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Much fuss has been made about the recent benching of Alexander Burmistrov. Is the fuss warranted? Probably not. Young NHLers get their ice time docked all the time. Is the benching a reflection of his play? Probably, but despite recent struggles his play hasn't been bad.
I understand that his play can be frustrating as there is clearly a ton of talent there, but Alexander Burmistrov really isn't lagging far behind his peers. He is still very young and by no means should we expect him to be a finished product. Plus pretty much every underlying stat suggest he is pretty darn effective.
Lets take a look at some simple numbers.
Alexander Burmistrov is:
Tied for 6th among Jets forwards in 5 on 5 scoring
6th among Jets forwards in shots on goal.
7th among all Jets in goals scored.
6th among Jets forwards in assists.
Scoring more that twice as many points per minute that Olli Jokinen .
Tied for 3rd on the team in plus/minus.
Arguably the Jets most effective penalty killer (sorry, but James Wright is not in that convo)
Are those numbers elite? No, but they surely aren't the mark of somebody who is hurting the team.
Now, lets get into nerdier, dirtier numbers.
Quality of Competition:
| NAME | Corsi QoC |
| ANDREWLADD | 2.025 |
| BLAKEWHEELER | 1.983 |
| BRYANLITTLE | 1.929 |
| NIKANTROPOV | 1.779 |
| EVANDERKANE | 1.66 |
| KYLEWELLWOOD | 1.633 |
| ALEXANDERBURMISTROV | 1.147 |
| OLLIJOKINEN | 0.725 |
| JIMSLATER | 0.306 |
| ERICTANGRADI | 0.229 |
| CHRISTHORBURN | -0.161 |
| JAMESWRIGHT | -0.99 |
Numbers from Behindthenet.ca
This number is based on the Corsi rating of opponents and weighted by the amount of ice time a player's opposition plays. A higher number means the opponents log more ice, which generally means they are better. A low number or minus usually mean a player is matching up against 4th liners.
Note that Burmi is logging tougher minutes than Olli Jokinen on average. He has handled the 7th toughest minutes among Jets regulars.
Corsi (Shots + Missed Shots + Blocked Differential):
| NAME | Corsi On |
| KYLEWELLWOOD | 9.35 |
| ALEXANDERBURMISTROV | 3.25 |
| ERICTANGRADI | 3.06 |
| EVANDERKANE | 2.19 |
| ANDREWLADD | 0.81 |
| NIKANTROPOV | -0.53 |
| OLLIJOKINEN | -2.01 |
| BRYANLITTLE | -4.3 |
| BLAKEWHEELER | -4.55 |
| JAMESWRIGHT | -7.45 |
| CHRISTHORBURN | -8.61 |
| JIMSLATER | -11.55 |
Numbers from Behindthenet.ca
Alexander Burmistrov is one of only 5 Jets forwards that has his team routinely out shooting the opposition while he is on the ice. This speaks to his two-way game. Note Burmistrov is ahead of Olli Jokinen despite Olli getting easier minutes.
With You / Without You analysis:
| When on ice Together | BURMISTROV when apart | Teammate when apart | |||||||||||||||
| Player | GF20 | GA20 | GF% | CF% | GF20 | GA20 | GF% | CF% | GF20 | GA20 | GF% | CF% | G%+/- | C%+/- | |||
| BURMISTROV, ALEXANDER | 0.692 | 0.35 | 66.7 | 51.8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| PAVELEC, ONDREJ | 0.641 | 0.36 | 64.3 | 50.4 | 0.91 | 0.302 | 75 | 57 | 0.72 | 1.02 | 41.3 | 48.6 | 23 | 1.8 | |||
| KANE, EVANDER | 0.874 | 0.25 | 77.8 | 48.7 | 0.54 | 0.428 | 55.6 | 55.2 | 0.75 | 1.17 | 39.1 | 50.7 | 38.7 | -2 | |||
