Simon is really being underrated. I listened to JR on a preseason call on NHL Radio last August. He mentioned Simon as being someone in WBS he felt was NHL ready. Simon scored 25 goals in 68 games his first season in North America. He scored 4G 12Pts in 33 games last season. Rust scored 4G 7A in 41 games as a rookie, and Sheary scored 7G 10Pts in 44 games. Rust was 22, and Sheary 23. So he's a legitimate threat to win a spot in the line-up. As far as his advanced stats, they were very good, especially with Sid. It's obvious Sid likes him. Give the kid some leeway. He's not going to be a star, but he isn't without ability. The biggest one maybe being his smarts.
Sprong only got 8 games, but put up great advanced stats with Sid. He also put up great advanced stats with Sheahan, surprisingly. Admittedly, everything is based on small sample sizes.
Guentzel should play with Crosby. Interestingly, Sid's stats seem to spike with a kid on the other side, be it Simon or Sprong.
Hagelin brings out the best in Malkin, and the line was a monster when Hornqvist manned the right side.
Bryan Rust shows his value. Everywhere. Even with Sid and Guentzel. One thing that goes contrary to conventional wisdom is that Phil Kessel played better with Rust than anybody else. That's true when he had Malkin at center, and it was true in a short stint with Brassard in the middle. It's surprising because the general consensus is that Rust is better on the right side. He wasn't playing on the right with Kessel on the ice.
It was an incredibly small sample of two games, but the Rust-Brassard-Kessel combination had a 68.57 CF%. Jason Mackay brought it up a couple of weeks ago, and it jogged my memory about being impressed watching them live.
I look at ZAR, Sprong, Simon, and Cullen battling for 3 spots. And competition is good. ZAR offers something different, but is also the one with the least NHL service time. Ultimately, it's up to the three kids to force Cullen to the bench. They've got a good and deep group of forwards, and we all know the lines they start with will be different by the end of the first period of the opener. We also know that how players performed with others in the past isn't always a good predictor of future performance.
I suspect that Simon probably slots in a little higher right now than Sprong or ZAR. He got the most time in the NHL last season. I've always put more credence into building lines such as FlPensFan. I'm intrigued by what advanced stats can add though. Based solely on what I came up with from naturalstattrick.com. These would show some intrigue.
Guentzel Crosby Simon
Hagelin Malkin Hornqvist
Rust Brassard Kessel
ZAR/Cullen Sheahan Sprong
Switch it up accordingly. They are deep, with 10 of the 13 scoring double figure in goals last year. They are versatile, with 5 natural centers, and 4 wingers who have played both sides effectively. It's not a bad group. They won't lack for goals. They just need to find what combinations will work this season. I've been against Sprong on the 4th line, but that isn't your typical 4th line. 10 of the 13 forwards scored 10 or more goals in the NHL last season. The 3 who didn't are Sprong, ZAR, and Simon. All of which are noted for offensive skills. Like I said, they will score.
I'm new at advanced stats, so gurus, please be kind.
