Ivan Provorov and the Transition Game

[MacDonald4MVP]

Gudas never grades out that well by entry/exit data. There’s correlation with possession numbers but not always. Mattias Ekholm usually doesn’t grade out well either. Many examples of defensemen who overcome it by other means.

At beggining of the year I was surprised by ekholms numbers too. By eye test he has pretty lofty gap control, but after crossing the blue line he is insanely quick to close in on puck carriers. He somehow found a way to sit back and not get beat wide while still being a force in a dzone. His play without the puck is pretty much a wet dream for coaches.

 

[Magua]

At beggining of the year I was surprised by ekholms numbers too. By eye test he has pretty lofty gap control, but after crossing the blue line he is insanely quick to close in on puck carriers. He somehow found a way to sit back and not get beat wide while still being a force in a dzone. His play without the puck is pretty much a wet dream for coaches.

Players can be poor in important areas of puck possession but be so good in other areas to make up for it and then some. Like Gudas is really good at pinching in the o-zone and making possession changing plays defensively. He has a knack for winning battles and turning possession, even if his exit numbers individually aren’t great.

Flip side, Provorov is a god at entry/exits. He performed rather mediocre in possession stats before pairing with Ghost — who also followed a somewhat similar pattern. Garbage partners, eh.

 

[MacDonald4MVP]

Players can be poor in important areas of puck possession but be so good in other areas to make up for it and then some. Like Gudas is really good at pinching in the o-zone and making possession changing plays defensively. He has a knack for winning battles and turning possession, even if his exit numbers individually aren’t great.

Flip side, Provorov is a god at entry/exits. He performed rather mediocre in possession stats before pairing with Ghost — who also followed a somewhat similar pattern. Garbage partners, eh.

I would be really curious to see how he would play if he was told by coaching staff to push the play at every opportunity he got. Provorov has insane potential.

 

[freakydallas13]

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Hagg is a frustrating player. Once in possession of the puck in the defensive zone, he’d get rid of it as quickly as possible. He’d treat the puck as if it were a grenade that needed to be tossed from danger. Here’s a visual for what I’m talking about. He has a lot of work to do when it comes to the transition game. Hopefully he improves because that’s an ugly picture.

I would love to see the Hagg Defence Force explain this graphic.

 

[Captain Dave Poulin]

I can imagine Hak looking at AMac's stats and thinking "That's the guy I want to put on the ice with minute left in a one goal game. And #53 needs to sit because... Yea, because."

He's great. The way a donkey would be great using an abacus while blindfolded. Out of his depth. Fire Hakstok.

 

[Captain Dave Poulin]

I would love to see the Hagg Defence Force explain this graphic.

I'll be honest, I'd be happy for anyone to explain that graphic, or any other graphic. I'm hopeless with those things.

(Nobody bother explaining it, I would just forget after 10 seconds, and I already know that Haggar kind of stinks.)

 

[TheKingPin]

Pretty bad when when you have Hagg and Amac together. Scary really.

You do wonder how much the PK would improve if it did not feature, Amac, Hagg, and Gudas in addition to Provorov. If you replace those guys with the kids you’ll prob bump up 5 % pts right there.

Provorov will win a Norris. I was surprised he’s already leading the league in goals. He does it quietly too with smart moves and not as much flashy ness. Makes it seem more sustainable. Before he got hurt against the Pens he was unreal. Shutting down the best of the best no prob over and over again. That was one of the best stretches of games he’s had on D. It’s encouraging that he and Patrick both played some of their best hockey when it mattered the most.

How do provys numbers here compare to the league?