The Contrarian – Kyle is OK
Thomas Drance
2015-01-04
The contrarian looks at Kyle Okposo’s consistency.
On Saturday, January 3 Joel Colomby of the Toronto Sun writes in his article titled "Fantasy Fare: Okposo rides shooting roller-coaster" that Kyle Okposo is likely to be a 'good season/bad season' type player based on his shooting percentage over the last few seasons.
In his words, "Okposo is reminding us somewhat of Bret Saberhagen" who had a "penchant for alternating good and mediocre years, his ERA sitting a full point higher in even-numbered seasons. Late in his career, it might even have become a determining factor in how high he was selected in some fantasy pools."
| Stats Per Game | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | PPG | S | MsS | |
| 2014-15 | 0.21 | 0.68 | 0.89 | -0.08 | 0.26 | 0.08 | 3.26 | 1.37 |
| 2013-14 | 0.38 | 0.59 | 0.97 | -0.13 | 0.72 | 0.07 | 2.75 | 1.13 |
| 2012-13 | 0.08 | 0.42 | 0.50 | -0.04 | 0.79 | 0.00 | 2.10 | 0.75 |
| 2011-12 | 0.30 | 0.27 | 0.57 | -0.19 | 0.58 | 0.04 | 1.92 | 0.80 |
| 2010-11 | 0.13 | 0.39 | 0.53 | 0.08 | 1.05 | 0.00 | 1.89 | 0.95 |
| 2009-10 | 0.24 | 0.41 | 0.65 | -0.28 | 0.43 | 0.05 | 3.11 | 1.23 |
| 2008-09 | 0.28 | 0.32 | 0.60 | -0.09 | 0.55 | 0.14 | 2.54 | 0.91 |
| 2007-08 | 0.22 | 0.33 | 0.56 | 0.33 | 0.22 | 0.11 | 1.67 | 0.44 |
| Career | 0.25 | 0.42 | 0.67 | -0.12 | 0.60 | 0.06 | 2.51 | 1.00 |
(MsS – Missed Shots)
While his goal totals fluctuate, his assists and points per game are stable. Plus/Minus has not deteriorated. Penalty minutes are down which is a great sign (except if you have that category in your roto pool). Shots and missed shots are up which even though haven't translated into goals they have helped.
We all have this idea that an assist is this picture perfect saucer pass, or a give-and-go but often it is a rebound off a goalie's pad or a deflection off a defenders stick. While we all hope that shooting more will lead to more goals, it doesn't mean that it is any worse if the player gets an assist instead. That is why using Okposo's shooting percentage is flawed.
Here are some more stats also compiled from NHL.com:
| RK | GP | ES TOI/GP | SH TOI/GP | PP TOI/GP | TOI | TOI/GP | Shifts | TOI/S | Shift/GP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-15 | 3 | 38 | 15:54 | 0:02 | 3:55 | 755:13:00 | 19:52 | 847 | 53 | 22.3 |
| 2013-14 | 5 | 71 | 16:18 | 0:10 | 3:57 | 1,450:46 | 20:26 | 1,577 | 55 | 22.2 |
| 2012-13 | 8 | 48 | 15:18 | 0:06 | 1:32 | 813:53:00 | 16:57 | 981 | 50 | 20.4 |
| 2011-12 | 8 | 79 | 15:17 | 0:05 | 1:40 | 1,348:18 | 17:04 | 1,577 | 51 | 20 |
| 2010-11 | 19 | 38 | 13:32 | 0:29 | 2:32 | 630:09:00 | 16:34 | 740 | 51 | 19.5 |
| 2009-10 | 2 | 80 | 14:25 | 1:49 | 4:17 | 1,643:10 | 20:32 | 1,902 | 52 | 23.8 |
| 2008-09 | 5 | 65 | 13:28 | 1:21 | 3:10 | 1,170:39 | 18:00 | 1,388 | 51 | 21.4 |
| 2007-08 | 26 | 9 | 13:39 | 0:26 | 2:21 | 148:09:00 | 16:27 | 165 | 54 | 18.3 |
(RK is his rank based on Time On Ice only compared to his teammates)
As Gretz mentioned, his Time On Ice (TOI) is on par with the previous season and is his Power Play Time. It is not a matter of him being 'lucky' or 'unlucky' in regards to goal scoring, he is doing great and deserves the time he getting.
