Player Preview: Sami Vatanen
By Jason Byun
Mar 29, 2014; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Anaheim Ducks defenseman Sami Vatanen (45) defends against Vancouver Canucks forward David Booth (7) during the first period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports
Analytics: Possession and Puck Luck
Corsi For %/Relative 5-on-5 (5-on-5 close): 53.4%/+3.2% (51.5%/+0.2%)
Sami Vatanen was easily the best possession blue-liner on the Ducks, with the team considerably better controlling the puck with him on the ice than without. That +3.2% relative was much higher than that of any other Ducks’ defenseman. He posted these numbers despite playing most of his minutes with Allen as his partner, who was markedly average in this department. Although Vatanen’s possession numbers dropped considerably in the postseason, he only got playing time again LA, a top 5 possession club in the playoffs and the best possession club in the regular season, both in terms of Corsi and Fenwick in 5-on-5 and 5-on-5 close. The Kings also controlled 55.7% of the shots in the seven game playoff series, so although Vatanen had an incredibly low CF%, his excellent CF% relative is another indicator of how he helped the Ducks control play as much as he could. With more playing time, Vatanen should help the Ducks control the puck better and become a better possession squad.
PDO/Relative 5-on-5 (5-on-5 close): 102.7/-0.1% (99.2/-5.4%)
During regular 5-on-5 play, Vatanen had a fairly high PDO, but in score-close situations, that number actually dropped to a below average figure. The low figure at score-close was mostly because of a below-average save percentage of 91.1% with Vatanen on the ice, when the Ducks had an overall save percentage of 92.7% at 5-on-5 score close. Vatanen’s +/-, therefore, should see a slight uptick from score-close situations, provided the save% figure goes back to a much more average figure (even 92.0% would help the PDO rise to 100.1, which is right around the league average). Even if Vatanen’s shooting % of 10.0% drops this season from 5-on-5 play, his overall scoring production shouldn’t go down, as the figures don’t take into account power-play time, where Vatanen will be poised to do a lot of damage on the score sheet.