.

 

[Henkka]

When we look at the takeaway stats, it tells some pretty interesting stuff. Nobody is surprised when I told that Datsyuk is still the best takeaway guy in the league. He leads with total 40 takeaways, Hossa is second with 33 and Ryan O'Reilly is 3rd with 27 takeaways.

But what really jumps from that stat is those relative numbers per ice-time.

1. Nyquist, 4gms, 14:25min, 7 tkaws = 7.28 / 60min
2. Datsyuk, 24gms, 20:49min, 40 tkaws = 4.80 / 60min
3. Tatar, 18gms, 13:06min, 12 tkaws = 3.05 / 60min
4. Helm, 12gms, 15:47min, 7 tkaws = 2.22 / 60min
5. Alfie, 21gms, 17:29min, 13 tkaws = 2.12 / 60min
6. Weiss, 20gms, 15:02min, 10 tkaws = 2.00 / 60min

Then the rest of the team is under 2.00 per 60, not very big differences against each other. Except Cleary, whos team-worst with 0.68 / 60min.

So what we see, relatively against icetime, Datsyuk isn't the best in the world anymore. It's Gustav Nyquist! Same happened already at last season, Nyquist had 3.98 figure in his NHL games and Datsyuk was 3.55, NHL second best total after Jonathan Toews of guys who played almost whole season. So this doesn't look like a statistical fluke. Nyquist is just freaking great on that department.

At same time, when we have added these best takeaway guys (Helm, Tatar, Nyquist) in our lineup in recent ~10 games, our shot differential has had that huge jump from slightly negative to enormosly positive in last 7 games. If you split the season, we were minus 2-3 after 19 games and after that something like plus 11-12 in shots for - shots against. I've started to think, is this really THE KEY for a great puck possession game?

Just to mention, Chicago Blackhawks was the 1st team in takeaways at last season, by far. They had six great takeaway guys on the roster and two were at Datsyuk level, Toews and Hossa. And they also were the best puck possession team. And If I remember right, they won something in the season end.

 

[ReNeGaDe87]

Gus is the man.

He can block, tackle, score the touchdown, snap the ball and kick the extra point.

He'll fill up the gatorade cooler, walk the dog, and paint your back porch.

 

[probertrules24]

When we look at the takeaway stats, it tells some pretty interesting stuff. Nobody is surprised when I told that Datsyuk is still the best takeaway guy in the league. He leads with total 40 takeaways, Hossa is second with 33 and Ryan O'Reilly is 3rd with 27 takeaways.

But what really jumps from that stat is those relative numbers per ice-time.

1. Nyquist, 4gms, 14:25min, 7 tkaws = 7.28 / 60min
2. Datsyuk, 24gms, 20:49min, 40 tkaws = 4.80 / 60min
3. Tatar, 18gms, 13:06min, 12 tkaws = 3.05 / 60min
4. Helm, 12gms, 15:47min, 7 tkaws = 2.22 / 60min
5. Alfie, 21gms, 17:29min, 13 tkaws = 2.12 / 60min
6. Weiss, 20gms, 15:02min, 10 tkaws = 2.00 / 60min

Then the rest of the team is under 2.00 per 60, not very big differences against each other. Except Cleary, whos team-worst with 0.68 / 60min.

So what we see, relatively against icetime, Datsyuk isn't the best in the world anymore. It's Gustav Nyquist! Same happened already at last season, Nyquist had 3.98 figure in his NHL games and Datsyuk was 3.55, NHL second best total after Jonathan Toews of guys who played almost whole season. So this doesn't look like a statistical fluke. Nyquist is just freaking great on that department.

At same time, when we have added these best takeaway guys (Helm, Tatar, Nyquist) in our lineup in recent ~10 games, our shot differential has had that huge jump from slightly negative to enormosly positive in last 7 games. If you split the season, we were minus 2-3 after 19 games and after that something like plus 11-12 in shots for - shots against. I've started to think, is this really THE KEY for a great puck possession game?

Just to mention, Chicago Blackhawks was the 1st team in takeaways at last season, by far. They had six great takeaway guys on the roster and two were at Datsyuk level, Toews and Hossa. And they also were the best puck possession team. And If I remember right, they won something in the season end.

Thanks for digging into this and posting. Very interesting stuff.

Also classic Cleary finding another way for everybody to wish him gone.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

When we look at the takeaway stats, it tells some pretty interesting stuff. Nobody is surprised when I told that Datsyuk is still the best takeaway guy in the league. He leads with total 40 takeaways, Hossa is second with 33 and Ryan O'Reilly is 3rd with 27 takeaways.

But what really jumps from that stat is those relative numbers per ice-time.

1. Nyquist, 4gms, 14:25min, 7 tkaws = 7.28 / 60min
2. Datsyuk, 24gms, 20:49min, 40 tkaws = 4.80 / 60min
3. Tatar, 18gms, 13:06min, 12 tkaws = 3.05 / 60min
4. Helm, 12gms, 15:47min, 7 tkaws = 2.22 / 60min
5. Alfie, 21gms, 17:29min, 13 tkaws = 2.12 / 60min
6. Weiss, 20gms, 15:02min, 10 tkaws = 2.00 / 60min

Then the rest of the team is under 2.00 per 60, not very big differences against each other. Except Cleary, whos team-worst with 0.68 / 60min.

So what we see, relatively against icetime, Datsyuk isn't the best in the world anymore. It's Gustav Nyquist! Same happened already at last season, Nyquist had 3.98 figure in his NHL games and Datsyuk was 3.55, NHL second best total after Jonathan Toews of guys who played almost whole season. So this doesn't look like a statistical fluke. Nyquist is just freaking great on that department.

At same time, when we have added these best takeaway guys (Helm, Tatar, Nyquist) in our lineup in recent ~10 games, our shot differential has had that huge jump from slightly negative to enormosly positive in last 7 games. If you split the season, we were minus 2-3 after 19 games and after that something like plus 11-12 in shots for - shots against. I've started to think, is this really THE KEY for a great puck possession game?

Just to mention, Chicago Blackhawks was the 1st team in takeaways at last season, by far. They had six great takeaway guys on the roster and two were at Datsyuk level, Toews and Hossa. And they also were the best puck possession team. And If I remember right, they won something in the season end.

Nyquist is dominant with his stick it is even more impressive in person. He will tie up a 230 lbs players stick and just come flying out of the corner with it, really only Datsyuk reminds me of this ability.

Also worth pointing out the Chicago Blackhawks have a hilarious home versus road split. So I pretty much treat their stats as garbage in this particular category. Toews for instance had almost a 2:1 difference in terms of his takeaways. It doesn't mean that Toews and Hossa wouldn't be decently high up, they should be, but their numbers are a little tainted and the UC is notorious for this if you follow the stats. Datsyuk and Bergeron had basically no difference road or home.

JLA seems to be very loose with shots, others around the league usually point that out, give saves away to pucks that are traveling wide and things of that nature. This last stat could also be responsible for a partial part of the pickup in shot deferential as the Wings seem to get the break for a shot on goal before the other team in my opinion.