I just posted this in the Juolevi thread as we were discussing Jake there too, but I did some good old fashion data work and I am glad I did. I just proved all the Jake bashers wrong with data. LOL! we win guys! I guess their opinions dont seem to line up with data - Jake doesn't suck! LOL
here it is
I posted in the Jake thread that the idea he isn't good defensively is incorrect, a simple stat of takeaway to giveaways put him 5th on the team for those over 50 games (1.6). His corsi for was 49.4 and 5th on the team over 50 games (better than Bo, Boeser, Baer), and pretty much the same Corsi Against of 49% and same positioning. That is better than Bo, Sutter, Granlund, Baershchi, Boeser, Tanev etc. He is by no means suspect defensively this is proof.
His icetime of around 11:40 mins per game by the end of the year was 2nd from the bottom on the team for those over 40 games (only Dowd was less, despite getting increased time over the last 20 - that gives you an idea of how low it must have been prior). Despite this fact of very low average toi, he was third on the team in hits, the highest hitting forward at 156 (despite the 2nd lowest TOI over the season for those over 40 games), and only one hit behind Edler who clearly has ALOT more ice and opportunity to hit. I would say your claim of him being "no where near as physical as fans suggest" is clearly false based on the combination of hits (leading forward and #3 on the team one behind #2) and 2nd lowest average time on ice(for those over 40 games played). Basically Jake is a hitting machine based on that data. Again, second lowest avg TOI (for those over 40 games played), leading forward in hits, and one behind Edler for 2nd overall on the team.
As for points, I am not sure how he's supposed to get more that 20 points when he's not seeing the ice (as above) and has been asked to focus on defense (which again the stats PROVE he did). It was only over the last 20 games where he began to start seeing some offensive deployment. The switch doesn't just turn on when you've been driven to focus on D, he's not going to cheat just to get points, he's going to try and work on the things coaches asked of him and still play 200 ft. By the way, the advanced stats back up my assertion here as well. He was 19th on the team in offensive zone starts at 44.8%, he was 16th in defensive zone starts at 55.2% - clearly he was being use materially more in a defensive role (44.8% vs 55.2 %). For players over 40 games he was 6th on the team in defensive zone starts. Only Dowd, Tanev, Sutter, Granlund and Gudbrason were higher (the core defensive players - so he's part of that group).
As an objective party, if you cant see his improved play over the last 20 games, I don't know what to say, Green clearly did because he gave him alot more ice and offensive opportunity. And while he didnt 'finish" he was clearly creating alot of opporutnity, anyone watching could see that.
Many people on this site bash Jake, but use 'opinion'. When you look at the data, his deployment, and think about what that data says ( based on the advanced statistics), its very clear many of the criticisms are unwarranted as they are patently false -ie poor defensively, isn't overly physical, and yes didn't put up points but you need to be on the ice enough and consistently put in offensive situations, which he wasn't.
I hope to share this post with many others who critisize Jake. Take the time to read it, think about what the stats say sir, and all the criticisms out there about him. The stats I just shared PROVE without a doubt, most of the bashing on this site vs Jake comes from people who's 'eye test' is not very good at evaluating talent and the reality of a players effectiveness.
It also proves what I've been saying, that the coaching staff is bringing him along slowly and wanting him to focus on defense first, which he did, which slowly earned some offensive opportunity.
