In part one of our series, we looked at the effectiveness of Winnipeg Jets defensemen. Today we look at the forwards. Once again, we are only looking at 5-on-5 numbers as powerplay and penalty kill statistics will be covered separately.
Let’s take a look how well the Jets’ forwards produced and prevented shots and goals.
Note: Statistically, shot totals have been proven to be more repeatable than goal totals as they rely less on chance, but scoring and preventing goals are the aim of players. Therefore, it will also be included in this analysis.
In order to remove small samples, this analysis will be limited to players who played twenty games or more.
Here is a look at the Jets' forwards.
Click any heading to sort the table:
| NAME | GF On/60 | GA On/60 | SF On/60 | SA On/60 |
| ANDREW LADD | 2.61 | 2.95 | 31.9 | 25.6 |
| KYLE WELLWOOD | 2.58 | 2.33 | 30.3 | 23.6 |
| BRYAN LITTLE | 2.64 | 3.01 | 30 | 26.9 |
| BLAKE WHEELER | 3.04 | 3 | 31.6 | 27.5 |
| ALEXANDER BURMISTROV | 2.33 | 2.21 | 27.9 | 24.3 |
| EVANDER KANE | 3.13 | 2.64 | 30.2 | 25.8 |
| NIK ANTROPOV | 2.73 | 2.73 | 27.3 | 25.1 |
| ERIC FEHR | 0.75 | 1.86 | 26.5 | 21.8 |
| ANTTI MIETTINEN | 1.62 | 2.3 | 25.4 | 27.3 |
| TIM STAPLETON | 2.4 | 2.06 | 25.6 | 25.8 |
| TANNER GLASS | 1.68 | 2.55 | 22.2 | 29.6 |
| CHRIS THORBURN | 1.56 | 2.08 | 22 | 28.3 |
| JIM SLATER | 2 | 2.62 | 22.7 | 30.5 |
All sabermetrics taken from Behind The Net.
Of Note:
- All in all, this was a solid Fenwick team, so the shot numbers look pretty good.
- Once again, the Jets were better at preventing shots than goals. Still looking at you, Ondrej Pavelec.
- Tanner Glass, Jim Slater and Chris Thorburn were brutal in both measures. Some of this has to do with their usage, as Noel gave the GST trio — and especially Jim Slater — some of the toughest minutes in the league. The fact that GST looked like they were killing penalties at 5 on 5 is quite evident in the numbers.
- Jim Slater played very tough minutes. We all remember seeing him and Bryan Little taking late game faceoffs in the defensive zone. This definitely dragged their numbers down.
- Kyle Wellwood, Alexander Burmistrov and Evander Kane did well by both measures. This trio was the main beneficiary of GST’s struggles. Noel gave them sheltered minutes, but it appears to have paid off. It will be interesting to see who Noel shelters this year and if these three are given more responsibility.
- Eric Fehr couldn’t buy a goal, but he wasn’t exactly a liability either. His shot differentials were favorable and the opposition didn’t accomplish much with him out there.
- The Jets top players really did play well. I know Andrew Ladd and Bryan Little ended up with minus ratings, but they were quite effective at pushing puck possession.
- Blake Wheeler’s production does not appear to be a mirage. That said, ice time may be distributed a little more evenly this year. It will be interesting to see if he can top his production this year.
- If you consider that Alexei Ponikarovsky and Olli Jokinen are replacing Glass and Stapleton, the team should get a solid boost moving forward.
Does anything on this list stand out to you? Or is there anything that may have been overlooked? Let us know in the comments section!
