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Bozak's Future

CarltonTheBear said:
Bozak has 32 points on the season. Kessel has earned a point in 16 (50%) of them and has been on the ice for 26 (81%) of them.

Of those 6 points that Bozak scored without Kessel on the ice, 2 were shorthanded, two were with the oppositions goalies pulled, and one was with the Leafs goalie pulled.

So of his 15 5-on-5 even-strength points this season Kessel has been on the ice for all but 1 and recorded a point in 10 of them.

edit: just made a slight terminology change

Bravo sir, just fantastic posting.

This place really is the best little hidden gem on the web, the fact it's not more well known astounds me, the level of posting here is so much higher than most of the comparable sites.

Thanks for taking the time to do that CtB.
 
I can't wait to see him traded.  Will he be able to score without Kessel?  Was his university days also a fluke?  Makes for such great TV.
 
Potvin29 said:
At 5v5 this season:

B9a5xLxIMAAH5gp.png


Overall at even-strength, Daniel Winnik has more points than Bozak (20 to 19).  Maybe someone will still want him for his face-offs?

Holland is a much better player in my opinion.  Bozak is probably the biggest floater I have ever seen play center.  I don't think I've ever seen him take the body.  I would say he's a modern day Steve Rucchin riding kessel and JVR's coattails like Rucchin did with selanne and kariya....except Rucchin could actually play SOME defense
 
Chris said:
I think the most likely scenario is that Bozak and maybe Phaneuf are gone by the deadline, and Kessel stays around...

I'd be satisfied if moved Winnick (gone anyway) AND Phaneuf at the deadline. Have the Leafs really missed Phaneuf on their backend since he's been hurt? I don't think so. Both he and Franson aren't very mobile. Obviously, Rielly has played a lot better with increased ice-time, but I think both Gardiner and Holtzer are playing better as well. I don't think Granberg is ready, so I'd like to see MacWilliam replace him tonight. Percy is finally back from injury. Once he gets his game back up to snuff, I think he's the one that takes the next step to stick with the Leafs. That would set the left side with three young mobile defencemen. Now if that has some tough mobile guys on the right side to go with them. I don't mind Polak, but better in a lower pairing.
The Leafs actually have something like 10-11 less goals against them in the 12 games since Phaneuf's been out than in previous 12 with him. That might be partly schedule, partly Horachek factor, but I don't think it has made any significant difference.
 
Highlander said:
Holland is a good player, time for Bozo the Zak to go.

I agree, he rode JVR and Kessel's coattails for years, parlayed that into a nice little contract...sun has set on him here. 

He simply can't be relied on to play 5 on 5 on regular basis.  His defence is brutal, and his offence isn't good enough to make up for it
 
wnc096 said:
Highlander said:
Holland is a good player, time for Bozo the Zak to go.

I agree, he rode JVR and Kessel's coattails for years, parlayed that into a nice little contract...sun has set on him here. 

He simply can't be relied on to play 5 on 5 on regular basis.  His defence is brutal, and his offence isn't good enough to make up for it

Time for Kessel and Bozak to go. Jvr is the only one on that line  that should stay.
 
wnc096 said:
Highlander said:
Holland is a good player, time for Bozo the Zak to go.

I agree, he rode JVR and Kessel's coattails for years, parlayed that into a nice little contract...sun has set on him here. 

He simply can't be relied on to play 5 on 5 on regular basis.  His defence is brutal, and his offence isn't good enough to make up for it

Interesting to see some of the top line's stats under Horacheck vs Carlyle:

http://mapleleafshotstove.com/2015/02/22/the-bozak-corsi-dilemma/

Bozak, Kessel & JVR CF% at 5v5tied - Carlyle vs. Horachek

                  Bozak CF%   Kessel CF%   JVR CF%
under Carlyle       38.4             41.0           39.0
under Horachek   53.6             52.0           55.0
Difference             15.2             11.0           16.0
 
I guess it's time for me to start learning about these "advanced stats".

Sounds like the Corsi % is basically (total shots attempted) - (total shots opponents attempt). And the numbers posted suggest that now, under Horacheck, the top line is at least generating more shot attempts than they are giving up. But their results are worse than they were before. So how is that happening? Are we generating a lot more "cheap" shots, i.e. shots from the side boards, blue line, etc? Seems like lately Kessel is settling for shots from low percentage areas. Are others seeing that, or is a personal bias of mine?

I mean, it's obvious that the team has cut down on the total shots against, and the top line doesn't seem to be hemmed in its own end quite as much as it was before. But the overall results are worse (goals scored and games won/lost). Can't just be luck, can it? Is there a stat that tracks the quality of scoring chances?
 
Chris said:
I guess it's time for me to start learning about these "advanced stats".

