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 17 Flames thus far, with Mark Jankowski being the most recent.
Today we're going to take a closer look at Michael Frolik.
Counting stats: 65 games played, 34 points (16 goals, 18 assists), 13:22 average time on ice
5v5 underlyings: 1.99 points/60, +2.61 CF% Rel, +7.96 GF% Rel, +1.17 xGF% Rel, 1.019 PDO
2018-19 review: Frolik did miss some time with injuries and there was a bit of drama when it came to a cut in ice time under Bill Peters. The list of negatives ends there. When Frolik was healthy and playing, he was nothing short of fantastic. It was undeniably one of his better seasons to date. He averaged 1.99 points per 60 minutes – 1st line production – at 5v5, which was the best output of his career. Frolik recorded 9.01 scoring chances per 60 minutes, 2nd most since 2010-11. He posted positive relative possession numbers for the 11th time in 12 seasons(!!), and the remarkable 62.86 on-ice Goals For% (44 for, 26 against) was the highest number of his career by nearly 7%. Though Frolik is on the wrong side of 30, he showed no signs of slowing down and was probably right to be frustrated by a 3+ minute cut in playing time.
Fun fact: Frolik was one of three forwards to average 1.99 points/60 at 5v5. The other two? Winnipeg Jets stars Mark Schiefele and Blake Wheeler.
2019-20 outlook: If Frolik remains with the Flames, which is far from a certainty, I think he's heading for matchup/situational-dependent middle-6 duties. At home to a team with a dynamic top line? Frolik will probably ride shotgun on the shutdown line with Matthew Tkachuk and Mikael Backlund. At least he should. Trailing late and in need of some offense? Depending on how Andrew Mangiapane, and perhaps even Dillon Dube, are coming along, one of them could take Frolik's spot on the 2nd line and shift him down. I think it's pretty clear his days logging 16-17 minutes every night – while being completely glued to Tkachuk and Backlund – are over. Rightly or wrongly, Bill Peters just doesn't want to use him that way.
numbers via naturalstattrick.com and hockey-reference.com Recent posts: