This week we are rounding out a two-week mini-series on multi-cat players. Last week we focused on defensemen, so this week we are turning our attention to forwards.

For the purposes of this article, we are mainly going to be focusing on hits, blocks, and shots (sorry no penalty minutes). I have pulled all the data for the 22-23 season from our Multi-Category Report, which includes season total as well as per game information. We are going to be looking at per game data as season totals are certainly dependent on games played which can be fairly random.

In terms of our data set we will of course be looking at shots, hits, and blocks, but will also have points per game data so we can have that reference point, and a combined number that adds together shots, hits and blocks. That will allow us to sort the list by total contributions to non-scoring categories.

The following table is our top ten forwards for 22-23 in the combined metric. There is also a filter in place to show only players who put up at least a 50-point pace. The idea here is to be able to get some value from these skaters across multiple categories, so a player forward who only puts up 30 points is about as one dimensional as a big assist producer who doesn't shoot, hit, or block.

This list isn't too much of a surprise. We see a lot of big shooters and big hitters. Most of the list shoots three and a half to five times per game and hits between two and three times per game. Alex Ovechkin has clearly been the poster child here for years, and it is still pretty impressive to see him maintain these kinds of rates as he gets older. Brady Tkachuk, also a known quantity at this point, is clearly the heir to the shots and hits game and has been doing it for several seasons.

Timo Meier is an interesting note. His shot and hit rates increased significantly in 21-22 that correlated with a big jump in total time on ice. He maintained the rates through 22-23 even with a trade to New Jersey. While historically he wouldn't have always made this list as long as he can keep up that time on ice, he is going to be significant value to his managers.

We do also have a couple of players (David Pastrnak and Nathan MacKinnon) who are on this list almost solely because of their shot numbers.

This leads us to the same question we had with the defense. When we use a combined stat how can we account for players who are represented because of their proficiency in just one of the categories? It isn't that players who shoot or hit a lot aren't helpful, they certainly are, but when grabbing a guy for the purpose of category coverage, it is also useful to know who is actually going to help across the board.

For the next grouping we are again sorting by total number, to get the most productive players, but we are eliminating the players who have the biggest discrepancies between their stats. For forwards this often means losing out of a few shots in favor of the players who also contribute blocks.

Tom Wilson isn't too much of a surprise as he is often valued for his peripheral contributions in addition to his scoring potential. His block rate in 22-23 is certainly a bit higher than I expected though. The same can be said for Boone Jenner who hits a bit less than Wilson, but has better block and shot numbers.

If faceoff wins are a category in your league, guys like Jenner and Joel Eriksson Ek are even more valuable, but the biggest jump there would probably be for J.T. Miller. He contributes across all of these categories, is above a point per game, takes face offs (admittedly was hit or miss in 22-23, but with Bo Horvat out of the picture now, he should consistently get them), and still has winger eligibility.

I think the name that jumped out the most though is Elias Pettersson. He doesn't hit a ton, but has the highest block count on the list and is putting up well over a point per game. That isn't a combination of categories that we see a lot of in the NHL. He also happened to see a big jump in shorthanded time in 22-23 (from 13 percent to almost 40 percent of the team's total time). 22-23 was a career year, but he has had decent runs with blocks in the past, so he might not solely be relying on the short-handed time. I would say that short-handed time bears watching, but for most managers the blocks are the added bonus and not the primary reason to roster him. The additional blocks might be a reason to bump him up slightly come draft day compared to other players in his point production range.

That is all for this week. Do your part to support organizations working to make hockey for everyone.

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