Thursday, October 18, 2012

Corban Knight, A Center of Attention

Corban Knight's prowess at the faceoff dot is well known among North Dakota hockey fans. As a sophomore, Knight set the UND single-season record by winning 59.9% of his draws, and he has a career faceoff success rate of 59.1%. Included in those career numbers is the 58.7% clip he recorded last season while playing a good portion of the season with a broken hand. That's right. Not even a broken hand could deter Knight's faceoff dominance. In UND's two recent exhibition games, the senior centerman won an astounding 78.3% (36 of 46) of his draws. So how do his numbers compare to those of UND's recent notable centers? Take a look below.

*Just a couple of notes on the numbers:
The "% Taken" column represents the percentage of the team's draws the player took, while the "Team Rank" column represents where the player's individual Faceoff Percentage ranked on the team (a player must have taken at least 10% of the team's faceoffs to qualify for the Team Rank).

Also, this comparison only dates back to the 2004-05 season. Otherwise, Zach Parise would be very prominently featured as he was very good in the faceoff circle. As a sophomore in 2003-04 Parise won 59.1% of his draws, but the numbers from his freshman year were not readily available, thus his exclusion from this comparison.

Travis Zajac
Year
Win
Loss
Total
FO %
% Taken
Win
Loss
Total
FO % 
Team Rank
FR (04-05)
485
363
848
0.572
27.7%
1624
1442
3066
0.530
1
SO (05-06)
649
502
1151
0.564
36.4%
1642
1520
3162
0.519
1
Career
1134
865
1999
0.567
32.1%
3266
2962
6228
0.524
-

Travis Zajac is currently one of the best faceoff men in the NHL, much like he was while at North Dakota. What's particularly impressive about Zajac's numbers is that he was the primary faceoff man for North Dakota from day one, taking nearly a third of UND's faceoffs during his two years with the Sioux. His workload as a sophomore (he took 36.4% of the team's draws) is topped only by Knight's 37.2% last season. Of course, Knight missed three games a year ago, and his pro-rated "% Taken" number would have been 40% had he played every game. Zajac's 649 total faceoff wins as a sophomore is the highest total of anyone in this comparison. Knight won 581 draws as a junior, and if he's healthy I'd expect him to threaten Zajac's number this season.

Jonathan Toews
Year
Win
Loss
Total
FO %
% Taken
Win
Loss
Total
FO % 
Team Rank
FR (05-06)
204
162
366
0.557
11.6%
1642
1520
3162
0.519
2
SO (06-07)
443
332
775
0.572
26.2%
1541
1421
2962
0.520
2
Career
647
494
1141
0.567
18.6%
3183
2941
6124
0.520
-

Like Zajac, Jonathan Toews is one of the NHL's best at winning faceoffs. During his two year stint at North Dakota, he won 56.7% of his draws while taking 18.6% of the team's faceoffs. Interestingly, Toews was never the top faceoff man for the Sioux. As a freshman he was second to Zajac in faceoff percentage while as a sophomore he was bested by T.J. Oshie.

T.J. Oshie
Year
Win
Loss
Total
FO %
% Taken
Win
Loss
Total
FO % 
Team Rank
FR (05-06)
154
139
293
0.526
9.3%
1642
1520
3162
0.519
-
SO (06-07)
190
134
324
0.586
10.9%
1541
1421
2962
0.520
1
JR (07-08)
343
273
616
0.557
21.9%
1452
1356
2808
0.517
1
Career
687
546
1233
0.557
13.8%
4635
4297
8932
0.519
-

T.J. Oshie played on the wing for a good portion of his UND career, much like he does with the NHL's St. Louis Blues, but when he took to the faceoff dot he was very effective. His 58.6% success rate as a sophomore is the highest in this comparison aside from Knight's sophomore and junior seasons. One caveat to Oshie's numbers as a sophomore is the relatively small number of draws he took. Taking 10.9% of the team's faceoffs very narrowly qualified him for the Team Ranking as he played right wing much more frequently than he played down the middle.

Chris VandeVelde
Year
Win
Loss
Total
FO %
% Taken
Win
Loss
Total
FO % 
Team Rank
FR (06-07)
152
130
282
0.539
9.5%
1541
1421
2962
0.520
-
SO (07-08)
366
299
665
0.550
23.7%
1452
1356
2808
0.517
2
JR (08-09)
479
384
863
0.555
29.5%
1510
1413
2923
0.517
1
SR (09-10)
477
403
880
0.542
32.4%
1460
1253
2713
0.538
3
Career
1474
1216
2690
0.548
23.6%
5963
5443
11406
0.523
-

Chris VandeVelde was one of UND's main faceoff men over the entire span of his four year career, taking 23.6% of the team's faceoffs from 2006-07 to 2009-10. And for as prolific as he was, he was equally consistent. During his career he won 54.8% of his draws, and the lowest percentage of his career came as a freshman when he won 53.9%.

Brad Malone
Year
Win
Loss
Total
FO %
% Taken
Win
Loss
Total
FO % 
Team Rank
FR (07-08)
36
27
63
0.571
2.2%
1452
1356
2808
0.517
-
SO (08-09)
199
204
403
0.494
13.8%
1510
1413
2923
0.517
4
JR (09-10)
360
268
628
0.573
23.1%
1460
1253
2713
0.538
1
SR (10-11)
490
359
849
0.577
31.6%
1514
1175
2689
0.563
2
Career
1085
858
1943
0.558
17.5%
5936
5197
11133
0.533
-

Brad Malone developed into a very good faceoff man during his four year Sioux career. Just a 50% centerman through his first two seasons, Malone topped 57% during both his junior and senior seasons. As a junior he led UND with a 57.3% success rate, while his career-best 57.7% rate as a senior was second on the team, bested only by Knight's single-season school record 59.9%.  

Mario Lamoureux
Year
Win
Loss
Total
FO %
% Taken
Win
Loss
Total
FO % 
Team Rank
FR (08-09)
18
24
42
0.429
1.4%
1510
1413
2923
0.517
-
SO (09-10)
79
69
148
0.534
5.5%
1460
1253
2713
0.538
4
JR (10-11)
252
201
453
0.556
16.8%
1514
1175
2689
0.563
1
SR (11-12)
236
176
412
0.573
15.5%
1441
1221
2662
0.541
2
Career
585
470
1055
0.555
9.6%
5925
5062
10987
0.539
-

Mario Lamoureux took a limited number of draws as a freshman and sophomore, but as an upperclassman he was one of the top faceoff men for the Fighting Sioux. His 57.3% mark as a senior ranks as UND's sixth best single-season percentage since the 2004-05 season.

Corban Knight
Year
Win
Loss
Total
FO %
% Taken
Win
Loss
Total
FO % 
Team Rank
FR (09-10)
73
53
126
0.579
4.6%
1460
1253
2713
0.538
-
SO (10-11)
469
314
783
0.599
29.1%
1514
1175
2689
0.563
1
JR (11-12)
581
409
990
0.587
37.2%
1441
1221
2662
0.541
1
Career
1123
776
1899
0.591
23.5%
4415
3649
8064
0.547
-

Knight's numbers are fantastic across the board. He's assumed a heavy faceoff workload, and as mentioned earlier, his career success rate is a sterling 59.1%.

Below is a summary of the top single-season and career faceoff numbers:

Top 10 Single-Season FO %, 2004-05 to 2011-12
Player FO % Year
1. Corban Knight 59.9 2010-11
2. Corban Knight 58.7 2011-12
3. T.J. Oshie 58.6 2006-07
4. Brad Malone 57.7 2010-11
5. Brad Malone 57.3 2009-10
6. Mario Lamoureux 57.3 2011-12
7. Travis Zajac 57.2 2004-05
8. Jonathan Toews 57.2 2006-07
9. Travis Zajac 56.4 2005-06
10. Jonathan Toews 55.7 2005-06
10. T.J. Oshie 55.7 2007-08

Top 5 Career FO %, 2004-05 to 2011-12
Player FO %
            Years
1. Corban Knight 59.1 2009-10 to 2011-12
2. Travis Zajac 56.7 2004-05 to 2005-06
3. Jonathan Toews 56.7 2005-06 to 2006-07
4. Brad Malone 55.8 2007-08 to 2010-11
5. T.J. Oshie 55.3 2005-06 to 2007-08


No comments:

Post a Comment