Well, it appears that word travels fast across hockey circles, and the rest of hockey is quickly learning that Pittsburgh Penguins‘ rookie center Ben Kindel is the real deal.
His five goals in 12 games are tied for the most by a rookie in the NHL this season, which is impressive enough on its own. His hockey IQ and NHL-readiness is on full display, and it doesn’t look like he’s missed a beat at the highest level of hockey so far.
But there are some other numbers that are, perhaps, even more impressive than the raw stats. And they are surfacing in the analytics.
Kindel, 18, has been centering the Penguins’ third line between Tommy Novak and Ville Koivunen. And they are putting up some very impressive numbers.
In Monday’s heartbreaking 4-3 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Penguins utterly dominated the first 40 minutes of play – and Kindel’s line was a huge part of that. In fact, they were a gargantuan part of that.
According to Moneypuck, Kindel’s line controlled 95.5 percent of the expected goals share. This followed a performance against the Minnesota Wild Thursday in which they controlled 91 percent of the expected goals share.
Simply put, Kindel and his line are controlling large portions of play five-on-five. And this is happening with an 18-year-old rookie center who is playing well above his age.
It will be interesting to see how this line continues to fare during the upcoming schedule. But, for now, the Penguins would be wise not to mess with a single thing they’re doing.
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