| ANTROPOV, NIK | 0.997 | 0.43 | 70 | 50.9 | 0.48 | 0.29 | 62.5 | 52.5 | 0.61 | 0.4 | 60 | 50 | 10 | 0.9 | |||
| HAINSEY, RON | 0.703 | 0.53 | 57.1 | 47.6 | 0.69 | 0.257 | 72.7 | 53.7 | 0.75 | 0.86 | 46.4 | 45.4 | 10.7 | 2.2 | |||
| POSTMA, PAUL | 0.572 | 0.38 | 60 | 50.8 | 0.74 | 0.33 | 69.2 | 52.2 | 0.65 | 0.87 | 42.9 | 56.5 | 17.1 | -5.7 | |||
| BYFUGLIEN, DUSTIN | 0.954 | 0.19 | 83.3 | 51.6 | 0.58 | 0.413 | 58.3 | 51.9 | 0.74 | 1.08 | 40.7 | 47.3 | 42.6 | 4.3 | |||
| CLITSOME, GRANT | 0.775 | 0.58 | 57.1 | 49.7 | 0.66 | 0.246 | 72.7 | 52.8 | 0.92 | 1.01 | 47.6 | 51.9 | 9.5 | -2.2 | |||
| STUART, MARK | 0.394 | 0.2 | 66.7 | 56.6 | 0.82 | 0.407 | 66.7 | 50 | 0.62 | 0.92 | 40 | 46.4 | 26.7 | 10.2 | |||
| PONIKAROVSKY, ALEXEI | 0.644 | 0.64 | 50 | 59.1 | 0.71 | 0.236 | 75 | 49.3 | 0.53 | 0.53 | 50 | 53.4 | 0 | 5.7 | |||
| WELLWOOD, KYLE | 0.785 | 0.52 | 60 | 55 | 0.67 | 0.296 | 69.2 | 51 | 0.43 | 0.85 | 33.3 | 53.8 | 26.7 | 1.2 | |||
| BOGOSIAN, ZACH | 0.864 | 0 | 100 | 47.6 | 0.65 | 0.432 | 60 | 52.9 | 0.67 | 1.23 | 35.3 | 48.5 | 64.7 | -0.9 | |||
| MONTOYA, AL | 0.905 | 0.3 | 75 | 57 | 0.64 | 0.356 | 64.3 | 50.4 | 0.69 | 0.97 | 41.7 | 48.3 | 33.3 | 8.7 | |||
| ENSTROM, TOBIAS | 0.38 | 0.76 | 33.3 | 48.2 | 0.75 | 0.272 | 73.3 | 52.4 | 0.71 | 1.18 | 37.5 | 45.5 | -4.2 | 2.7 | |||
| JOKINEN, OLLI | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48.8 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 66.7 | 52.3 | 0.52 | 1.38 | 27.6 | 48.6 | 0 | 0.2 | |||
| REDMOND, ZACH | 0.96 | 0 | 100 | 73.1 | 0.66 | 0.393 | 62.5 | 49 | 0.23 | 0.93 | 20 | 52.7 | 80 | 20.4 | |||
| LADD, ANDREW | 0.965 | 0 | 100 | 60 | 0.65 | 0.393 | 62.5 | 50.9 | 1.13 | 0.94 | 54.5 | 48.8 | 45.5 | 11.2 | |||
| LITTLE, BRYAN | 1.105 | 0.55 | 66.7 | 57.1 | 0.64 | 0.322 | 66.7 | 51.2 | 1.03 | 0.91 | 53.1 | 47.2 | 13.6 | 9.9 | |||
| WRIGHT, JAMES | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28.1 | 0.74 | 0.371 | 66.7 | 53.1 | 0.42 | 1.15 | 26.7 | 48.6 | N/A | -20.5 | |||
| SCHEIFELE, MARK | 0 | 1.08 | 0 | 73.1 | 0.73 | 0.304 | 70.6 | 50.8 | 1.68 | 0.84 | 66.7 | 37.5 | N/A | 35.6 | |||
| TANGRADI, ERIC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 0.73 | 0.363 | 66.7 | 52.2 | 0.57 | 0.57 | 50 | 52 | N/A | -12 | |||
| WHEELER, BLAKE | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46.7 | 0.73 | 0.362 | 66.7 | 52.1 | 0.94 | 1.46 | 39 | 47.5 | N/A | -0.8 | |||
| SLATER, JIM | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38.1 | 0.72 | 0.361 | 66.7 | 52.3 | 0.41 | 0.83 | 33.3 | 46.5 | N/A | -8.4 | |||
| THORBURN, CHRIS | 0 | 0 | 0 | 54.5 | 0.71 | 0.354 | 66.7 | 51.7 | 0.17 | 0.51 | 25 | 46.1 | N/A | 8.4 | |||
| MEECH, DEREK | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.7 | 0.349 | 66.7 | 51.9 | 2.45 | 2.45 | 50 | 55.6 | N/A | N/A | |||
| PELUSO, ANTHONY | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.69 | 0.346 | 66.7 | 51.8 | 1.7 | 0.85 | 66.7 | 64.3 | N/A | N/A | |||
| MIETTINEN, ANTTI | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 0.69 | 0.346 | 66.7 | 51.6 | 0.79 | 1.19 | 40 | 48.1 | N/A | 51.9 | |||
What the f*** does this even mean?
GF20: The amount of goals the Jets score per 20 minutes.
