Kasperi Kapanen
- Thread starter disco
- Start date
herman
Well-known member
https://theathletic.com/658265/2018/11/16/tulloch-kasperi-kapanen-has-proven-he-can-generate-offence-at-a-first-line-level/
Kapanen getting some recognition, finally. He's riding a 21.1% shooting percentage at the moment, but even though I know that's going to regress, I'd say it still lands higher than average at the end of the season.
That's because of how Kapanen, and the Leafs in general, generate chances. Thanks to the research and analytics team's work with the coaching staff, the Leafs are very keyed in on generating high-percentage chances: breakaways (via stretch pass), high slot deflections (via low to high passes), and generally forcing play into the slot area (seam passes). Each of those plays, if completed, have a much higher rate of scoring than the average shot.
Kapanen is the go-to player for breakaway chances, either on even strength or on the penalty kill. A breakaway has a 27-30% chance of scoring on average. That means if Kapanen can get sprung on 3 breakaways per game, he'd be close to a goal per game player simply by being fast and being able to nominally stick handle. Kapanen is better than average already and if he can improve his handling and add to his (currently mediocre) creativity, he can start generating breakaways on his own, and begin to approach MacKinnon/McDavid type plays (and success) regularly.
Kapanen getting some recognition, finally. He's riding a 21.1% shooting percentage at the moment, but even though I know that's going to regress, I'd say it still lands higher than average at the end of the season.
That's because of how Kapanen, and the Leafs in general, generate chances. Thanks to the research and analytics team's work with the coaching staff, the Leafs are very keyed in on generating high-percentage chances: breakaways (via stretch pass), high slot deflections (via low to high passes), and generally forcing play into the slot area (seam passes). Each of those plays, if completed, have a much higher rate of scoring than the average shot.
Kapanen is the go-to player for breakaway chances, either on even strength or on the penalty kill. A breakaway has a 27-30% chance of scoring on average. That means if Kapanen can get sprung on 3 breakaways per game, he'd be close to a goal per game player simply by being fast and being able to nominally stick handle. Kapanen is better than average already and if he can improve his handling and add to his (currently mediocre) creativity, he can start generating breakaways on his own, and begin to approach MacKinnon/McDavid type plays (and success) regularly.
