With next to nothing happening in the hockey world this month, I thought this would be as good of a time as any to profile members of the Calgary Flames.
I'll be commenting on their performances last season as well as projected role and expectations moving forward. I've profiled 18 Flames thus far, with Michael Frolik being the most recent.
Today we're going to take a closer look at Austin Czarnik.
Counting stats: 54 games played, 18 points (six goals, 12 assists), 11:20 average time on ice
5v5 underlyings: 1.60 points/60, -0.55 CF% Rel, -4.95 GF% Rel, +0.28 xGF% Rel, 0.992 PDO
2018-19 review: Czarnik had quite a few suitors after him last summer – including the rival Edmonton Oilers – and he showed why when given a legitimate opportunity to play. He had a 55 CF%, 55 xGF%, broke even in the goal department, and was a pretty consistent chance generator throughout. He wasn't rewarded for his efforts early in the season as nothing would seem to go. Likely due to that reason, he was in and out of the lineup. Still, I think he very clearly was one of the top-12 forwards on the roster and deserved more games, and ice, than he was getting. I mean, he averaged a respectable 1.60 points/60 despite being snake bitten for months. Czarnik particularly excelled alongside Mark Jankowski, with that duo controlling 58% of the attempts and 61% of the expected goals. All in all, I don't think more could have been expected of a $1.25 million forward playing 11 minutes a night.
Fun fact: Czarnik recorded 10 points at 5v5 between February 14th and the end of the season. That matched Nathan MacKinnon, Patrice Bergeron, Jamie Benn, Phil Kessel, Matt Duchene and William Nylander, all of whom played significantly more minutes.
2019-20 outlook: I think Czarnik's usage will be very dependent on what happens with Michael Frolik. If the latter is dealt, Czarnik *could* be an everyday player in the top-9. If not...Czarnik might have a tough time getting ice and winning the favor of the coaching staff. Frolik will be a top-9er if he is around, the Flames seem destined to give Milan Lucic every opportunity to contribute, and Andrew Mangiapane/Dillon Dube are going to play as much or more as a season ago. There is a log jam, and Czarnik likely comes in lower in the pecking order considering a) they have big money invested in Lucic and; b) Mangiapane/Dube are supposed to be key parts of the future. If a body isn't cleared out, or the team doesn't run into injuries, Czarnik could be used even more sparingly than a year ago.
numbers via naturalstattrick.com and hockey-reference.com Recent posts: