*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 |
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