2021 Blues Regular Season multi-purpose thread

[LGB]

If there are not any already, I can see conferences on advanced stats in sports at some point.

There are

 

[LGB]

Rick Meagher, in his Selke season, would have been on the ice against players that year included Savard, Lemieux, Cullen, Yzerman, Gretzky, Nicholls, Francis, Sakic, Stastny, Howerchuck, Nieuwendyk, Gilmour, Janney, Turgeon, Messier, LaFontaine,
basically the Golden Age of centers
He had 20 even strength points that year and was a +4
so when he was on the ice he was used against these players and they essentially didn't score against him in an incredibly high scoring era
Guy Carbonneau was another defensive center from the same era
he scored at a 40 something to 50 something pace when the top centers were putting up 100+, and completely shut them down

great defenders have skill - it is not allowing other teams to score when they are on the ice
there is just no easy way to see statistical info to evaluate it

"Advanced" hockey statistics are based on shot attempt data measuring chances and goals. Most likely those guys had very strong impacts on limiting their teams xGA if we had the data to measure it.

 

[joe galiba]

There are

and I thought I was a big geek
there is clearly a whole other level to aspire to

 

[ChicagoBlues]

There are

Well there you go.

They need to get on the same page, especially when it comes to operationalizing the definitions. Once we have a standard, we will start to see models that more accurately measure and present what it is that they want to measure.

 

[Brian39]

If you accept that they are more dependent on factors outside of their control it follows that they would have less of an individual impact.

I disagree. The goaltender is easily the most impactful individual player on the team but is fully reactive toward events that happen outside of his control. Everything leading up to a shot is outside a goalie's control until the puck is on its way to him. There probably isn't a position in sports more dependent on external factors than goaltending and I think there is a great argument that goaltending is the most impactful position in team sports.

The fact that goal prevention is more reactionary to factors outside your control doesn't make it less impactful to the outcome of a game. It certainly makes it harder to measure, but I don't think it makes it less impactful.

 

[LGB]

I disagree. The goaltender is easily the most impactful individual player on the team but is fully reactive toward events that happen outside of his control. Everything leading up to a shot is outside a goalie's control until the puck is on its way to him. There probably isn't a position in sports more dependent on external factors than goaltending and I think there is a great argument that goaltending is the most impactful position in team sports.

The fact that goal prevention is more reactionary to factors outside your control doesn't make it less impactful to the outcome of a game. It certainly makes it harder to measure, but I don't think it makes it less impactful.

Goaltending is a whole different beast. You seemed to agree in your last post.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

and I thought I was a big geek
there is clearly a whole other level to aspire to

Quantum computing

 

[BlueKnight]

Kyrou named to the all star team

 

[joe galiba]

Quantum computing

using nearest neighbor entanglement for quantum spin or are we talking long distance entanglements?

 

[ChicagoBlues]

using nearest neighbor entanglement for quantum spin or are we talking long distance entanglements?

on-ice entanglements

So, I guess that would be nearest neighbor entanglement.

 

[TK 421]

using nearest neighbor entanglement for quantum spin or are we talking long distance entanglements?

We're looking to avoid any Imperial entanglements.

 

[Drubilly]

You guys are totally talking about porn aren’t you?

 

[Linkens Mastery]

You guys are totally talking about porn aren’t you?

No, Wil and Jada Picket Smith

 

[Drubilly]

No, Wil and Jada Picket Smith

Ohhh yeah, the whole “I got caught and now I have to explain myself with some bullshit” thingy…

 

[Linkens Mastery]

Ohhh yeah, the whole “I got caught and now I have to explain myself with some bullshit” thingy…

I honestly don't know. I just saw entanglement and made a joke lol

 

[ChicagoBlues]

You guys are totally talking about porn aren’t you?

Yes. I'm starring in my new porn flick, 'Covet Thy Neighbor'.

 

[Frenzy31]

Yes. I'm starring in my new porn flick, 'Covet Thy Neighbor'.

Is Jake going to be in it?

 

[Drubilly]

Is Jake going to be in it?

