This week we are going to switch gears a little bit and turn our attention to our peripheral categories. This miniseries will divide up our skaters into forwards and defensemen and take a look at top performers in various categories and which players excel across multiple categories.

This week on Frozen Tool Forensics: Multicategory Forwards

In terms of process, Frozen Tools has an excellent report for digging in here, Multi-Category.

This report includes the usual scoring categories, plus hits, blocks, penalty minutes, and plus minus. For the purposes of this article, we are going to be focusing on hits, blocks, and to some extent shots – and using the season data from 2020-21.

To get a bit more specific with the data, I exported the report and translated the stats to per game numbers so that they could be comparable across the players. I also put in a 15-game cutoff to eliminate those players with very small sample sizes.

First up, let's take a look at the leaders of our stat categories. Below we have the top five forwards in hits per game.

Name	Pos	Team	GP	PTS/G	SOG/G	Hits/G	Blocks/G
BRADY TKACHUK	L	OTT	56	0.64	3.93	4.43	0.41
BRANDON TANEV	L	SEA	32	0.50	1.34	4.34	1.03
TYLER MOTTE	C	VAN	24	0.38	1.67	4.17	1.17
CAL CLUTTERBUCK	R	NYI	50	0.22	1.00	3.82	0.46
RYAN REAVES	R	NYR	37	0.14	0.70	3.81	0.41

The next table is our top five for blocks per game – though granted most of the blocks value will come from your defensemen.

Name	Pos	Team	GP	PTS/G	SOG/G	Hits/G	Blocks/G
NOEL ACCIARI	C	FLA	41	0.27	1.66	2.22	1.54
AUSTIN WATSON	L	OTT	34	0.29	1.21	2.94	1.44
BOONE JENNER	C	CBJ	41	0.41	1.93	1.85	1.29
TYLER MOTTE	C	VAN	24	0.38	1.67	4.17	1.17
CARTER ROWNEY	C		19	0.32	0.53	2.37	1.11

The next table introduces a new column that combines the block and hit count. We are going to use this measure to sort in our future tables. The point of this is it emphasizes those players who are tending towards success in either hits, blocks, or both.

Name	Pos	Team	GP	PTS/G	SOG/G	Hits/G	Blocks/G	B+H
BRANDON TANEV	L	SEA	32	0.50	1.34	4.34	1.03	5.38
TYLER MOTTE	C	VAN	24	0.38	1.67	4.17	1.17	5.33
BRADY TKACHUK	L	OTT	56	0.64	3.93	4.43	0.41	4.84
AUSTIN WATSON	L	OTT	34	0.29	1.21	2.94	1.44	4.38
JOSH ARCHIBALD	R	EDM	52	0.25	1.19	3.69	0.67	4.37

Now hits and blocks by themselves are widely available during most fantasy seasons. As a category they don't often overlap with the traditional scoring categories, so players who specialize in hits or blocks can usually be added in any given week. This is great if what you need in any given week is a bit of a boost in those categories, but hanging on to these guys long term can be a drag on your other offensive categories. If peripheral categories are important in your league then the key is to grab some of the few players who put up stats across the board during the draft.

One other pretty basic area that players could contribute in is shots. The following table is ranked by the B+H, but with a cut off of two shots her game.

Name	Pos	Team	GP	PTS/G	SOG/G	Hits/G	Blocks/G	B+H
BRADY TKACHUK	L	OTT	56	0.64	3.93	4.43	0.41	4.84
JOSH ANDERSON	R	MTL	52	0.46	2.40	2.67	0.48	3.15
DAVID BACKES	R		15	0.27	2.00	2.07	1.07	3.13
CHRIS KREIDER	L	NYR	50	0.60	2.04	2.30	0.70	3.00
VINCENT TROCHECK	C	CAR	47	0.91	2.62	2.28	0.60	2.87
BRAYDEN SCHENN	C	STL	56	0.64	2.02	2.13	0.63	2.75
ALEX OVECHKIN	L	WSH	45	0.93	4.04	2.18	0.51	2.69
SAM BENNETT	C	FLA	48	0.56	2.21	2.25	0.38	2.63
JOEL ERIKSSON EK	C	MIN	56	0.54	2.13	1.88	0.66	2.54
MATTHEW TKACHUK	L	CGY	56	0.77	2.70	2.36	0.16	2.52

We can see with this list that the B+H number definitely falls off fairly quickly. Auston Watson, our fifth ranked B+H producer above comes in at 4.37 per game, whereas the fifth player on this list, Vincent Trocheck has dropped all the way down to 2.87 per game. The value of a guy like Brady Tkachuk is readily apparent. There just isn't anyone else shooting and hitting like he is.

