After one and a half seasons as the St. John's IceCaps best player, and one of the top players in the AHL, Eric O`Dell was finally given a chance to make his name in the NHL.
The Basics
| GP | G | A | P | TOI/60 | S/60 | Sh% | PenD |
| 30 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 9.6 | 3.5 | 17.6 | 1 |
Numbers are for all minutes.
The offensive numbers aren't mind blowing, but it is worth noting that Eric had a number of near misses. He also spent a good chunk of his early NHL time logging minimal ice time on the Winnipeg Jets' fourth line. The shot numbers are lower than expected and the shooting percentage are high, but it is worth noting that Eric has a career AHL shooting percentage of 17.5%. His net crashing style can lead to inflated shooting percentages over the long term. Still, more shots is a must.
Usage
Player usage chart from extraskater.com.
| EV | Percentage of Team’s Available TOI | 5 on 5 | ||||
| ZS% | ZS%rel | EVTOI% | PPTOI% | SHTOI% | QoC TOI% | QoT TOI% |
| 61.6 | 12.2 | 18.9 | 6.9 | 0.1 | 27.5 | 26.4 |
| 1st | 1st | 10th | 9th | 14th | 13th | 3rd |
Rankings are given for team out of 15 forwards to play 20 or more games.
Under Calude Noel, Eric O`Dell was played primarily as a fourth line forward. Under Paul Maurice O`Dell was given some of the cushiest ice time on the team. Giving an offensive prospect some favorable zone starts lessons the load as the player transitions to the NHL game. As the season progressed – and Maurice liked what he saw – O`Dell was given better line mates, more even strength ice and even a little bit of powerplay time.
Underlying Numbers
The y-axis is given to show the typical 40-60 sustainable spread seen for NHL calibre players. Players are compared to particular line/pair depending on 5v5 TOI per game. Population mean (average), median (50th percentile), and other percentiles are relative to player performance between 2007-12.
| 5v5 TOI | Corsi% | relCorsi% | dCF/20 | dCA/20 | dCorsi% |
| 9.21 | 51.0% | +0.1% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
RelCorsi is the team's percentage of shot attempts with player on ice minus shot attempts with player off ice. Delta Corsi values are team's shot attempt rates with player on ice, but relative to league norm given similar usage (quality of teammates, quality opponents, zone starts, and TOI). dCF/20 is shot attempts for -where a positive number is above average-, dCA/20 is shot attempts against -where a negative number is above average-, and dCorsi% is percentage of shot attempts.
O`Dell pushed out positive Corsi numbers, which should be expected given his deployment. It will be interesting to watch his numbers and deployment change over a larger sample size. O`Dell's sample size was too low for dCorsi%.
Conclusion
Eric O`Dell played a limited role for the Jets, but never looked out of place. He did this despite playing with known Corsi black hole Matt Halischuk nearly a third of the time. O`Dell could stand to add some burst to his first couple strides, but his two-way hockey smarts were beyond evident. Still, more sample is required to make any firm assessments.
Keep or lose?
At this point O`Dell has little else to prove at the AHL level. He will also be waiver eligible next year. This, coupled with the fact that he held his own in the NHL suggests we will see Eric back with the Jets on a full time basis next year.
Bonus: Know your history
O`Dell is easy to root for. His story is one of hard work and perseverance. Read it here if you aren't acquainted and his on ice battle level is always evident as he shows a willingness to take a beating to made a play. Also, ICYMI he earned himself perhaps the best URL anywhere on AIH via TJ. http://www.arcticicehockey.com/2014/1/14/5306740/winnipeg-jets-eric-odell-awesome
All numbers are from Extra Skater, Behind the Net and Hockey Analysis
