Which Player has a "Sophomore Slump" Season in 18/19

[TeddyBare]

So who gets your vote as the player most likely to have the dreaded sophomore slump??

Some Past players who have had this happen include
Mackinnon
Skinner
Jordan Staal
Tyler Myers
Grabner
Ghost
Larkin
Etc etc

None of the of the players listed were rocking an insane shooting percentage as that would have been my most likely candidate.
-Barzal is about to experience substantially tougher matchups so he seems like a good candidate.
-Butcher collected 53% of his points on the Powerplay so he is a possibility.

Click to read more...

 

[Kamiccolo]

Barzal for me. Lots of expectations and will be asked to carry the offense. I think he gets smacked by reality but if he doesn't and smacks me with reality, I will have no problem calling him legit.

 

[super6646]

Barzel. Playing top line minutes is gonna hurt him for sure. He can still get 65 points, but losing Tavares... woof.

 

[Skolman]

Barzal, considering what he did last year. I highly doubt he ends up with 80+ points. I'm thinking around 65-70 this year

 

[Breakers]

You forgot a player.

Alex Kerfoot and his NHL leading 24% shooting percentage.
Good luck maintaining that next season.
Guy averaged 0.9 shots p/g and he put up 19 goals

 

[Kcb12345]

I think Barzal too, but do people really think Gourde is gonna repeat his year?

 

[WetcoastOrca]

I don’t see Barzal slumping. He got better as the year went on. I think the kid is the real deal. 85 point rookies are pretty rare.

 

[Elias Pettersson]

Barzal is gonna put up 90+ points this season. Haters watch out!

 

[Regal]

I think Barzal too, but do people really think Gourde is gonna repeat his year?

Yea, Gourde seems like a prime candidate not to repeat for me

 

[Mickey Marner]

I think Barzal is legit. Maybe he doesn't hit 85, but he'd have to score <70 for me to call it a slump.

Gourde, on the other hand, would be lucky to hit 50.

 

[Canada4Gold]

"Sophomore slump" also known as having a high rookie year on ice SH% syndrome.

Hischier: 10.91%
Boeser: 9.38%
Sergachev: 9.4%
McAvoy: 9.06%
Dubois: 7.03%
Barzal: 9.57%
DeBrincat: 9.36%
Keller: 8.1%
Butcher: 8.26%
Debrusk: 10.44%
Connor: 8.67%
Gourde: 11.58%

Given the normal range is 7-9, and only the best of the best live in the 9-10% range and almost nobody lives past he 10% range then a lot of these options would be good candidates.

Gourde, Hischier, and Debrusk would be the best candidates though.

Barzal may be the one candidate that is based on a change of situation where he'll be getting tougher matchups now with Tavares gone.

Dubois is by far the best breakout sophomore season.

 

[wingnutks]

After the All-star break Barzal had tougher matchups than JT did for the rest of the season. Barzals production slightly increased. Barzal also only played like 17:20 mins a game... with increased minutes he should score more, right?(the Marner effect)

 

[PatriceBergeronFan]

After the All-star break Barzal had tougher matchups than JT did for the rest of the season. Barzals production slightly increased. Barzal also only played like 17:20 mins a game... with increased minutes he should score more, right?(the Marner effect)

His team might play defense this season.

 

[wingnutks]

His team might play defense this season.

So your saying they wont be stuck in the Dzone giving up 50 shots a game?

 

[boredmale]

His team might play defense this season.

For what the Team will lose in high risk offensive plays, they will gain by spending more time in the offensive zone(hopefully)

In terms of players due for a sophmore slump I would look at guys who had great stats in the first half then came down to reality in the second.

 

[VoluntaryDom]

I think Barzal too, but do people really think Gourde is gonna repeat his year?

Doubt he hits 64 but 55 from the third line and strong PK and play driving ability is very possible

 

[VoluntaryDom]

I don’t really see any of these guys as due for massive regression. I guess I’ll put Gourde but he actually was snakebitten for a while early on last year, lol. If he can repeat his performance he could become a legitimately really good player.

 

[TheBeastCoast]

So your saying they wont be stuck in the Dzone giving up 50 shots a game?

I mean Trotz is a good coach but didn't the Isles defense get worse this off season losing CDH and not really doing anything to fill the hole and really the only additions to the team have been 4th line plugs. Seems like a recipe for a hell of a lot of time in the defensive zone and they still don't really have a goalie....so maybe they aren't a raging tire fire like they were last year and more of just a simmering tire fire?

 

[boredmale]

I mean Trotz is a good coach but didn't the Isles defense get worse this off season losing CDH and not really doing anything to fill the hole and really the only additions to the team have been 4th line plugs.

Technically they are only losing 33 games of De Haan compared to last season. Beyond that all their younger guys are 1 year older and on the flip side Boychuk getting 1 year older will be a negative.

Overall though I think more then any one player it's the team defensive system that needs improving so that should help all the defensemen and goalies indirectly

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

I'm surprised at the poll results. I picked Gourde because I think he's most likely to see a big drop, largely because it's not like he's going to be playing a prominent role on one of the top two lines or top PP unit. That's the kind of player who is prime for a slump.

Barzal's point totals may take a hit, but is it really a sophomore slump if he drops from 85 points to 75 points? It's still high-end first line production.

 

[elitepete]

Barzal,he’ll get between 60-70 points.

 

[Maukkis]

For what the Team will lose in high risk offensive plays, they will gain by spending more time in the offensive zone(hopefully)

In terms of players due for a sophmore slump I would look at guys who had great stats in the first half then came down to reality in the second.

This is the main concern with Barzal and the rest of the Isles. They'll perform better, but some guys will see a drop in production for this reason. It happened to the Jets this past year.

As mentioned earlier, Kerfoot's SH% was ridiculous, so he's probably taking a hit, but if choosing from the poll options, I'd take Gourde. HM Butcher for ridiculous PP production.

 

[Sasso09]

It'll be Barzal but he'll still be hands down the best player in this group. Losing Tavares means their opponent is keyed on him 100%. I still see him getting 70-75 points and getting better as a player but having less help and tougher minutes will dip into his point total.

 

[Sasso09]

"Sophomore slump" also known as having a high rookie year on ice SH% syndrome.

Hischier: 10.91%
Boeser: 9.38%
Sergachev: 9.4%
McAvoy: 9.06%
Dubois: 7.03%
Barzal: 9.57%
DeBrincat: 9.36%
Keller: 8.1%
Butcher: 8.26%
Debrusk: 10.44%
Connor: 8.67%
Gourde: 11.58%

Given the normal range is 7-9, and only the best of the best live in the 9-10% range and almost nobody lives past he 10% range then a lot of these options would be good candidates.

Gourde, Hischier, and Debrusk would be the best candidates though.

Barzal may be the one candidate that is based on a change of situation where he'll be getting tougher matchups now with Tavares gone.

Dubois is by far the best breakout sophomore season.

Nolan Patrick

 

[VoluntaryDom]

I'm surprised at the poll results. I picked Gourde because I think he's most likely to see a big drop, largely because it's not like he's going to be playing a prominent role on one of the top two lines or top PP unit. That's the kind of player who is prime for a slump.

Barzal's point totals may take a hit, but is it really a sophomore slump if he drops from 85 points to 75 points? It's still high-end first line production.

I mean Gourde didn’t play PP1 this year either. And only spent about half the year in the top 6.