NHL Season Preview (2016-17): 5 Players That Numbers Suggest Will Score More Goals Next Season
With the World Cup of Hockey soon approaching next month, and NHL training camps soon after, we continue with our 2016-17 NHL season preview as the offseason will soon draw to a close.
Next, we present a special list dedicated to five players who odds suggest will score more goals this upcoming season. The common denominator for each individual is a shooting percentage that would be difficult to replicate two years in a row.
NHL Season Preview: 5 Players That Should Score More Goals
Nazem Kadri, Toronto Maple Leafs
2014-15: 176 shots 10.5 shooting percentage 18 goals
2015-16: 260 shots 6.5 shooting percentage 17 goals
Shooting percentages tend to drop as players shoot the puck more often, so a dip would be expected with 84 more shots from the previous year; although, a four percent drop is fairly significant.
The laws of probability might suggest Nazem gets a bit more puck luck in 2016-17, and should reach the 20-goal plateau for the second time in his career.
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Brian Dumoulin, Pittsburgh Penguins
2014-15: 8 games played 4 shots 1 goal
2015-16: 79 games played 101 shots 0 goals
His experience was limited in 2014-15, but Dumoulin emerged on the Pens blue line this past season. He scored one goal on four shots, only to go 79 games and 101 shots without a goal a year later.
Defense generally put up a low shooting percentage, but there’s almost zero chance Brian Dumoulin goes without scoring at least a few goals (at the bare minimum) in 2016-17.
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Torey Krug, Boston Bruins
2014-15: 143 shots 9.1 shooting percentage 12 goals
2015-16: 244 shots 1.6 shooting percentage 4 goals
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Playing in the shadows of Zdeno Chara, Dennis Seidenberg, and Dougie Hamilton in the past, Krug managed to score 14 goals in 2013-14, followed up by 12 goals in 2014-15.
Stepping up as the B’s number one defender this past season, Torey Krug saw his goal total drop to just four. He had 101 more shots from the previous year, posting a 1.6 shooting percentage.
Given his offensive skill-set from the back-end and presence on the powerplay, fans should expect Krug to score in the double-digits in 2016-17.
Seth Jones, Columbus Blue Jackets
2014-15: (NSH) 118 shots 7.6 shooting percentage 8 goals
2015-16 (NSH/CLB) 157 shots 1.9 shooting percentage 3 goals
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Jones stepped into a larger role with increased ice-time following the trade to Columbus. He shot the puck a little more (and should see a continued increase in a full season with the Blue Jackets) but struggled to find the back of the net.
After scoring eight the previous year, Seth only found the back of the net three times in 2015-16.
Even if he can reach five percent shooting on 200 shots (not asking a lot), Seth Jones can at least score 10 goals in 2016-17.
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Jakub Voracek, Philadelphia Flyers
2014-15: 221 shots 10.0 shooting percentage 22 goals
2015-16: 213 shots 5.2 shooting percentage 11 goals
As you can see, Voracek’s shooting percentage was nearly cut in half (down 4.8 percent to be exact), and as expected resulted in half as many goals. With a career average 9.7 shooting percentage (363 games – 988 shots), expect Jakub Voracek to bounce back in 2016-17.