One thing I've been looking at closely over the last little while is scoring chance numbers.
Generally when a player is on the ice for more scoring chances for than against, said player's team will outscore the opposition. Nothing is perfect, but SomeKindOfNinja.com has a solid database for all NHL players, and seems to be pretty accurate in tracking scoring chance numbers.
It's a fun statistic to look at, and it's interesting to see which players generate more chances than they give up. Usually scoring chance numbers correlate well with Corsi and Fenwick numbers, but there are always exceptions.
Here are the scoring chance numbers for Blue Jackets defensemen at even strength over the course of the 2013-14 regular season.
If you look at James Wisniewski's 5 vs 5 possession numbers, it's not at all surprising to see him leading the team in scoring chance percentage among defensemen. He drives play at a near 55% rate, so generating scoring chances at a similar clip seems right.
Jack Johnson and Fedor Tyutin's numbers are pretty impressive considering no defenseman on the team play tougher minters in terms of quality of competition. They also start more shifts in the defensive zone than any other players on the Blue Jackets.
I was a little surprised to see Ryan Murray under 50%. He plays the softest minutes on the team, as he starts more shifts in the offensive zone than any other player, and typically draws middle-to-bottom-6 competition. He's also better than a 50% possession player, and generally the two stats correlate.
Murray was a rookie finding his way in the league, though, so he gets the benefit of the doubt given defenseman typical take a while to develop, and he's a 20-year-old coming off a shortened season due to a serious injury. It'll be fun to see how much his numbers improve as he continues to develop.
I'll be back tomorrow with the forward numbers.
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Email: NHLToddCordell@Gmail.com