Montreal Canadiens' defenseman Andrei Markov had a consistent 2013 season. This, despite seeing his first NHL action in well over a year.
Markov's 2012-13 data-generated scouting report can be found here
Tracking every puck-possession play over the course of an entire season allows us to track how well a player is playing during each and every game. Taking those numbers and trending them over the entire season gives us a clear and objective view of how consistent (or inconsistent) a player has played. This also allows us to visualize any upward or downward trends in a player's performance.
OVERALL RATIO
Overall ratio shows how many successful plays a player makes for every 1 unsuccessful play.
Markov's overall ratio trended downward over the course of the season. The ratio of successful plays for every 1 unsuccessful play went from slightly over 3 per-game to 2.60. Much of this trend can be explained simply by the normal adjustment numbers take as events increase. That said, Markov's overall ratio seems to have followed the same path as his defensive-zone risk/reward rating.
For comparison's sake, Markov had an overall ratio of 2.94 during the 2013 playoffs.
EVEN-STRENGTH RISK/REWARD RATING
Risk/reward rating shows how many more successful plays a player makes than unsuccessful plays per-minute of ice-time.
Even-strength risk/reward ratings are an impressive reflection of not only how well a player is playing at even-strength, it is also a direct reflection of how much they are contributing. The more successful events a player engages in; the higher their risk/reward. Markov produced an incredibly consistent even-strength risk/reward rating throughout the season.
For comparison's sake, Markov had an even-strength risk/reward rating of 1.70 during the 2013 playoffs.
OFFENSIVE-ZONE RISK/REWARD RATING
Risk/reward rating shows how many more successful plays a player makes than unsuccessful plays per-minute of ice-time.
As mentioned earlier, risk/reward rating is greatly impacted by the number of events a player engages in. Markov's increased offensive-zone rating is directly related to a substantial increase in offensive-zone events as the season progressed.
Markov had an offensive-zone risk/reward rating of 0.23 during the 2013 playoffs.
DEFENSIVE SUCCESS-RATE IN THE OFFENSIVE-ZONE
Defensive success-rate shows a player's success-rate when attempting to acquire or remove puck-possession from the opposition.
Defensive success-rate for defensemen hinges on their ability to hold pucks in at the blueline, as this is where the bulk of their defensive-events in the offensive-zone take place. This is also an important metric, as it has a direct link to the number of odd-man rushes defensemen are giving up.
Markov's success-rate when attempting to remove puck-possession in the offensive-zone trended downward; but only slightly. For comparison's sake Markov's defensive success-rate in the offensive-zone was 85.29% during the playoffs.
OFFENSIVE SUCCESS-RATE IN THE OFFENSIVE-ZONE
Puck-possession (offensive) success-rate shows a player's success-rate when attempting to maintain puck-possession for his team.
Defensemen's offensive, or puck-possession success-rate in the offensive-zone is mostly impacted by their ability to make passes, and get shots through to the net while in the offensive-zone.
Markov's puck-possession success-rate in the o-zone trended down, but only slightly. This was the product of Markov's struggles to get shots through to the net as the season wore on. For comparison's sake, Markov had an offensive-zone puck-possession success-rate of only 47.5% in the 2013 playoffs.
DEFENSIVE-ZONE RISK/REWARD RATING
Risk/reward rating shows how many more successful plays a player makes than unsuccessful plays per-minute of ice-time.
Defensemen`s defensive-zone risk/reward ratings are impacted mostly by their ability to successfully pass the puck, their ability to recover loose-pucks, and their ability to win puck-battles.
Markov's defensive-zone risk/reward rating trended downward as the season progressed. He won fewer puck-battles, and recovered fewer pucks as the season wore on.
For comparison's sake, Markov's defensive-zone risk/reward rating was 1.03 during the playoffs.
DEFENSIVE SUCCESS-RATE IN THE DEFENSIVE-ZONE
Defensive success-rate shows a player's success-rate when attempting to acquire or remove puck-possession from the opposition.
Defensive success-rates in the defensive-zone are generally the direct result of a defenseman's ability to recover loose-pucks and win puck-battles.
Markov's defensive success-rate in the d-zone trended slightly down as the season progressed. For comparison's sake, Markov's defensive success-rate in the d-zone was 75.47% during the playoffs.
PUCK-POSSESSION SUCCESS-RATE IN THE DEFENSIVE-ZONE
Puck-possession (offensive) success-rate shows a player's success-rate when attempting to maintain puck-possession for his team.
A defenseman's puck-possession success-rate in the defensive-zone is impacted mostly by their ability to successfully pass the puck while in the d-zone.
Markov's defensive-zone puck-possession success-rate stayed relatively consistent throughout the season. For comparison's sake, his d-zone puck-possession success-rate was 68.93% during the 2013 playoffs.
DEFENSIVE-ZONE PASSING SUCCESS-RATE
Markov's success-rate when attempting a pass while in the defensive-zone held steady all season; with only a slight dip at season's end.
Markov's defensive-zone passing success-rate was 71% during the playoffs.
NEUTRAL-ZONE RISK/REWARD RATING
Risk/reward rating shows how many more successful plays a player makes than unsuccessful plays per-minute of ice-time.
Neutral-zone risk/reward rating is generally less stable when looked at on a game-by-game basis. This is due to the limited number of neutral-zone events most players engage-in over the course of 1 game.
That said, Markov's neutral-zone risk/reward rating held steady over the course of the season. For comparison's sake, his neutral-zone risk/reward rating was 0.43 during the 2013 playoffs.
POWERPLAY RISK/REWARD RATING
Risk/reward rating shows how many more successful plays a player makes than unsuccessful plays per-minute of ice-time.
Powerplay risk/reward rating is difficult to trend on a game-by-game basis because the number of powerplays can vary each game. Each player's PP risk/reward rating depends on different facets of their game; depending on position and role. For his part, Markov's PP risk/reward rating is directly related to his ability to complete passes in the offensive-zone
Pacioretty's for example, would be contingent on his ability to recover loose-pucks, and get shots through to the net, while Subban's would be contingent on his ability to complete passes, and get shots through to the net.
That said, Markov's powerplay risk/reward rating improved as the season progressed, but fell to 2.85 during the 2013 playoffs.
SHORT-HANDED RISK/REWARD RATING
Risk/reward rating shows how many more successful plays a player makes than unsuccessful plays per-minute of ice-time.
Like PP risk/reward, Short-handed risk/reward rating is difficult to trend on a game-by-game basis because the number of powerplays can vary each game.
A defensemen's short-handed risk/reward rating is impacted mostly by their ability to win puck-battles, recover loose-pucks, and successfully dump the puck out of the defensive-zone. Markov's SH risk/reward held steady over the course of the season.
For comparison's sake, his SH risk/reward rating was 2.00 during the 2013 playoffs.