Capitals: Jakub Vrana and his Scoring Touch

I’d like to take a dive into Jakub Vrana’s season so far as it pertains to his scoring and shooting efficiency.

Taking a look at the numbers, it becomes evident how good of a season he is having at putting the puck in the net, so let’s take a look.

All the numbers here are adjusted to 5 v 5. With Vrana getting most of his production at 5 v 5, it’s only fair to compare him at these situations to his peers.

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With 49 games played to this point, Vrana leads the Capitals in 5 v 5 goals with 19, Ovechkin is in second with 18 of his own. Around the league, Vrana is tied in second place with 19, and only two goals behind the lead mark of 21. What makes Vranas’ totals here so impressive is that he’s done it while playing only 611 minutes, compared to the 782 minutes for the player in first.

To this point, Vrana has amassed 112 shots on goal at 5 v 5, that is second on the Capitals, only trailing the Great 8, who has 134; and Vranas’ 112 are good for 15th in the league. With 19 goals over his 112 shots, Vrana has a ridiculous shooting percentage of 16.96, meaning almost 17 percent of his shots are translating into goals. And it isn’t just his scoring percentage that is impressive. With his 611 minutes and 112 shots over that span, he is expected to get .183 shots per 60 seconds. That is the second highest shooting efficiency rate for the Capitals, only behind guess who, Alex Ovechkin, with .189 shots per 60 seconds. His shot efficiency rating is good for 8th in league. Of those 8 players ahead of him in shot efficiency, none of them have a better scoring percentage.

There are players around the league with higher shooting percentages. With at least 65 shots on net, he comes in 10th in the league at 5 v 5 scoring percentage. Of those 10 players, his shot total of 112 pucks on net is higher than anyone on this list, and only 2 of these 10 players are even close to the realm of Vrana in shot generation, with Vrana still leading by 17 shots to the next closest player. And of these two, only one has a higher scoring percentage.

Now let’s put this all together. He may not have the highest overall SH%, but his SH% over the amount of shots, is basically tops in the entire league. His shooting efficiency rating is good for 8th in the league, with none of those eight all that close in scoring percentage, Alex is the closest with his 13.43 SH%. His shot total of 112 at 5 v 5, is good for 15th in the league. And his 19 goals are tied for 2nd. The leader in the league with 21, has both a lower efficiency rating  at .170 shots per 60 seconds, and a lower SH% at 15.79, more than a full percent lower than Vrana. There really is not another player in the league right now putting together shooting numbers quite like Vrana has been doing so far this season.

So, what is he doing and why is it so effective? First, Vrana is incredible with the puck, but he is equally good without it. His hockey IQ leads him to get shooting chances because he is finding a way to get into space both with and without the puck. His world-class speed certainly helps, but when space tightens up in the offensive zone and he can’t be moving full speed, he is still finding ways to get into areas to get his shot off. The things he does to do all this is unquantifiable, so we just call it hockey IQ. But there is something else here leading to his success, and that is the way he shoots the puck. It would be prudent to say however, it does help to be playing with guys like TJ Oshie and Evgeny Kuznetsov. They’re both pretty good too.

Every player in the league has a quick release, but the way these players load up for their shots can be very different. Take Ovechkin for example. When taking wrist shots and shots in stride, Ovechkin will have an extended reaching position of his arms back in his stance. This very leveraged position of his stick over the puck, along with his hand speed and frame are a few reasons why he has the historically great shot that he does have. But Vrana does not utilize the same shot process in many cases.

Two players that for years have been considered to be top shooters in the league are Phil Kessel and Max Pacioretty. One of the things that has separated them, is that they don’t load their shots back in their stance, but they often load it in front of their stance. By eliminating the pulling motion of the puck through their stance, they can load and then release the puck much faster than your general shooting process. This ability to shoot in front of their stance requires an incredible amount of hand speed.

Because the puck is in front of their stance, their stick is not as leveraged from the start of the shooting motion. These players still need to create that leveraged position by pushing their top hand out in front of both the puck and their bottom hand on the stick, and that’s where shooting the puck like this becomes difficult. This motion of getting the top hand in front needs to occur essentially instantaneously.

They have eliminated the pulling motion, meaning the release of the puck can occur much quicker. But they still need to create the leveraged position of their stick over the puck, before the release. With as quick as they can release the puck from this position, they need to create this leverage even quicker.

This is what is done so exceptionally well by Vrana, and others like him. The reason release speed is so important is because the more time the puck sits on the blade, the more time the goalie has to gain depth and read the players shot before release.

A lot of players around the league have started to shoot the puck in this manner, but Vrana is one of a few to have the instincts to know what part of the net is open, and then possess the ability to put the puck exactly where it needs to go. This combination of hand speed, shot process, instincts, and precision is a skill set possessed by only a few players in the league, and Vrana is one of them. His 3rd period goal, backhand to forehand, no set shot in stride to the far side against the Islanders in the Capitals most recent game, is a perfect example of this shot type in action.

This extraordinary skill set of Hockey IQ and shot process isn’t going anywhere. In fact, it can be expected that he becomes even more proficient as he matures as a person and player. We are getting a preview of what is surely more to come. Enjoy the show.

All stats are courtesy of http://naturalstattrick.com