Sounds like the Corsi % is basically (total shots attempted) - (total shots opponents attempt). And the numbers posted suggest that now, under Horacheck, the top line is at least generating more shot attempts than they are giving up. But their results are worse than they were before. So how is that happening? Are we generating a lot more "cheap" shots, i.e. shots from the side boards, blue line, etc? Seems like lately Kessel is settling for shots from low percentage areas. Are others seeing that, or is a personal bias of mine?

I mean, it's obvious that the team has cut down on the total shots against, and the top line doesn't seem to be hemmed in its own end quite as much as it was before. But the overall results are worse (goals scored and games won/lost). Can't just be luck, can it? Is there a stat that tracks the quality of scoring chances?

This line used to blow the d-zone early to set up the occasional rush chance, which resulted in a higher scoring percentage, but also many more chances against than for (low CF% due to non-existant forward support in DZ).

Under the new structure, they are working the puck out more systematically (5 in every zone) so the shooting chances are increasing but they require more work to earn them (going to the net, taking hits to keep plays alive). Without the room and attack speed (and Kessel's downturn likely due to nagging injury), the shooting percentage is down. Once they get better at generating chances off the cycle (so they don't have to play as much defence), the goals and wins will come.

I don't know if I would worry about 'quality' of chances. The puck can go in for you from anywhere and any situation (Bernier's Mandelas), but never when you don't have the puck.
 
LuncheonMeat said:
Interesting to see some of the top line's stats under Horacheck vs Carlyle:

http://mapleleafshotstove.com/2015/02/22/the-bozak-corsi-dilemma/

Bozak, Kessel & JVR CF% at 5v5tied - Carlyle vs. Horachek

                  Bozak CF%   Kessel CF%   JVR CF%
under Carlyle       38.4             41.0           39.0
under Horachek   53.6             52.0           55.0
Difference             15.2             11.0           16.0

This article does serve to highlight a lot of the issues with straight CF% when looking at individual players. It does, however, also highlight how much impact coaching and strategy can impact the puck possession side of the game.
 
herman said:
I don't know if I would worry about 'quality' of chances. The puck can go in for you from anywhere and any situation (Bernier's Mandelas), but never when you don't have the puck.

But the whole reason we make special note of those goals is that they don't happen very often and are sort of particular to Bernier. I think it's very reasonable to suggest that one of the things that has affected the output of the top line is that while Horacheck's strategies produce better possession numbers, it's asking players like Kessel to try and generate scoring chances off the cycle which doesn't really speak to his skillset. Kessel might, emphasis on might, be injured but I think it's just as likely that we're seeing a very real flaw in his game being exposed.
 
LuncheonMeat said:
wnc096 said:
Highlander said:
Holland is a good player, time for Bozo the Zak to go.

I agree, he rode JVR and Kessel's coattails for years, parlayed that into a nice little contract...sun has set on him here. 

He simply can't be relied on to play 5 on 5 on regular basis.  His defence is brutal, and his offence isn't good enough to make up for it

Interesting to see some of the top line's stats under Horacheck vs Carlyle:

http://mapleleafshotstove.com/2015/02/22/the-bozak-corsi-dilemma/

Bozak, Kessel & JVR CF% at 5v5tied - Carlyle vs. Horachek

                  Bozak CF%   Kessel CF%   JVR CF%
under Carlyle       38.4             41.0           39.0
under Horachek   53.6             52.0           55.0
Difference             15.2             11.0           16.0

Then why haven't they won more games under  Horacheck.  You say they are doing better but if that better doesn't result in wins; they are actually doing worse.
 
Nik the Trik said:
herman said:
I don't know if I would worry about 'quality' of chances. The puck can go in for you from anywhere and any situation (Bernier's Mandelas), but never when you don't have the puck.

But the whole reason we make special note of those goals is that they don't happen very often and are sort of particular to Bernier. I think it's very reasonable to suggest that one of the things that has affected the output of the top line is that while Horacheck's strategies produce better possession numbers, it's asking players like Kessel to try and generate scoring chances off the cycle which doesn't really speak to his skillset. Kessel might, emphasis on might, be injured but I think it's just as likely that we're seeing a very real flaw in his game being exposed.

I only mentioned Bernier's Mandelas as an illustration that you can't score if you don't have the puck, thus highlighting the importance of possession.

I agree with your assessment of Kessel. He needs the operating space and in a cycle set-up, his linemates don't really open up much room. We've seen him do it before, but more often than not, Kessel is easily bodied off the puck. Pinning him to the same personnel they used for transition offense rather than fitting him with complementary players to mitigate that flaw is showing on the scoresheet. Horachek also confirmed that Kessel is dealing with something on the injury front.
 

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