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*Zerg* · 03-04-2021, 11:32 AM

One would expect lineup calculus to be fairly simple: the first line has the gamebreakers, the fourth line has the grinders, and in the middle six you make the best possible use of whatever depth you happen to have. The Colorado Raptors, however, demonstrate especially well that a depth scoring philosophy often requires a different approach, and it's that we'll be looking into here.

Note that we are not addressing defensive pairings (perhaps another day) or special teams. This strictly concerns even strength forward lines.
There's an old conventional wisdom that the best line has a sniper, a playmaker, and a defensive forward. On paper, the Raptors' top line follows this to a T: Jarmo Kekalainen on the left brings a wicked shot and a deceptive ability to lose his man, Josh Dolphin orchestrates the attack from the center with his passing and faceoff skills, and the rookie Fedor Sotakov punches in as a counterattack specialist. Together, they are three of the top four players in terms of points on the team. This, however, is where the Raptors' coaching staff bids farewell to the textbook.

The Raptors have two skaters tied for the team lead with 12 goals, Sonata Diamante and Eero Makinen Jr., and neither of those players are on the top line. Diamante is also, in fact, tied for team leader in points; with a 12-10-22 statline through 45 games, if anyone were to be considered the Raps' gamebreaker purely by stats, it would seem be him. However, Sonata's a screener by trade, preferring to set up shop in front of the net and deflect his goals in. Putting him on the wing across from Kekalainen, who's an accuracy shooter, could hamper both players. Across from a volume shooter like Kekkonen, however, and with another solid playmaker in Blanchet between them, Sonata's in a perfect position to shine.

Turning now to Makinen and his own 12 goals, we have an even more interesting set of characters on the third line. Makinen himself is a counterattacker, lurking the defensive and neutral zones looking for breakaway chances. The Raptors facilitate this by placing him with a strong defensive center in Leon Schweingruber. Schweingruber prefers to shadow the opposition's playmaker, looking for chances to steal the puck.
The one question mark on this line is Jack Nishimori. A natural setup-man, Nishimori would probably prefer to be across from Kekalainen, but with Sotakov being as hot as he is and the overlap between the skills and playstyles of Sotakov and Makinen, Jack's unlikely to see movement right now.

However, before we judge Nishimori by his 1-6-7 statline over 45 games, we need to take his horrific 2.70% shooting percentage into account. Despite the less favorable deployment than some of his teammates, a shooting percentage that low is near-unsustainable regardless of line and ice time. Nishimori is due for a hot streak, especially if he finds some chemistry with a triggerman on his defense, and his line may look very different when he hits that streak.

Colorado's fourth line receives limited, and usually sheltered, ice time and is where rookies and specialty players get their starts on the team. The centerman Reidar Gronkjaer provides a stabilizing presence and drives the line, keeping agitator Ruedi Huber and very green power forward Artemius Nystrom under control on his wings. Huber can score, but isn't necessarily ready to suit up against the shutdown lines of the league. Nystrom, a recent free agent signing from Sweden, is still learning the ropes of the league, how to ply his power forward trade while staying out of the box, and how to leverage the scoring touch that caught the attention of some organizations' scouts against the stiffer competition of the SMJHL. Rumors from Colorado's front office suggest they don't expect Nystrom to become an impact player until next season at earliest, so giving him sheltered minutes on the fourth line, and a chance to stir the occasional pot with Huber, makes perfect sense no matter how little it lends itself to the classic image of a shutdown fourth line.

The Raptors are a young team, looking to push for playoff glory relatively soon, but their present success as a high-mid tier team depends on their scoring depth. The coaching staff has organized their lineup precisely to facilitate this scoring depth, and while Nishimori seems to be suffering so far, the team as a whole has responded beautifully.

758 words

Approved! +5 TPE @"TapdancingNecrons"

DollaBill · 03-04-2021, 01:04 PM

Well done! Good read.

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