Paxon
202* Stanley Cup Champions
No but it may have to do with how he approaches the game. Scoring may not be his role or #1 priority when it comes to ES... it may be simply to cause havoc and be an ass and when the PP arrives he shifts focus. If that is the reason for the discrepancy in ES to PP goals it's a pretty correctable issue. The fact that he can deflect shots and bang home rebounds on the PP should be looked at as a positive not a negative. And there is no reason to believe that it can't translate to ES if that is what he focuses on. I don't see many Red Wing fans complaining that over half of Nyquists goals have come on the PP this year.
He's one of the best players on his team. There's no way his coach doesn't want him to score more at even strength. The question is if the lack of ES production (assists are severely lacking in general and his goals at ES aren't great) is an inherent flaw in his game or a product of his teammates. From what I've seen of him I don't think he has the offensive game to be more than a 3rd liner and there's a question of how much offense creation he'd bring in that role. Of course, it's possible he continues to improve and defy that expectation or my expectation could simply be fundamentally incorrect.
The plus side is that he has an NHL shot. His release isn't elite but the shot itself is impressive, even moreso in the games I saw this year compared to last. The other plus with regards to his scoring is that there's no doubt he can score around the net and I'm sure he could do so on the PP in the NHL. He's definitely elite at the junior level when it comes to leveraging around the net and redirecting shots.