Alexander Wennberg is the final remaining player selected by Columbus in the first round of the 2013 Draft, and after seeing Marko Dano and Kerby Rychel traded away, it seems as though the Blue Jackets have put all their eggs in Wennberg’s basket. Let’s look at how Wennberg secured his place on the team and see how he can grow into the wide open hole left by the departure of Ryan Johansen.
Wennberg was able to secure himself a spot on the team in his rookie season, scoring 4 goals and tallying 16 assists for a total of 20 points in 68 games. He was a fixture on an average team, but that isn’t to say that he didn’t have his troubles. He often seemed uncomfortable on both sides of the puck, and while his positioning was usually sound, he didn’t really seem to know what to do once he got there. The amount of games he played in his rookie season might have more to do with the staggering number of injuries the team faced than his NHL caliber play.
In his 2nd NHL season last year, Wennberg managed to double both his goals and assists totals for 40 points in 69 games. That’s exciting growth for a player in his second NHL season, and there’s no reason to believe that Wennberg can’t continue to improve his offensive game as he becomes more comfortable in the NHL.
In terms of shot metrics, Wennberg saw more bright spots in his sophomore season, but his numbers are still not too impressive. He was a possession black hole for most of his rookie season, and ended up being saved by the late season run in which his line and the entire team seemed to be firing on all cylinders. This year, Wennberg had more up and downs, and while not having amazing numbers, he put up solid enough numbers to not be a burden possession-wise. In the future it’d be nice to see better and more consistent shot metric numbers.
Visually, there has been one large area of discomfort for Wennberg throughout his NHL career: pulling the trigger and simply shooting more. He put only 97 shots on goal last year in all situations, compared to Saad’s 233 (team high), or for a more relevant comparison among CBJ centers: Jenner’s 225 or Dubinsky’s 158. Obviously, Wennberg has a different on-ice mentality than Jenner or Dubinsky, but his inability (or rather his unwillingness) to shoot the puck is starting to interfere with his effectiveness as a top 6 player.
And this isn’t to dispute Wennberg’s value as a playmaker. He’s been a highly touted passer ever since he was drafted by the Blue Jackets, and it shows through his stats so far. He was a top-6 level playmaker last year in only his second year in the league, which is impressive, but he needs to find a balance and shoot more and still be a good playmaker in order to be a more complete player.
This is a well documented problem for Wennberg, and to the credit of John Tortorella, it’s being addressed; and with Tortorella’s reputation, it’s probably safe to say that it’s being addressed a lot. But I think there’s more to it than just getting Wennberg to shoot more, and the key is finding what kind of linemates suit his strengths.
A stark contrast when looking over Wennberg’s two NHL seasons is seeing the difference in his successful linemates. In 2014-2015, Wennberg was part of a truly great line with Scott Hartnell and Marko Dano, which in my mind is the greatest example of Wennberg’s potential to-date. But sadly, he didn’t come near that chemistry last season. I’m not sure what made that trio so successful, but it’s important to find out what kind of players you can piece together with Wennberg to create that kind of chemistry.
Putting the right tools around Wennberg can bring out the best in his playmaking ability and a mindset that focuses on shooting the puck can make him closer to being the #1 center that the Blue Jackets desperately need.
Grade: B-
Big thanks to @MimicoHero’s HERO Charts, @IneffectiveMath’s site HockeyViz, and @MannyElk’s Corsica.hockey.
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