Plus: New D-Man Dumoulin Hard To Figure (According To The Figures)
Yes, that was Seattle Kraken center Yanni Gourde walking around Kraken Community Iceplex last Sunday, wearing the custom baseball cap of a player on a division rival.
He did have a good reason.
When Gourde was winning back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2021 and 2022 as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning, one of his teammates was Alex Killorn.
What's relevant in the tweet below is Killorn's ball cap.
Both Gourde and Killorn have since moved west - Yanni to Seattle in the 2021 expansion draft, and Alex to the Anaheim Ducks as a free agent this summer.
Gourde was wearing one of those "AK17" lids when he met the media after Sunday's training camp. It's not obvious, because Yanni took the wise precaution of turning the cap backwards before the TV cameras were switched on.
Having me describe this isn't nearly as much fun as hearing Gourde answer a question about it in the video below.
The first of four meetings this season between the Kraken and the Ducks takes place in Anaheim on December 23. There are many reasons to hope Alex Killorn doesn't score a hat trick in that game - among them, we'd hate to see Yanni Gourde lose his AK17 ball cap having to toss it on the ice.
The Numbers Prove It: New Kraken D-man Brian Dumoulin Last Season Was Great! Or Rotten!
Analytics, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. Seemingly straightforward numbers still rely on methodology of calculation and interpretation.
(That's a whole lot of $10 words, stats boy. What in tarnation are you gettin' at?)
Take new Kraken defenseman Brian Dumoulin. Dave Hakstol has spoken approvingly of the free agent, signed this summer after a decade mostly on Pittsburgh's top defensive pairing.
On the Kraken website, number-cruncher par excellence Alison Lukan backed that up, analyzing the 2022-23 Penguins defense corps. "According to Sportlogiq, Dumoulin was among the better defenders at blocked passes per 20 minutes of play (4.22); in Pittsburgh, only Kris Letang, was more effective at regaining possession than Dumoulin (26.7% success rate, even strength).
"Last year in Pittsburgh, among blueliners who played at least 500 minutes, only Marcus Pettersson (74.5%) had a higher success rate of passes in the defensive zone than Dumoulin (73.7%)."
What's not to love?
Adam Gretz of Pensburgh.com also looked at last season's Pittsburgh defense, and came up with far different conclusions regarding Dumoulin. "Just about every time something bad happened for the Penguins, he seemed to be at the center of it. Missing an assignment. Getting beat to the front of the net. Losing a battle for a loose puck. A bad clear or a failed clear. He always seemed to be the common denominator, no matter who his defense partner was or which forward line was on the ice."
Using Natural Stat Trick numbers, