Jungosi
Registered User
Anyone care to compare Schmidt and Apps? Their careers overlapped nicely. I had Schmidt a couple of spots higher than Apps but now that I look into it Apps wouldn't be a bad choice either. Both are known for their high level two-way game. Schmidt has the physical element Apps lacks which can't be overlooked.
I had them significantly higher than both Yzerman and Sakic.
If no one else steps up I might be willing to do the comparison, depending on how much I'll have time and energy.
Syl Apps vs. Milt Schmidt
Statistical Comparition :
Offense Regular Season:
Goal scoring in the regular season :
I'll use the same methods as seventieslord did in his great analysis of Sakic vs.Yzerman
Schmidt : 2,6,9,12,13
Apps : 4,5,6,10,5,15,12,13,11,11
If we eliminate the identical finishes we have to following result :
Schmidt : 2,9
Apps : 4,5,5,10,11,11,15
So we can see that Apps has a slight advantage in goal-scoring , especially when it comes to consistency. Schmidt has only one top-5 finish left after the cross-out while Apps still comes up with 3.
Advantage : Apps
Playmaking in the regular season :
Schmidt : 1,4,3,4,12,13,13
Apps : 1,1,6,6,14,14,11
Again the elimination thing :
Schmidt : 3,4,4,12,13,13
Apps : 1,6,6,11,14,14
I think it's pretty much a wash here. Apps first place finish is evened out by Schmidt's 3 top-5 finishes. But Apps can come up with two more top-10 finishes.
Advantage : Equal
Points scored in the regular season :
Schmidt : 1,4,4,10,10,12
Apps : 2,2,2,6,7,8,12
There is one fnish that can be crossed out (12) but else there are no identical results. It looks pretty similar but I think we can give Apps the edge. Schmidt's Art Ross obviously can't be ignored but I think three times on the second place is at least equal or even slightly better than placing 1st , 4th and 4th. But what really helps Apps is that he has better and more top-10 finishes compared to Schmidt.
Advantage : Apps
Conclusion : Syl Apps was the better regular season performer.
Longevity of regular season offense:
Schmidt : Top-10 in goals over the span of eight seasons.
Apps : Top-10 in goals over the span of eight seasons.
Schmidt : Top-10 in assists over the span of eight seasons.
Apps : Top-10 in assists over the span of five seasons.
Schmidt : Top-10 in points over the span of nine seasons.
Apps : Top-10 in points over the span of nine seasons.
Schmidt : Top-5 in goals over the span of one season.
Apps : Top-5 in goals over the span of eight seasons.
Schmidt : Top-5 in assists over the span of eight seasons.
Apps : Top-5 in assists over the span of two seasons.
Schmidt : Top-5 in points over the span of eight seasons.
Apps : Top-5 in points over the span of five seasons.
Schmidt wins this category 3 to 1. Due to WW II this is kind of difficult to do so I decided to subtract the years Schmidt (3) and Apps (2) in service from the overall years.
Offense, Playoffs
Note : I only used the Top-10 finishes here because I felt that the sample size was too small for Top-15.
Goal-scoring in the post season :
Schmidt : 2,4,5,7,8
Apps : 1,3,4,4
Eliminating identical finishes.
Schmidt : 2,5,7,8
Apps : 1,3,4
Apps once again proves to be the better goal scorer with a slight edge over Schmidt.
Playmaking in the post season :
Schmidt : 2,3,4,9
Syl Apps : 1,2,2,6
----
Schmidt : 3,4,9
Apps : 1,2,6
Again Apps resume looks better than Schmidt's.
Points scored in the post season :
Top-10 in points :
Schmidt : 1,4,6,8
Apps : 1,3,4,5,8,8
After the elimination :
Schmidt : 6
Apps : 3,5,8
With the edge in both playmaking and goal-scoring , the edge in overall scoring only comes natural. Apps
Conclusion : Once again Mr. Apps comes out on top.
Leading team in playoff goals or points:
Schmidt : He led his team in points 5 times during the playoffs. He led his team in goals scored once.
Apps : He led his team in points 3 times during the playoffs. He also led his team 3 times in goals scored during the playoffs.
So on paper Schmidt's resume looks a bit better but you have to keep in mind that those Bruins team after WW II weren't really great and only made it out of round 1 once. This of course isn't Schmidt's fault but it is easier to lead a team like that in points than a team that features Drillon and later Kennedy.
So I'd say it is about equal.
Career Per-Game Averages, Regular Season and Playoffs:
Similar to Sakic and Yzerman the careers of Schmidt and Apps overlapped quite a bit. Both played in the one of the lowest scoring eras ever so the per game average are at least a bit helpfull here.
Regular Season : PPG , GPG , APG
Schmidt : 0,74 / 0,3/ 0,45
Apps : 1,02 / 0.48 / 0,55
Playoffs :
Schmidt : 0,57 / 0,28 / 0,29
Apps : 0,78 / 0,36 / 0,42
A fist glance Apps seems to have an huge advantage here but you have to keep in mind that Schmidt spent a lot of his late career on lesser teams plus the fact that he played way more games. But I still think that it makes clear that Apps was in fact the better offensive performer in both regular and post season.
Clutch play:
No data available maybe someone can add this?
Clean play :
Apps. No arguing about that one.
Awards :
The isn't much data available so I can only come up with the Hart record and the All-Star teams. Both have one retro-Conn Symthe
Again the elimination principe :
All-Star Selections :
Schmidt : 1st,1st,1st,2nd
Apps : 1st,1st,2nd,2nd,2nd
If the cross out the identical results it leaves out with the following :
Schmidt : 1st
Apps : 2nd,2nd
I'd call that a tie or a slight edge for Apps.
Hart Trophy Voting Record :
Schmidt : 1,2,4,4,5
Apps : 2,2,2,2,3
With elimination :
Schmidt :1,4,4,5
Apps : 2,2,2,3
While Apps can't come up with a trophy he has the better overall result. So conclusively Apps comes up the the better results in the award category.
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Conclusion : I think if you look purely on statistics you'll see that Apps was the better player. However I have to admit that I was too lazy to do the parts that can't be measured in statistics like two-way play, physical play and leadship. This is a shout out to everyone who can help me here