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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 five Flames thus far,
with Sam Bennett being the most recent.
Today we're going to take a closer look at Derek Ryan.
Counting stats: 81 games played, 38 points (13 goals, 25 assists), 13:48 average time on ice
5v5 underlyings: 1.82 points/60, +1.04 CF% Rel, +7.49 GF% Rel, +2.50 xGF% Rel, 102.60 PDO
2018-19 review: The Derek Ryan signing was met with mixed emotions from many and, honestly, it wasn't hard to understand why. They thought the Flames invested three years, and almost $9.5 million, into a mediocre journeyman depth player with a reputation as a bit of a teacher's pet in Carolina (i.e. was given more responsibilities than he deserved). Not much was expected as a result but Ryan's performance surpassed even the most optimistic of outlooks. Ryan put up almost 40 points despite logging nearly two fewer minutes per game than he did in Carolina the year prior. He also posted positive relative numbers across the board, which is no small feat on a team that wins a conference, and was on for only 20 goals against (5v5) over 81 games. Realistically speaking, he could not have possibly played any better in the role he was given.
Fun fact: Ryan appeared in 30 games from February 2nd until the end of the regular season. He was on for one goal against at 5v5 in that time. One. In 30 games! Compare that to the 24(!) goals for and he posted a cool 96 Goals For% over the span of 37% of his season. Incredible.
2019-20 outlook: With little roster turnover, particularly up front, I think Ryan will take on the same role as last season. He'll mostly play 3C, and even when listed on the 4th line he'll often log more ice than Mark Jankowski. Ryan will be a solid 5v5 contributor, although perhaps less so than last season, and chip in on PP2. He's also perhaps first in line for top line duties when Sean Monahan inevitably struggles while playing through injury. Small sample size, of course, but Ryan posted a 61.90 CF% and +3 goal differential at 5v5 with Johnny Gaudreau by his side last season. I think the Doc is again going to be an important part of the Flames.
numbers via naturalstattrick.com and hockey-reference.com
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