The best stat that represents that he's having a great year is even mentioned by Colomby, "he's earning enough assists to tie him with John Tavares for the Isle's points lead."
To that, I'll amend the title of my column to 'Kyle is doing more than Ok'.
Check out DobberHockey’s full Kyle Okposo player profile, complete with line combos, notes and line production. And bookmark it because it’s just that awesome.
Related Posts
UPCOMING GAMES
BUFStarting Goalies
Top Skater Views
| Players | Team | |
|---|---|---|
| TIM STUTZLE |
 OTT | |
| MAXIM TSYPLAKOV |
 NYI | |
| SEAN MONAHAN |
 CBJ | |
| JESPER BRATT |
 N.J | |
| TREVOR ZEGRAS |
 ANA
| |
Top Goalie Profile Views
BOS
CAR
WPG
S.J
LINE COMBOS
| Frequency |
 VAN Players
| |
|---|---|---|
| 18.0 | ELIAS LINDHOLM DAKOTA JOSHUA CONOR GARLAND | |
| 11.4 | ELIAS PETTERSSON J.T. MILLER ILYA MIKHEYEV | |
| 10.9 | ELIAS PETTERSSON J.T. MILLER PHILLIP DI GIUSEPPE | |
DobberHockey Podcasts
Fantasy Hockey Life: Edmonton Oilers with Caleb Kearney
Caleb Kearney of The Hockey News joins the show to talk Edmonton Oilers. Jesse and Victor ask about Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jeff Skinner, Viktor Arvidsson, Evander Kane, Adam Henrique, Vasili Podkolzin, Evan Bouchard, Mattias Ekholm, Darnell Nurse, Stuart Skinner, and Calvin Pickard. In-Goal Magazine’s Cat Silverman joins in our Cat’s […]
Keeping Karlsson: Smörgoåliesbord!!!! 2024
On this edition of the Keeping Karlsson Fantasy Hockey Podcast mega-show, Elan and Brian ring in the new fantasy hockey season with Smörgoåliesbord!!!!! We tier and share thoughts and notes on every. single. goalie. that could have a shot at fantasy relevance in this upcoming NHL season. Spoiler: See our Smörgoåliesbord 2024-25 goalie tiers here: […]
Fantasy Hockey Life: New York Rangers with Remy Mastey
Remy Mastey joins the show to talk New York Rangers. Jesse and Victor ask about pros Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck, Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad, Alexis Lafreniere, Filip Chytil, Reilly Smith, Kaapo Kakko, Will Cuylle, Adam Fox, K’Andre Miller, Jacob Trouba, Zac Jones, Igor Shesterkin, and Jonathan Quick. In-Goal Magazine’s Cat Silverman joins in our Cat’s […]
Fantasy Hockey Life: Pittsburgh Penguins with Josh Yohe
The Pittsburgh Penguins are staving off old age, mostly running back last year’s team. Josh Yohe of The Athletic joins Jesse and Victor to talk pros. Included: Sidney Crosby, Bryan Rust, Evgeni Malkin, Michael Bunting, Rickard Rakell, Drew O’Connor, Lars Eller, Kevin Hayes, Jesse Puljujarvi, Erik Karlsson, Kris Letang, Marcus Pettersson, Tristan Jarry, and Alex Nedeljkovic. […]
Fantasy Hockey Life: Dallas Stars with Lia Assimikopoulos
Lia Assimakopoulos from the Dallas News joins the show to talk Stars. Victor and Jesse ask about pros Jason Robertson, Matt Duchene, Roope Hintz, Wyatt Johnston, Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, Mason Marchment, Logan Stankoven, Mavrik Bourque, Miro Heiskanen, Thomas Harley, Esa Lindell, Nils Lundqvist, Jake Oettinger, and Casey DeSmith. In-Goal Magazine’s Cat Silverman joins in […]