Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had a career year in 2022-23, which THN site editors saw as an aberration.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has been playing full time in the NHL since the Edmonton Oilers selected the center first overall in the 2011 Entry Draft. Scouting reports highlighted his offensive talents along with his quick skating. Many pundits argued he could be a regular point-per-game player.
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The 2022-23 season was an aberration for Nugent-Hopkins. The Hockey News team site editors conducted a poll of predictions for the 2023-24 season. In that poll only Nugent-Hopkins received three votes for "good season was an aberration".
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.The reality is more nuanced than that. The reality is that he had a very high all-situations shooting percentage and 52% of his points were generated on the power play.
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Additionally, Nugent-Hopkins even strength shooting percentage & secondary assist rate were very sustainable - 10.8% for the former and 58.2% for the latter. This solidifies that his even strength production was sustainable, even though his overall numbers were inflated from being a member of a record breaking power play.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.Despite the inflated point production last season, expect Nugent-Hopkins to hit the 80-85 point threshold in 2023-25. The combination of his sustainable even strength production and the Oilers lethal power play suggest his points will drop off - but not as much as you might expect.
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