Eeli Tolvanen’s career was at a standstill in the Nashville Predators, but the goaltender immediately seized his opportunity in the Seattle Kraken.
Tolvanen, 23, has scored 18+13 in 60 regular season games this season. Four of these power points came in the Predators.
In Kraken, Tolvanen has found a suitable role next to Yanni Gourde in Seattle’s triple chain. Tolvanen has also positioned himself in the Kraken’s first advantage chain, where his role is to shoot from the arch of the left p-point as seen from the goalkeeper.
In Predators, Tolvanen’s role varied, and he didn’t always know what the coaching staff wanted from him.
In Kraken, the situation is different.
A certain detail catches the eye in Tolvanen’s playing and statistics.
Kicks
Tolvanen fits into the structure of Seattle’s attacking zone offensive game and fits the way the Kraken likes to create scoring opportunities.
In his career, Tolvanen has never been a hustler. In Kraken, it is often Gourde, not Tolvanen, who goes to the corner of the attacking end. The Finn positions himself in the middle of the opponent’s five and offers the opportunity to shoot directly from the pass. Tolvanen’s torque isn’t enough when dueling in corners, and the use of the blade is not high-quality enough.
Tolvanen often positions himself in front of the defenders on the blue line, between the arcs of the p-points, i.e. practically on the center line or slightly on the other side of it in the attacking area.
The probabilities of scoring increase when the puck is passed over the center line of the defense area and the player can shoot directly from the pass. In this case, the goalkeeper has to make a lateral move to stay behind the puck. The probabilities generally increase when you get to shoot from the first or second scoring sectors, i.e. in front of the goal.
It is telling that Tolvanen has made most of his hits this season by shooting directly from the pass, either from the above-mentioned position, from the corner of the goal, or by overpowering from the p-point arc. In this way, Kraken aims to utilize the Finn’s greatest strength, i.e. the ability to launch.
In general, Tolvanen’s role is to shoot, not build the game, although he has 13 assists. by Corey Sznajder according to the data collected, Tolvanen is at the bottom of Kraken’s attackers in the statistics of key passes and creating situations.
Tolvanen doesn’t touch the puck terribly often when playing in even fives. Tolvanen “sneaks” so to speak, that is, as if he curves a little outside the game, in the shadows, which is why it is not easy for him to pass the puck.
When receiving the puck, Tolvanen plays simply, sends or directs the puck from the middle area to the end. He does not challenge much on the offensive blue line, and therefore does not create scoring opportunities from direct attacks.
Shooting is Tolvanen’s absolute strength. AOP / USA TODAY Sports
Total input
The impact of Tolvanen’s comprehensive play on the Kraken has not been so shocking with five draws, but still considerable.
When Tolvanen has been on the ice, according to Evolving-Hockey, Kraken has created an average of 2.42 shots in front of the goal during 60 minutes, which is the highest number so far in the Finn’s NHL career. However, it is the second fewest among Kraken forwards who have played at least 250 minutes this season.
When looking at the GAR statistic, which reflects how a player’s performance is reflected in the team’s realized goals, Tolvanen’s reading is the seventh highest among forwards.
In the light of what the xGAR statistics expect, Tolvanen has been able to bring goals to Kraken with his comprehensive play, the fourth most of his team’s forwards.
At the same time, it is good to note that Tolvanen has produced added value in the direction of attack the most in the scale of his career, i.e. the Finnish attacker has raised the level of his attacking play with five straight in Kraken.
Statistical abbreviations
Goals above replacement (GAR) reflects how the player’s performance is reflected in the team’s realized goals.
Expected goals above replacement (xGAR) on the other hand tells how much the player has been able to bring goals to his team with his overall play in light of expectations.
The statistics are compared to a “replacement player”, which on the Evolving-Hockey website is defined as an NHL-level player.
Defending
Tolvanen focused on defense while playing for the Predators. For example, last season, based on the picture created by Evolving-Hockey’s statistics, he belonged to the NHL’s best 94% in defense end statistics.
The level has dropped a bit.
As recently as last season, opponents created an average of 2.14 shots in front of the goal during 60 minutes when Tolvanen was on the ice. This season, the corresponding figure is 2.35 in Kraken.
Although the defensive play has not been at such a high level this season, it has been sufficient so far and Tolvanen has played conscientiously towards himself.
Spring
In Kraken, Tolvanen found an offensive game template that supports his strengths.
Seattle is advancing to the playoffs, and it’s a big upgrade considering how poorly the Kraken played last season.
It will be interesting to watch how the opponents play the offensive play of Tolvanen and Kraken’s offensive zone in the playoffs.
Defenses are known to tighten up in the playoffs. At the same time, Tolvanen’s defensive readiness is also measured.
Sometimes even Tolvasen has to frown. AOP / USA TODAY Sports