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2015-16 Rink Wrap: Dmitry Orlov

Japers’ Rink Player Card (click for a hi-res version, and a glossary of terms used in this post can be found here; data via NHL.com, war-on-ice.com, General Fanager and Stats.HockeyAnalysis.com):

Orlov’s Season, Game-by-Game (via HockeyViz, explained here):

Orlov’s HERO Chart (via Own The Puck):

Orlov and His Defensive Partners:

Orlov’s 5v5 Teammates and Competition (via HockeyViz, explained here):

Orlov’s 5v5 Usage:

Orlov’s With-or-Without You (via HockeyViz, explained here):

Orlov’s Rolling Shot-Attempt (Corsi) -For Percentage:

Orlov’s Three Qualifying Seasons (via Stats.HockeyAnalysis.com):

Key Stat: Orlov skated in every Washington Capitals regular season contest for the first time in his six-year North American career and set career highs in goals (8), assists (21) and points (29) along the way.

Interesting Stat: The Russian defenseman led Caps blueliners in five-on-five Corsi percentage (raw and relative) and individual goal rate, and finished second in assist and point-production rates and on-ice scoring chance percentage.

The Good: Finally healthy for an entire season, Orlov earned his way into the opening night lineup and wouldn’t leave until the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Largely assigned to the team’s third defensive pairing this season, Orlov’s production can only be viewed as a success throughout the 82 game regular season. In late November Orlov was at his offensive best, tallying a goal in three consecutive contests and accumulating five points in that brief span. Two of those goals would be game winners and he would add one more on the season in February against the Wild.

The organization would nominate Orlov as their 2015-2016 Masterton Trophy nominee for perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to the sport.

The Bad: Orlov remains a high-risk defensive player and he was certainly exposed on that side of the puck this season. He is prone to getting caught in the offensive zone and trying to do too much with the puck in the defensive zone, which resulted in Orlov registering some memorable ups and downs over the course of the season. Interestingly enough, GM Brian MacLellan referred to Orlov as a “high-event” player (“At both ends there’s some events going on”), which probably jibes with what our eyes told us… but not the numbers – Orlov’s five-on-five shots-against rate was the lowest among the team’s regular defensemen.

As impressive as Orlov’s underlying and rate stats might be, it’s certainly worth noting that they were accumulated in relatively easy minutes (both in terms of deployments and competition), but even when pressed into action above the third pair, Orlov’s numbers were pretty good, as he was at or above 50% in goals and shots when playing with John Carlson and Matt Niskanen (and even alongside Brooks Orpik as well).

Essentially, “The Bad” on Orlov boils down to him making big, ugly mistakes that wound up in the Caps’ net and take away from “The Good” production rates and underlying numbers (which, themselves, are mitigated a bit by his usage).

The Video:

The Vote: Rate Orlov below on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best) based on his performance relative to his potential and your expectations for the season – if he had the best year you could have imagined him having, give him a 10; if he more or less played as you expected he would, give him a 5 or a 6; if he had the worst year you could have imagined him having, give him a 1.

The Discussion: Orlov had his best season in Washington due to a combination of health, offensive ability, and Todd Reirden‘s guidance. At only 24 years old Orlov still has time to mature as a defenseman and refine his game while away from and defending the puck. Can he get there? What would it take for you to give him a “10” next year?

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