Photo: Chris Gordon
Someone protect us from the wrath of the Brouwer Rangers. Today’s the day we talk about their boy, Troy Brouwer, and both of the seasons he had.
By the Numbers
| 82 | Games played |
| 18.4 | Average time on ice per game |
| 25 | Goals |
| 18 | Assists |
| 47.8% | Shot attempt percentage during 5v5 |
| 47.8% | Goal percentage during 5v5 |
| 7.2% | On-ice shooting percentage during 5v5 |
| 93.2% | On-ice saving percentage during 5v5 |
Peter’s Take
Brouwer should get two of these year-in-review posts. Through the end of November, Brouwer was paired with Brooks Laich, where he got absolutely dominated. In hindsight, Brooks Laich’s lingering groin injury was probably the driving factor (though Oates’ territory-over-possession attitude and Brouwer’s lack of dump-and-chase skills were in involved too). Once they broke up, Brouwer became a threat again.
He never quite got out of the red cumulatively, but Brouwer was really good when the team was underperforming early in the new year, particularly when taking shifts with Fehr and Backstrom. That implies Brouwer is something of a passenger when it comes to possession, though I think he’s still a good finisher.
The rest of the story was the power play, where Brouwer was an assassin, scoring 12 goals on 53 shots as an excellent fulcrum in the crease. If the Caps keep anything from this blighted season, let’s hope it’s the 1-3-1 powerplay and Brouwer’s hardscrabble effort in the paint.
There. I bet you thought this was going to be negative. Nope. Brouwer might be overpaid and he might not drive play so much, but he’s got the fundamentals to be a serious producer next season. Take it to the bank.
Brouwer on RMNB
- Brouwer was on the ice for zero Caps 5v5 shot attempts on April 8th. That is really weird. Maybe his mondo collision with Johansson was a factor.
- He really has a terrific attitude: yucking it up for fans during warm-ups, and being a good sport when Ian lost that dumb, dumb bet.
- Behold: the Brouwer-bomb! It’s a thing. Mostly during interviews, but also at Casino Night.
- Brouwer was a total mensch to Caps fans on the road.
- Remember when I was like, “Brouwer’s gonna start scoring goals!” and then Brouwer started scoring goals?
- October: “We’re going to be be hard-pressed to make the playoffs if we continue on the path we’re on now.” Welp.
In Pictures
Celebrating 100 goals. I love this photo by the Brouwer Rangers.
He’s good on the power play, but he’s truly great at this.
Troy got a mustache bobblehead. This GIF is High Art as far as I’m concerned.
There have been better goal celebrations than this.
Your Turn
Am I wrong about Troy Brouwer? Would you rather see him crashing the net on a line with Alex Ovechkin or being the primary shooter on the second line? If the Caps go into rebuild mode, is Brouwer one of the first to move?
Read more: Japers Rink
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