Shots is just one measure though – the major question has to be who is putting up hits and blocks and scoring? The following is sorted by B+H, but with a cut off for a 50-point pace.

Name	Pos	Team	GP	PTS/G	SOG/G	Hits/G	Blocks/G	B+H
BRADY TKACHUK	L	OTT	56	0.64	3.93	4.43	0.41	4.84
MARCUS FOLIGNO	L	MIN	39	0.67	1.03	2.79	0.44	3.23
CHRIS KREIDER	L	NYR	50	0.60	2.04	2.30	0.70	3.00
JORDAN STAAL	C	CAR	53	0.72	1.94	2.55	0.45	3.00
VINCENT TROCHECK	C	CAR	47	0.91	2.62	2.28	0.60	2.87
BRAYDEN SCHENN	C	STL	56	0.64	2.02	2.13	0.63	2.75
TOM WILSON	R	WSH	47	0.70	1.77	2.21	0.53	2.74
ALEX OVECHKIN	L	WSH	45	0.93	4.04	2.18	0.51	2.69
MATTHEW TKACHUK	L	CGY	56	0.77	2.70	2.36	0.16	2.52

The list is very similar to the shot list above, just with fewer candidates. We added Jordan Staal and Tom Wilson as well – but again Brady Tkachuk reigns on the top of the list with a 53-ish full season point pace.

Tkachuk appears to be a lock to stay on this list. In each of his three seasons he has put up three or more shots per game, and over the last two his hits and blocks number has been 4.84 or higher. That pace is consistent with the seasons where he has had over 18 minutes of total time on ice. Ottawa needs Tkachuk so his ice time is not in doubt. That means his peripherals are here to stay for now. The only question is how high can his point production go? He is getting the opportunity, though consistently averaging more than three minutes on the power-play and say 19 minutes total ice time would help, but his 50- to 55-point pace isn't going to improve much until some more young guns make their mark (looking at you Tim Stutzle, Drake Batherson, and to some extent Josh Norris and Connor Brown).

A 50-point pace, plus peripherals is ownable in a lot of leagues, but players scoring at a 60 point pace would be even better.

Name	Pos	Team	GP	PTS/G	SOG/G	Hits/G	Blocks/G	B+H
VINCENT TROCHECK	C	CAR	47	0.91	2.62	2.28	0.60	2.87
ALEX OVECHKIN	L	WSH	45	0.93	4.04	2.18	0.51	2.69
MATTHEW TKACHUK	L	CGY	56	0.77	2.70	2.36	0.16	2.52
ANDREI SVECHNIKOV	R	CAR	55	0.76	2.67	2.07	0.33	2.40
PATRIC HORNQVIST	R	FLA	44	0.73	3.30	1.82	0.52	2.34
ONDREJ PALAT	L	T.B	55	0.84	2.02	1.49	0.76	2.25
J.T. MILLER	C	VAN	53	0.87	2.00	1.70	0.45	2.15
MIKA ZIBANEJAD	C	NYR	56	0.89	3.05	1.34	0.79	2.13
EVANDER KANE	L	S.J	56	0.88	3.46	1.73	0.39	2.13
ZACH HYMAN	L	EDM	43	0.77	2.67	1.60	0.49	2.09
GABRIEL LANDESKOG	L	COL	54	0.96	2.87	1.50	0.52	2.02
AUSTON MATTHEWS	C	TOR	52	1.27	4.27	1.10	0.90	2.00

Many of the players on this list are player that we all may be interested in targeting in our drafts regardless, but should be boosted in drafts if your league has blocks and hits. Perennial darling, Ovechkin is high on the list, but so is Vincent Trochek.

Trochek had an excellent 2020 season, with a 75-point pace to go along with his 2.87 hits and blocks per game, and 2.62 shots per game. His point pace tied his career high and his hits and blocks number was the highest of his last five years. We did see him gain a minute and a half of total time on ice (up over 18 minutes vs a bit shy of 17) which gives some optimism for his hits and blocks (shots too), but it actually is still down from most of his years in Florida where he saw an average of about 20 minutes a night from the 2016 to 2018 seasons. His shots, hits, and blocks saw a big dip in his last year in Florida, but mostly rebounded in 2020, though his shot rate was still lower than his rate in those peak time on ice Florida years. If he can keep up around 18 minutes a night he likely can sustain the 2.5ish shots per game, and probably a 2.5 – 3 hits and blocks per game. The real question is with points, and that comes down to whether or not he can sustain that power-play time. The only other season he got it was in 2017-18 with Florida and he again saw a 75-point pace. Without that time. he is much closer to a 50-55 point player. 

That's all for now. Stay safe out there.

Help make hockey accessible for everyone. Start by supporting:

Black Girl Hockey Club

Hockey is For Everyone

Athletes for Hope

NWHL