Alex Alexeyev‘s role with the Washington Capitals keeps increasing, but he’s still got a lot of development to do.
By the Numbers
| Summary | |
|---|---|
| 1 | goal |
| 2 | assists |
| 39 | games played |
| 13.7 | average ice time |
| On-ice percentages | |
| 46.7 | 5-on-5 shot-attempt percentage |
| 50.0 | 5-on-5 expected goal percentage |
| 40.5 | 5-on-5 actual goal percentage |
Isolated Impact by HockeyViz
About this visualization: This image by Micah Blake McCurdy of hockeyviz.com shows how the player has impacted play when on the ice. At the top of the image is the team’s offense (even strength at left, power play at right) and at bottom is the team’s defense (with penalty kill at bottom right). In each case, red/orange blobs mean teams shoot for more from that location on the ice, and blue/purple means less. In general, a good player should have red/orange blobs near the opponent’s net at top, and blue/purple bobs near their own team’s net at bottom. The distributions in middle show how the player compares to league average at individual finishing, setting up teammates to score, and taking and drawing penalties. The number at center is Synthetic Goals: a catch-all number for the player’s impact.
Player Card by All Three Zones
About this player card: This image from Corey Sznajder of All Three Zones shows how the player compares to league averages in different microstats in the defensive, neutral, and offensive zones. Blue bars mean the player has a higher rate in that statistic compared to league average, and orange means a lower rate. The numbers are Z-scores, also known as standard deviations, indicating how far the number is from league average, where more than two standard deviations means the player is on the extreme edge of the league.
Player Card by Evolving Hockey
About this player card: This card from Josh and Luke of Evolving Hockey compares the player to league averages based on their impact on on-ice statistics. GAR means “goals above replacement,” where “replacement” means an average player called up from the AHL. xGAR is the same figure but assuming league-average goaltending. The numbers at top are the player’s percentile ranks overall and then for offense and defense alone.
Player Overview by NHL Edge
About this visualization: The NHL’s advanced statistics program, Edge, tracks player and puck movement. At left are the player’s numbers in various statistics along with the average number for that same stat among players of the same position and the player’s percentile rank in it. At right is a radar chart for various statistics, where the bigger the shape the better the player performs in those measures.
Fan Happiness Survey
About this visualization: At three times during the season, RMNB shared an open survey with fans, asking the following question for each player: “On a scale from 1 to 5, how HAPPY are you to have this player on the team?” The numbers above show the average score for the player in each survey period.
Peter’s Take
I got in trouble for grouping Alexeyev with AHL-level players in the happiness survey. He didn’t play for the Bears this season and played just four games there last season, so that was unfair of me. But he’s still not proven at the NHL level despite suiting up 32 times last season and 39 times this season. I don’t think he’d have gotten so many reps without Washington’s profound roster problems at defense.
None of this is to put down Alexeyev, who may yet have the makings of a solid NHL defender. People with better eyes than me may already see it. HockeyViz considers him a positive influence on the flow of play, overwhelmingly due to shot suppression, but All Three Zones (in a much smaller sample) didn’t find much to love about his defensive play, specifically at getting the puck back.
On offense, he’s been a black hole, but perhaps that’s something that will improve with maturity. Right now he shoots individually less than any other defender and sees the Caps shoot less than any defender other than Jensen. I have strong personal bias towards moar offense, and I’d love it if Alexeyev could develop there.
In the meantime, for a third-pairing defender, sure, I’ll take it.
Player Summary by ChatGPT
The hockey world got a jab in the arm on November 15, 1999, when Alexander Alexeyev was born in St. Petersburg, Russia. This defensive defenseman has already made a big impact on the NHL (ice hockey) in just 72 NHL games. Though some doubters question the young Russian player’s potential star power, no one should overlook the player’s passion for the sport.
A^2 on RMNB
- Alexeyev and other Caps Russians attended the Commanders home opener.
- Evgeny Kuznetsov was a bit wry about Alexeyev’s standing inside the organization.
- Alexeyev made his season debut in October, taking Lucas Johansen’s slot.
- Halloween costume: Chucky.
- In November, Alexeyev scored his first NHL goal. Postgame, Carbery shouted, “Someone got their first f&*%ing goal in the National Hockey League!” Embarrassing Carbery doesn’t even know Alexeyev’s name.
- Alexeyev suffered a shoulder injury in late November that kept him out for more than a month.
- By the late season, he was a regular. “I think I’ve improved in all the areas; better at defending well and making plays in the [offensive] zone,” Alexeyev said. “I had a lot of sessions with [skills coach Kenny McCudden], and it helped me a lot, to improve my touches and shots and everything.”
Your Turn
What is Alexeyev’s game missing? What is holding him back from becoming a full-time player and maybe even top-four defender?
