The Midnight Rider
By Lowetide
12 years ago
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is tracking like a Calder winner. Seriously. He’s ripping it up, and not just on home ice anymore. How good can he be? Too soon to tell. How good is he as a rookie compared to recent freshman? That we can begin to answer.
For the purposes of this conversation, I’m going to post numbers mostly in 5×5/60 form. That way we can get these kids on a more level playing field. We can’t control time on ice. but the 60 minute weighting system allows us to place things on a line.
RECENT OILER ROOKIES (5X5/60 MINUES)
- Ryan Nugent Hopkins 2.41
- Sam Gagner 1.96
- Jordan Eberle 1.79
- Taylor Hall 1.78
- Magnus Paajarvi 1.36
It’s early, but RNH is certainly tracking well. This isn’t an exact science–Andrew Cogliano enjoyed a 2.28/60 at 5×5 as a rookie–but it certainly bodes well for the young man to show so well early in his rookie season. Part of that is no doubt due to linemates and the soft parade coach Renney is feeding him, but that’s a very nice number.
RECENT CALDER WINNERS & TOP PICKS (AS ROOKIES)
- Jeff Skinner 2.49
- Ryan Nugent Hopkins 2.41
- Patrick Kane 2.32
- Taylor Hall 1.78
- Steven Stamkos 1.78
- John Tavares 1.42
Again RNH shows well, with only last year’s screaming success ahead of him. Now, we’re talking about major differences in quality of team, etc but it does suggest that the young man from Burnaby–very recently thought of as a weak #1 overall pick–appears to be at least running with the pack at the top end of the table.
HOW DID THEY DO AFTER 21 GAMES?
Below are the boxcars for each player listed above after their first 21 NHL games.
- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins 8-14-22
- Patrick Kane 7-15-22
- John Tavares 9-10-19
- Jeff Skinner 6-11-17
- Jordan Eberle 4-9-13
- Taylor Hall 5-6-11
- Sam Gagner 2-7-9
- Stevean Stamkos 2-5-7
- Magnus Paajarvi 2-4-6
Again, the Oiler rookie shows well. We should also keep in mind that this RNH fellow has a nice range of skills, and that should help him outscore opponents as he matures. Based on these numbers, RNH is tracking very well.
WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?
Well, it’s early. We shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves here, there’s a long way to go and the kid is facing the soft parade at home. Still, this is a really nice resume. Short, but sweet.
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