This is the sixth in a series of graphs focusing on some of the 2012 NHL Draft-eligible prospects. Included here are prospects I had the pleasure of viewing multiple times.
A player with possession of the puck has 3 main options. He can pass the puck to a teammate, beat an opposing player 1on1, or shoot the puck on net. The middle graph is a visual representation of the success-rate of each of these players when attempting either of these 3 plays. It can also be seen as a reflection of how successful these players are at avoiding turnovers.
The bottom graph is a visual representation of each player's success-rate when attempting to pass the puck. The results are broken down into offensive(green), neutral (yellow), and defensive-zones (red).
Also included in this calculation is a player's success-rate when attempting to dump the puck out of the defensive-zone (when under pressure, and without icing the puck), as well as their success-rate when attempting to dump the puck deep into the offensive-zone (and behind the opposition's defensemen). The higher the number the better these players performed while in possession of the puck.
It is important to indicate when and where the games were played in order to establish the level of competition. Obviously, the numbers earned during an Under-18 tournament should be different than those earned during a World Junior Championship.
These players are in no specific order. Only those players with multiple one-game scouting reports using my player tracking system were included in the graph.
FORWARDS
Nail Yakupov was scouted 7 times. Six of those games were played during the 2012 World Junior Championship, while the other was an OHL game. Yakupov maintained puck-possession for his team, or avoided a turnover during 64% of the events he engaged in when already in possession of the puck. He also had a high success-rate when attempting to beat players 1on1.
Mikhail Grigorenko was scouted 7 times. Five of those are from the World Junior Championship, and one was from the QMJHL. The other game scouted was the 2012 CHL Top Prospects game. Grigorenko was successful with 60% of the events he engaged in when already in possession of the puck. He completed more than 60% of his attempted passes in each of the 3 zones.
Filip Forsberg was scouted 5 times. Four of those games are from the World Junior Championship, while the other game took place during the World Under-18 Championship. Forsberg maintained puck-possession for his team, or avoided turning the puck over during 57% of the events he engaged in when already in possession of the puck. His offensive and defensive-zone passing-percentage was well below-average.
Tanner Pearson was scouted 4 times. Three of those games are from the World Junior Championship, while the other was the CHL Top Prospects game. Pearson was successful with 66% of the events he engaged in when already in possession of the puck. His passing-percentage was above average in each zone. The only negative in his play was his tendency to turn the puck over in the offensive-zone when attempting to beat opposing players 1on1 (deke).
Radek Faksa was scouted 6 times. Four of those games are from the World Junior Championship, and one is from the OHL playoffs. The other game scouted was the CHL Top Prospects game.Faksa was successful with only 56% of the plays he engaged in when already in possession of the puck. Faksa was well above-average when acquiring puck-possession from the opposition, but his passing-percentage in the offensive and defensive-zones is only 48% and 33%; respectively.
Sebastian Collberg was scouted 5 times. Four of those games are from the World Junior Championship, while the other game took place during the World Under-18 Championship. Collberg was only successful with 52% of the plays he engages in when already in possession of the puck. Through 7 attempts to beat opposing players 1on1 in the neutral and defensive-zones, Collberg had yet to be successful; turning the puck over each time.
Tomas Hertl was scouted 4 times. All 4 games took place at the World Junior Championship. He was successful with 67% of the events he engaged in when already in possession of the puck. Hertl was successful with 67% of his passes in both the offensive, and defensive-zones. His only struggle was in the neutral-zone, where he completed only 43% of his passes.
Martin Frk was scouted 3 times. Two of those games are from the QMJHL, while the other is the CHL Top Prospects game. Frk was successful with 68% of the events he engaged in when already in possession of the puck. His pass-percentage was above 80% in both the neutral and defensive-zones, but fell to 54% in the o-zone.
Tomas Hyka was scouted 4 times. Three of those games are from the World Junior Championship, while the other is the CHL Top Prospects game. Hyka has the highest success-rate of any forward (74%) when attempting to maintain possession of the puck. Incredibly, his passing-percentage was above 77% in each of the 3 zones. The only blemish was 4 neutral-zone give-aways when attempting to beat players 1on1 (deke).
