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Why Bobby Ryan Is Better Than We Think He Is

by Johngo Fett on Mar 28, 2011 6:41 AM PDT

Bobby Ryan is often thought of as the "slow" triplet. He doesn't have Corey Perry's goals, he doesn't have Ryan Getzlaf's assists, and he hovers at only .87 points per game. When you take a closer look at Bobby Ryan's stats, though, it becomes just so much more impressive so to what he's done.

Our good friend B-Ry, though, doesn't get the power play time that his older brothers do. He's on the second Power Play unit and gets a full minute less time per game than Perry, Getzlaf, and Selanne. Perhaps that's also a knock on his power play skills - a mere 8 of his points come on the power play when he's 4th on the team in power play minutes. That might also be a knock on the fact that the most likely person on the other wing is Jason Blake, but I digress. 56 of B-Ryan's 65 points have come Even Strength. One has come short-handed. He is tied with Perry in even strength points on the team, and Perry is on the tear that he is.

This likely also influences his +/- numbers - since most of his points are on even strength, he's third on the team with +12, behind the team that's, against all odds, become one of the best defensive pairings in the league. That's a discussion for another day, though. (Along with the discussion of how in the hell Andy Sutton has only 4 points, but 2 of them have come shorthanded.)

Bobby is doing Yeoman's work even strength, and it's great that he's doing so. If he can start producing more on the second power play unit, we might just have two guys competing for the Rocket Richard trophy next season.

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I think everyone knows how great he can be, but he’s still no Perry or Getzlaf, yet anyway.

by kvd123 on Mar 28, 2011 8:33 AM PDT reply actions

he has increased his points every year and his goals have done the same pending he hits at least 35 this year. He is a great player but as long as Selanne is on the team the PP time will remain the same. Obviously he is one of our top forwards but being behind Getzlaf and Perry who are NHL elite is not that bad.

by Joe Holub on Mar 28, 2011 11:52 AM PDT reply actions

Food for thought: Bobby Ryan vs. Ryan Kesler

I was watching NHL Live this morning and I noticed that Bobby Ryan and Ryan Kesler have nearly the same number of points this season. Kesler is getting a lot of attention for what he’s doing this season, so I thought it would be interesting to take a closer look at how the two players compare.

All stats taken from Behind the Net. NHL.com, or Hockey Reference.

Bobby Ryan
Points: 65
G: 32
A: 33
P/G: 0.867
P/60: 2.58
Quality of Competition: 0.030
Takeaways: 51
Giveaways: 40
Takeaways/Giveaways: 1.275
Hits: 144
Blocked Shots: 28
S%: 12.6
Offensive Zone Start %: 53.2

Ryan Kesler
Points: 68
G: 36
A: 32
P/G: 0.894
P/60: 2.02
Quality of Competition: 0.028
Takeaways: 61
Giveaways: 16
Takeaways/Giveaways: 3.813
Hits: 120
Blocked Shots: 78
S%: 15.5
Offensive Zone Start %: 49.3

What does all of this mean? Each of them has edges (Bobby hits more and is producing a half point more per 60 minutes while Kesler has sparkling takeaway/giveaway numbers and blocks more shots) but they’re also fairly similar, especially in terms of who they’re playing and how they start off. Their average time on ice is almost identical (Kesler gets about 20 seconds more per game) and Kesler has an edge in terms of overall production this year.

Anyway, I was surprised when I saw Kesler and Ryan had such close points/goals numbers and that’s why I wanted to take a closer look. Kesler gets a lot more buzz on the national scale than Ryan does and that’s probably due to the fact that:
a) he’s a center
b) he’s a defensive stud
c) he plays for Vancouver

by PhantomPretender on Mar 28, 2011 2:40 PM PDT reply actions

Whoops

Didn’t mean to bold all of Kesler.

by PhantomPretender on Mar 28, 2011 2:41 PM PDT up reply actions

Kesler is a full time center and is putting up the same numbers as a winger who has half the responsibilities. Kesler is also one of the three best two way forwards in the game. His value far exceeds that of Bobby regardless if their point totals are similar. Its the old comment that stats don’t lie but they don’t always tell the truth either.

by Ryanb903 on Mar 28, 2011 3:40 PM PDT up reply actions

Agree completely

I was just really surprised how close their numbers were. Given the talk Kesler gets, I was stunned that his overall counting stats were similar to Bobby. When you dig deeper, you obviously see his defensive value. I was surprised though as the quality of competition and the offensive zone start numbers. Given Kesler’s PK time, I expected to see a wider margin there.

by PhantomPretender on Mar 28, 2011 3:56 PM PDT up reply actions

It’s not that surprising since Kesler leads Vancouver centers in PP TOI/G. That probably translates into a lot of offensive zone starts, and might account for why Kesler’s offensive zone start % is a little inflated.

by Daniel AC on Mar 28, 2011 4:14 PM PDT up reply actions

Ack, also forgot two other key stats

Here’s their +/- and Quality of Teammates

Bobby
+/-: +13
Quality of Teammates: 0.413

Kesler
+/-: +23
Quality of Teammates: -.067

These stats really show how strong Kesler is defensively and his ability to produce despite playing with significantly worse teammates than Bobby does.

by PhantomPretender on Mar 28, 2011 2:56 PM PDT up reply actions

I don’t see how this means he’s better than what we think. He still makes very poor decisions with the puck. The only stat I’m impressed with right now is his assists. He’s starting to get some extra points from Perry finishing a few of those crazy passes, and he’s even making some really good feeds to guys. I’m glad he’s putting up better numbers.

Would he have more points if he was on the top PP unit? Of course. Would our PP be as effective? I’m not so sure. Bobby is a good player, but he still strikes me as nothing more than a guy who can score goals. With a good center Bobby will always be in the 30-40 goal range. At the end of the day, he’s a top 6 winger and maybe, in the future, a second line center. He’s going to be at the bottom of the big 3 until his 5 years are up and he leaves as a free agent.

by Daniel AC on Mar 28, 2011 3:02 PM PDT reply actions

I talked a bit about this in Jen’s post, but there is a strong perception of chemistry, stemming mostly from the fact that Bobby Ryan was leading the team in shots.

He cashes in at 12.4% to Perry’s 16.7%. The disparity isn’t as great as it used to be when you look at shot distance and advanced statistic. Bobby’s getting a bit closer than he used to, getting more quality chances on par with where Selanne and Perry fire from, but the perception that he isn’t getting opportunities isn’t borne out by the stats. I don’t put too much stock in the perception he’s STEALING too many opportunities and taking bad shots, but the stats have always lent themselves to that, which is why people are comfortable with that perception.

If the line finds chemistry where Ryan is consistently producing on his consistent shot totals, then Bobby will get a chance to shine and not be second guessed. That can only come with an established chemistry or him turning on his game to the point where he’s carrying the team the way Perry has of late.

Anaheim Calling

by Arthur from Anaheim Calling on Mar 30, 2011 1:38 PM PDT reply actions