Nice

 

[bleedblue1223]

I'm really curious what's behind Thomas' breakout this season. We all figured it was inevitable, but I'm curious if it's driven more of him finally being healthy, natural progression, or him putting in serious work in the off-season. It's not just the production, it's his complete 2-way game that he displayed in juniors, it's his faceoffs that have gone from a major weakness to being over 50%, it's him wearing an A last night. I'm sure it's a combo of the 3 I mentioned, but want to give him credit for putting the work in and becoming that complete player and leader that he was projected to be.

 

[JoshFromMO]

I think Bortz has quietly been having himself a decent season. For a physical bottom pairing guy he's been doing pretty good at not making a lot of dumb mistakes, getting the puck out of the zone well, averaging 13 minutes or so and being +1. I'd never expect him to light it up so it looks like he's been doing good job well so far.

 

[bleedblue1223]

He goes relatively underrated. He doesn't have to do much since he's always on the 3rd pair, but it's amazing how steady he's been in his role ever since we got him. Crazy that this is his 8th season with us.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

I'm really curious what's behind Thomas' breakout this season. We all figured it was inevitable, but I'm curious if it's driven more of him finally being healthy, natural progression, or him putting in serious work in the off-season. It's not just the production, it's his complete 2-way game that he displayed in juniors, it's his faceoffs that have gone from a major weakness to being over 50%, it's him wearing an A last night. I'm sure it's a combo of the 3 I mentioned, but want to give him credit for putting the work in and becoming that complete player and leader that he was projected to be.

There was a story a while back that in exit interviews after last season he was complaining that he wanted top 6 role and ice time. Berube and Army told him that if he deserved it he would get it. Seems to have really inspired him to put work in over the summer. We knew he had talent to be a star but I had started to question whether he wanted it bad enough. Turns out he did.

 

[Brian39]

I think Bortz has quietly been having himself a decent season. For a physical bottom pairing guy he's been doing pretty good at not making a lot of dumb mistakes, getting the puck out of the zone well, averaging 13 minutes or so and being +1. I'd never expect him to light it up so it looks like he's been doing good job well so far.

2+ minutes a night on the league's #5 PK too. We don't want him playing a bigger role than what he's getting, but he has done a really good job in his role. It seems like he is well-liked in the locker room too. I'm not wild about bringing him back for his market value, but he has been well worth his current contract.

 

[bleedblue1223]

There was a story a while back that in exit interviews after last season he was complaining that he wanted top 6 role and ice time. Berube and Army told him that if he deserved it he would get it. Seems to have really inspired him to put work in over the summer. We knew he had talent to be a star but I had started to question whether he wanted it bad enough. Turns out he did.

And this is something young players probably struggle with when they are on good teams. Easy for them to get frustrated and say the team isn't giving them a chance for bigger minutes, where young players on bad teams will just get thrown into bigger roles. Similar sort of thing happened with Binnington where he had that same mentality where he was close to wanting out, but on the Spittin Chicklets podcast, he talked about once he made it, he understood why management said he wasn't ready yet.

 

[Brian39]

Kyrou and Thomas have both really rewarded the organization's decision to make them both untouchable in 2018. It is pretty rare for a non-basement-dwelling organization to have 2 kids drafted outside the top 20 that are both considered untouchable before they make the jump to the pros. It is even rarer for both of those prospects to hit their ceilings a few years down the line. More often than not, you'd see one of those prospects turn into a stud while the other is just a serviceable NHL player.

It is tough to say where the majority of the credit lies here. Is it Army for establishing his line in the sand and still finding a way to go get ROR without including them? Is it the coaching staff for doing a great job developing them? Is it the players for putting in the work to meet (and arguably exceed) expectations? All of them deserve credit, but I honestly can't tell you who deserves the most credit. But I do know that the explosion of Thomas and Kyrou is franchise-altering. No one can say with confidence that these two guys will maintain their paces and be 75+ point players for years to come. But I feel confident that they are both at least legit top 6 contributors for a contender-caliber team long term.

Their explosion combined with the Buch acquisition completely changed this franchise.