Players peaking later?

[ijuka]

I've been looking at some players in the past few years having career years at 25-29 years of age. If I just look,

top 1-10 in scoring, the ages are: 25, 27, 28, 29, 31, 27, 29, 29, 28, 27.
Top 11-20 in scoring, the ages are: 26, 27, 27, 27, 26, 22, 33, 28, 26, 37.

The only player breaking the pattern there is Stützle. In the top 30, the only player under 25 is Jack Hughes.

We've also seen several players emerge, seemingly out of nowhere, at a relatively late age. Strome seems to have taken a next step at 27. Necas 25 at is an obvious example. Even guys like Marchment or Kempe only begun coming to their own after 25 years of age. Or Jared McCann. Sam Reinhart(not out of nowhere, but a significant improvement)?

Traditionally, 22-23 has been considered the peak for a hockey player, but that seriously doesn't seem to be the case anymore? Or has there just been such a massive talent drought in the league that no better players have emerged to challenge these players for all these years? Or has the league itself changed, making it so that pure athleticism and physical capability isn't enough anymore; that you actually need the experience and intuition that you can only get by playing in the league for many years?

What do you think, has there been a real shift in the league towards players peaking after 25, and later in general? Is the ideal age for a player ~28 instead of ~23 ?

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[Hippasus]

It depends on position. For forwards, what you suggest might be happening, but for defensemen and goalies it's definitely later. For forwards, it might because there are more teams, along with an emphasis on coaching and systems. In the past, forwards may have gotten more mileage out of raw physical talent, like foot speed.

 

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

I think that teams have adjusted their defensive playstyles to the increased speed of the game. This means that skill, two-way awareness, and hockey IQ, all of which peak later (mid-to-late 20s) than pure raw speed (early-20s), is once again the major differentiator. You can also see this phenomenon in that almost every single one of the best NHL teams are in the older half of the league, including the most analytically-inclined groups like Carolina and Florida.

 

[Iggys Dome]

Nutrition, medicine, athletic therapy all contribute to players playing better later on in their careers. Combine that with a better understanding of the NHL pace by the time they are ~28 it's not a surprise IMO

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Meh, this has always happened. We have a ton of guys who randomly have great years later in their careers.

 

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

Meh, this has always happened. We have a ton of guys who randomly have great years later in their careers.

There was a period in the early-to-mid-2010s where the NHL rules changed to encourage speed and skill, and it led to a short period where all of the best and most-hyped offensive guys were in their early-20s. This led to all sorts of think pieces about how the NHL was becoming even more of a young man's game than it had been previously. Then the defenses adjusted to the skill influx by the 2020s, and the average age of the best offensive and all-around players are starting to tick up into the mid-to-late-20s again.

 

[Coffee]

Nutrition, medicine, athletic therapy all contribute to players playing better later on in their careers. Combine that with a better understanding of the NHL pace by the time they are ~28 it's not a surprise IMO

50 to 80 percent is genes

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

There was a period in the early-to-mid-2010s where the NHL rules changed to encourage speed and skill, and it led to a short period where all of the best and most-hyped offensive guys were in their early-20s. This led to all sorts of think pieces about how the NHL was becoming even more of a young man's game than it had been previously. Then the defenses adjusted to the skill influx by the 2020s, and the average age of the best offensive and all-around players are starting to tick up into the mid-to-late-20s again.

That was 2017-18. Early to mid 2010s was very stingy and defensive hockey.

 

[TheNumber4]

Interesting thread. Conventional wisdom and research always had forwards peaks around 23-24. Articles from 8 years back have shown that. Articles in 2024 with new analysis says the peak has shifted to 27-28. Hopefully it takes into account the overall increase in scoring we’ve seen these last few years.

 

[Mirka the Turka]

I feel like a 30 year old would dominate the league if it wasn't for injuries. The experience factor plus still being able to perform like the younger guys in terms of power/speed is possible.

I think too many guys get hurt in this physical game. But otherwise you'd dominate at 30.

But with the game being less physical now you will see a resurgence of old players

 

[PlayersLtd]

I thought for sure this was an Adam Gaudette thread.