Pittsburgh Penguins forward Dominik Simon has been remarkably good in a small sample size.
Throughout the Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin era, the Pittsburgh Penguins have consistently traded their first and second round picks in an effort to acquire already-established NHL talents. Derick Brassard, Phil Kessel, and David Perron are three recent examples.
As a result of doing that, the Penguins have struggled at times to acquire cheap, young, and productive forwards. In the fifth round of the 2015 NHL Draft, they took a chance on forward Dominik Simon.
At the time he was drafted, he was 21 years old and had played alongside the legendary Jaromir Jagr over in the Czech Republic. Both of those are noteworthy because the Penguins have a documented history of taking close to NHL ready, over-age players with their draft picks.
Former Assistant Director of Amateur Scouting Randy Sexton (who is now an assistant GM for the Buffalo Sabres) and the Penguins scouts did a great job of realizing that Simon can be a productive complementary winger alongside high-end talent. Fast forward three years and his skill set has evolved and is now benefiting Crosby.
Let’s take a look at Crosby’s numbers this season when he’s playing with and without Simon.
Per Natural Stat Trick, when Crosby and Simon are on the ice together at even-strength, the Penguins generate 62 percent of the shot attempts, control 63 percent of the scoring chances, and score 68 percent of the goals.
When Crosby is away from Simon at even-strength, the Penguins control 55 percent of the shot attempts, 56 percent of the scoring chances, and score 66 percent of the goals. Simply put, the Penguins are dominant whenever these two players on the ice together. More times than not Crosby’s wingers benefit from playing alongside him. In this case, Crosby is benefitting from playing alongside Simon.
Of all NHL forwards that have played in at least 20 games this season, Simon’s mark of 1.94 primary assists per 60 minutes of even-strength ice time ranks third in the league. As you can see below, Simon ranks amongst some pretty elite talent.
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Data is from Natural Stat Trick.
A primary assist is a pass or shot that leads directly to a goal from whichever of your teammates gathers the puck next. Simon’s putting the turkey on the table at an elite level for his linemates right now.
Simon has primary assists in each of the Penguins last two contests. Simon’s vision, timing, and puck-placement were on full display on this Crosby goal: https://www.nhl.com/video/crosbys-slick-backhander/t-277350912/c-63445103
With Simon signed at a $750,000 price tag, the Penguins are getting tremendous — and much needed — value out of a young winger.
If Simon can sustain this pace for a full season, he could develop into an elite play-making winger for pennies on the dollar.
Thanks for reading!