GA20: The amount of goals the Jets allow per 20 minutes.
GF%: The percentage of Jets goals relative to total (Jets and opposition) goals scored. Above 50% is good.
CF%: The percentage of Corsi events relative to the total (Jets and opposition) Corsi events.
G%+/-: The difference between GF% with Burmi and GF% without Burmi. Positive is good.
C%+/-: The difference between CF% with Burmi and CF% without Burmi. Positive is good.
Numbers are from stats.hockeyanalysis.com
I recognize these numbers are messy if you aren't use to them, but this is what they say:
Only one Jets player (Tobias Enstrom) is in the minus while playing with Alexander Burmistrov.
Kane, Antropov, Ponikarovsky, Wellwood and Little have scored more goals per minute with Burmi than without him.
16 Jets players have a better Corsi percentage with Burmi than without him.
Only 7 Jets players have a better Corsi % without Burmi (3 of those 7 have played less than 20:00 with him).
Burmi may be difficult to read, but the fact is most of his teammates have better results with him on that without him.
Unrealistic Expectiations:
Alexander Burmistrov is 21 years old. He would have been 20 years old at the start of the season had it started on time. He is still really young. Looking at a player like Evander Kane isn't really a fair comparison. Evander Kane has produced at an elite level for a player his age.
The fact is Alex Burmistrov is still among the top producers from his draft class. Keep this in mind:
Only 21 players from the 2010 draft class have recorded a single NHL point!
Only 8 players from the 2010 draft class have played a full season's worth (82 games) of NHL hockey!
Here is the list of 2010 NHLers that have recorded an point in the NHL:
| Round | Num. | Drafted By | Player | GP | G | A | Pts | PTS/GP |
| 1 | 1 | Edmonton | Taylor Hall | 148 | 54 | 62 | 116 | 0.784 |
| 1 | 2 | Boston | Tyler Seguin | 177 | 48 | 60 | 108 | 0.610 |
| 1 | 3 | Florida | Erik Gudbranson | 89 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 0.135 |
| 1 | 4 | Columbus | Ryan Johansen | 85 | 10 | 18 | 28 | 0.329 |
| 1 | 5 | NY Islanders | Nino Niederreiter | 64 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0.047 |
| 1 | 6 | Tampa Bay | Brett Connolly | 68 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 0.221 |
| 1 | 7 | Carolina | Jeff Skinner | 165 | 60 | 65 | 125 | 0.758 |
| 1 | 8 | Atlanta | Alexander Burmistrov | 175 | 22 | 33 | 55 | 0.314 |
| 1 | 9 | Minnesota | Mikael Granlund | 19 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0.316 |
| 1 | 12 | Anaheim | Cam Fowler | 173 | 15 | 56 | 71 | 0.410 |
| 1 | 14 | St. Louis | Jaden Schwartz | 29 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 0.310 |
| 1 | 16 | St. Louis | Vladimir Tarasenko | 17 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 0.706 |
| 1 | 20 | Pittsburgh | Beau Bennett | 11 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0.455 |
| 1 | 28 | San Jose | Charlie Coyle | 13 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0.308 |
| 1 | 29 | Anaheim | Emerson Etem | 15 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0.333 |
| 2 | 37 | Carolina | Justin Faulk | 89 | 11 | 21 | 32 | 0.360 |
| 2 | 39 | Minnesota | Brett Bulmer | 9 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0.333 |
| 2 | 42 | Anaheim | Devante Smith-Pelly | 54 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 0.241 |
| 2 | 59 | Minnesota | Jason Zucker | 16 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 0.438 |
| 4 | 119 | Philadelphia | Tye McGinn | 16 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0.313 |
| 5 | 147 | Montreal | Brendan Gallagher | 22 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 0.682 |
Burmistrov has recorded .347 points per game over the last season and a half. 10 players from the 2010 draft class are scoring more, but I would wager very few are better at killing penalties. Sure, Burmistrov is not shredding the league, but I have a hard time understanding how he is a disappointment.
Summary
Burmistrov has improved year to year. He has handled tougher match ups every year and is among the Winnipeg Jets best possession players. Burmistrov is among the top 7 Jets in pretty much every relevant stat. That suggests he is currently a 2nd/3rd line tweener and he quite clearly has room to grow.
Does Burmi have an attitude problem? Perhaps, but I don't buy it. His past coaches including IceCaps coach Keith McCambridge lauded his hard work, great attitude and willingness to learn. The term "rink rat" is often used to describe him. McCambridge is very blunt and called out multiple IceCaps publicly this year. I doubt he would have spoke so glowingly of Burmi if there were obvious issues.