THE SEASON OF WADE HAS ARRIVED!
In his 14 NHL games towards the end of the Flyers horrific 2021 season, one of the few bright spots on the team was watching the flowing ginger mane and ruckus net-front presence of #57 in the orange and black.
Well, let’s take a step back, pump the brakes and evaluate, shall we? aha! We proceed!
Now, I know what a lot of you are thinking and I’m sure it’s something along the lines of “only 14 NHL games” or “look what happened to Nicolas Aube-Kubel” or “stop with overhyping the young talent”.
Well, at least addressing the last point. Those of you who have ever read my writing before know that I am one of the last people to ever overhype prospects and quite frankly, I believe Wade has outgrown his “prospect” status.
Heather Barry (©)
In his short stint last season, Allison tallied 4 goals and 3 assists for 7 points in his 14 games. However, that wasn’t all.
He was a blast of electricity in an otherwise lifeless Flyers team. He provided a charge, a surge and energizing force on the forecheck. An intensity that could be comparable to that of Tyler Pitlick for the 2020 Philadelphia Flyers team.
We saw how #57 battled for territory and held his own in front of the net, whilst also playing harder between the whistles than anyone else who suited up for the team last season.
It would’ve been one thing if he showed this type of play and intensity for a game or two, but to do it throughout the duration of his 14-game stretch, it made Flyers fans beg for more of this type of play in the future.
For those that want to compare Wade Allison and Nicolas Aube-Kubel, I am happy to oblige:
As you can see here, their basic level statistics are comparable to one another.
However, in terms of goal or shot creation for forwards, Wade Allison would be considered superior offensively:
(Numbers via NaturalStatTrick)
Now, I know what you are thinking: “Johnny, don’t you hate these type of analytics, why are you using them?”
Well, for defensemen, yes. I HATE shot creation analytics for defensemen because shot creation isn’t the job of a defenseman. Shot prevention is the job of a defenseman and it is seldom accounted for in analytics. However, that’s an argument for another day.
With that being said, these metrics are valuable in terms of evaluating how forwards produce offensively and since BOTH players played similar roles, minutes and situations (3rd/4th line and very minimal PP2 time = around 12mins TOI per game), these numbers are comparable.
Now, to help you understand what some of these numbers mean, I provided some definitions:
SCF (Scoring Chances For) %
-Percentage of Scoring Chances offensively while a certain player is on the ice
Expected Goals (xG) %
-Accounts for offensive shot QUALITY to determine which team is expected to score more when a certain player is on the ice
HDCF (High Danger Scoring Chances For) %
-Percentage of High Danger Scoring Chances offensively when a certain player is on the ice
Above, the “green area (24/193)” around the net is determined as a “High Danger Scoring Chance”
Essentially what the numbers above are saying is that Wade Allison, albeit in 22 less games, was able to create shots and chances offensively in a more efficient manner than Nicolas Aube-Kubel.
I specifically want to bring the attention to the HDCF (High Danger Chances For) Percentage: this is a nod to how effective a player like Wade Allison is when standing in front of the net and getting his nose dirty.
Both bring a similar “physical” style of game but we can also take into account with a hope and prayer that Allison will have a lot more discipline and a stronger hockey IQ than that of NAK, especially after NAK’s tough 2021 season.
If you couple these offensive creation numbers with the eye-test of Wade Allison crashing the net, being an effective net front presence, pestering defensemen on the forecheck and being a high-energy player below the red lines in the offensive zone, then what you have is someone who will create a niche for themselves in today’s NHL.
When I see a player like Wade Allison, It reminds of players like Scott Hartnell or Wayne Simmonds, to an obvious lesser degree. A player who won’t score the prettiest goals but will get to the dirty areas, and deposit rebounds into the back of the net.
Heather Barry (©)
When you consider the fact that Allison got some PP2 time at the end of last season and the fact that James Van Riemsdyk is the only other true net-front presence on the team, it’s not unreasonable to assume Allison will get those chances again in front of the net on the PP2.
He will never be the guy to command the middle of the powerplay like Hartnell or Brayden Schenn, but we all saw how valuable JVR was when standing in front of the net last season.
With all of this being considered, I highly believe that Allison has potential be a consistent 18-22 goal scorer in this league, at his near ceiling. For this upcoming season, I would expect anywhere from 11-15 goals from the sophomore.
Keep in mind that Alain Vigneault is a coach that likes to mix up his lines. Although Allison will primarily featured on the bottom 6, he will get occasional chances with guys like Sean Couturier and Claude Giroux at some point this season.
I try to be creative and I, by no means, am anything close to the brilliant Jack Chevalier and his “Broad Street Bullies” but I’m going to take a shot in the dark and refer to Wade Allison as “LION” strictly due to his hair and ferocity on the forecheck.
Also, let’s start a petition for Wade to keep his #57…It just seems like a “Wade Allison-type number”, no?
In the mean time, enjoy this video of Wade Allison being mic’ed up during development camp last week
"I only have one mode."- @wadeallison11
Enter Wade's world as the Flyers forward was wired for sound at Development Camp. pic.twitter.com/Lp7GT5ybgU
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) September 9, 2021
Let’s have a good season, all! Group hug!
Please do credit me when using the nickname as I am in the process of trademarking it (sarcasm) aaaaaaand *scene*
Follow me on Twitter @FlyersJohnny
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