Caps rookie Madison Bowey had a rough season. He was benched in March and did not play again, but he’ll get another chance this fall. We think he’ll do much better next time around.
51 | games played |
13.7 | time on ice per game |
0 | goals |
12 | assists |
44.1 | 5-on-5 shot-attempt percentage, adjusted |
44.1 | 5-on-5 goal percentage, adjusted |
About this visualization: This series of charts made by Micah Blake McCurdy of hockeyviz.com shows various metrics for the player over the course of the season. A short description of each chart:
Madison Bowey was one of the new players I was most excited about as 2017-18 began. Along with Djoos, it seemed like the Caps farm of defensemen was strong. That might still be true, but Bowey’s rookie season was troubled.
Paired with Brooks Orpik for 60 percent of his ice time, Bowey got caved in. The Caps owned just 42.1 percent of the shots and 33.3 percent of the goals (7-14) during their shifts. Opponents saw their rate of high-danger chances increase by ten percent against Bowey-Orpik than against the worst defensive teams in the league.
It’s easy to conclude that it didn’t work. It’s harder to say why. Bowey is not in the same class as Orpik’s former partner, Nate Schmidt, but he does have some of Schmidt’s flair on offense. The problem seemed that the Caps just didn’t play much offense during Bowey’s shifts, perhaps because they had such a hard time getting the puck back and transitioning to offense. When Bowey got ice time with one of the team’s best puck-moving defensemen in Dmitry Orlov (153 minutes together), Bowey saw the highest shot share (51.9 percent) of his season.
And that’s why I’m not panicking about Madison Bowey yet. It was absolutely the right thing in February when Trotz ended Bowey’s rookie year early – it might have saved the Caps’ season – but I’m not ready to give up on Bowey.
Can Bowey take the next step and stick in the NHL next season? What kind of circumstances would help him do so?
Read more: Japers’ Rink
Headline photo: Chris Gordon
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