Chandler Stephenson finally graduated from the Hershey Bears to give the Caps a glimpse at the future of their fourth line.
By The Numbers
| 67 | games played |
| 11.9 | time on ice per game |
| 6 | goals |
| 12 | assists |
| 44.3 | 5-on-5 shot-attempt percentage, adjusted |
| 58.9 | 5-on-5 goal percentage, adjusted |
Visualization by HockeyViz
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:
- Most common teammates during 5-on-5
- Ice time per game, split up by game state
- 5-on-5 adjusted shot attempts by the team (black) and opponents (red)
- 5-on-5 adjusted shooting percentage by the team (black) and opponents (red)
- Individual scoring events by the player
- 5-on-5 adjusted offensive (black) and defensive (red) zone starts
Peter’s Take
Chandler Stephenson is the first NHL player ever with the name Chandler. Chandler Stephenson was born on April 22, 1994, exactly five months before the premiere of the sitcom Friends, which has a character named Chandler. Coincidence? Yeah. probably. I’m just trying to eat up space because there’s not a ton to say here.
The Caps’ depth was atrocious in 2017-18, but it seems like Stephenson made it less so.
Since his debut in late October, Chandler seemed to excel when he was given opportunities apart from fourth-line forward, Jay Beagle. (Beagle’s shifts without Stephenson were very often defensive-zone faceoffs with top-line forwards, a crummy context for clean comparison.) Stephenson got a few looks on higher lines and showed some interesting synergy with Lars Eller, combining for four points in 140 minutes, but it doesn’t seem like those duties are in Stephenson’s immediate future.
With Beagle’s exit, Stephenson will likely be a fourth-line mainstay. And though Stephenson took 82 faceoffs in the playoffs, he doesn’t seem to be the leading candidate for 4C. That will be a battle between Travis Boyd and Nic Dowd, with those three plus Nathan Walker competing for a jersey on most nights.
Chandler on RMNB
- Chandler was placed on waivers in October but went unclaimed. Good thing, as he slotted in when Andre Burakovsky got injured later that month.
- Just a few days later, Stephenson scored his first NHL goal
- Seeing as he’s still new to the whole NHL thing, we should forgive him for beefing it during a post-goal celebration. It’s endearing really.
- Stephenson roomed with Tom Wilson, which led to little treasures like this.
What a roommate @CStephenson22 #postmateoftheyear pic.twitter.com/FFxYkYHtOf
— Tom Wilson (@tom_wilso) January 10, 2018
- Stephenson is from Humboldt, home of the Broncos. He shared his condolences after their accident in April, and he’ll be bringing the Cup to town in August.
- On January 31, Stephenson had the best shift of his career, scoring two goals in one shift. The first was a crash-the-net rebound goal; the second — a deke on poor ol’ Mikey Neuvirth.
Your Turn
What does 2018-19 look like for Chandler Stephenson? How will the fourth line be deployed differently this time around?
Read more: Japers’ Rink
Headline photo: Cara Bahniuk
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