Brendan Gaunce was scouted 3 times. One of those games was the CHL Top Prospects game, one was from the World Under-18 Championship, while the other was from the OHL. Gaunce was successful with only 43% of the events he engaged in while already in possession of the puck. Expressed differently, this shows that Gaunce gave the puck away 57% of the time the puck was on his stick. His numbers were destroyed by his 30% success-rate when attempting passes in the offensive-zone.
Scott Laughton was scouted twice. One of those games is from the CHL Top Prospects, while the other is from the World Under-18 Championship. He was successful with 70% of the events he engaged in when in possession of the puck. His passing success-rates were above 66% in each of the 3 zones.
Gemel Smith was scouted twice. One of those games is from the CHL top Prospects, while the other is from the World Under-18 Championship. He was successful with 52% of the plays he engaged in when already in possession of the puck. Smith's rating was hurt by his inability to beat players 1on1 (deke).
DEFENSEMEN
Defensemen traditionally have higher success-rates within this metric, as they are under less pressure with the puck. Many teams play a passive defensive system; giving defensemen the opportunity to make a pressure-free first pass coming out of the defensive-zone.
Ryan Murray was scouted 4 times. Three of those games are from the World Junior Championship, while the other is from the CHL Top Prospects game. Murray was successful with 69% of the events he engaged in when already in possession of the puck. He completed 73% of his defensive-zone pass-attempts, but only 45% of his o-zone passes.
Matt Dumba was scouted 3 times. Two of the games are from the World Under-18 Championship, and the other is from the CHL Top Prospects game. He was successful with just under 72% of his events when already in possession of the puck. He completed 83% of his offensive-zone passes, but only 40% of his attempts to dump the puck out of the defensive-zone.
Jacob Trouba was scouted 5 times. Three of those games are from the World Junior Hockey Championship, while 2 others are from the Under-18 Championship. He was successful with just over 72% of the events he engages in when already in possession of the puck. He completed 73% of his d-zone passes, and 64% of his offensive-zone passes.
Griffin Reinhart was scouted 3 times. Two of those games took place during the 2012 Memorial Cup, while the other is from the CHL Top Prospects game. Reinhart was successful with 68% of the events he engaged in when already in possession of the puck. His neutral-zone passing percentage was an incredible 92%, while his success-rate when attempting to beat players 1on1 (deke) in the defensive-zone was only 25%.
Ville Pokka was scouted twice. Once during the WJHC, and once during the World Under-18 Championship. He was successful with 68% of the events he engaged in while already in possession of the puck. He completed over 73% of his passes in either of the 3 zones, but only 25% of his defensive-zone dekes. He was also successful with only 40% of his attempts to successfully dump the puck out of the defensive-zone.
Olli Maata was scouted 4 times. Once during the WJHC, and 3 times during the Memorial Cup. He was successful with 71% of his plays when already in possession of the puck. Like Pokka, Maata was successful with over 73% of his passes in either of the 3 zones.
Cody Ceci was scouted twice. Both games are from the OHL playoffs. He was successful with 71% of the events he engaged in when in possession of the puck. He completed 75% of his defensive-zone passes, and 62% of his offensive-zone passes. He was also successful with 60% of his attempts to beat opposing players 1on1 (deke) in the defensive-zone.
Adam Pelech was scouted 3 times. Twice during the Under-18 Championship, and once during the CHL Top Prospects game. Pelech was successful with 72% of the plays he engaged in while in possession of the puck. He completed 71% of his d-zone passes, but only 33% of his offensive-zone passes.
Connor Carrick was scouted twice. He is only ranked 124th by Central Scouting, but his numbers intrigued me enough to include him here. He was successful with an incredible 82% of the events he engaged in while in possession of the puck. He completed all 5 of his offensive, and neutral-zone passes. He also completed 73% of his d-zone pass-attempts.
