This article will be another in my series of player profiles, where I’ll look at each player on the Anaheim Ducks and assess how their season went. This piece will focus on Sam Steel.
Steel produced at a pretty good rate in his first full season with the Ducks, despite a shooting percentage of just 7.1 per cent, scoring six goals and 22 points in 65 games, a pace of eight goals and 28 points per 82 games. He was already in a top-nine role, averaging 15:33 per game this year.
In terms of advanced stats, he had a corsi for percentage of 49 per cent, which was slightly higher than the team’s overall corsi for percentage. That said, he did have an expected goals for percentage of just 46 per cent (according to NaturalStatTrick.com), despite the fact that he played against a slightly below average quality of competition (according to Hockey Abstract).
Overall, it was a strong rookie season for Steel and he definitely gave a reason to be excited about what kind of a player he can become. It’s going to be interesting to see how the Ducks make room for him going forward, with quite a few centers in the mix. With Ryan Getzlaf and Adam Henrique, as well as prospects like Trevor Zegras and Isac Lundestrom in the system, it’s going to be pretty crowded down the middle.
Regardless, Steel will be a key part of the forward group in the coming years and the hope would be that he develops into a top-six center. He should get a good opportunity again next season and hopefully he can take another step in his game and boost his production.
***NOTE: We've launched a HockeyBuzz Ducks Twitter account! For anyone interested, you can follow @HB_Ducks for updates on articles, Ducks news, etc. We're starting right from scratch, so any followers would be appreciated!***
Here’s today’s poll question (results and discussion will be posted in a future article):
How many points do you expect from Sam Steel next season?
Anaheim Ducks Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»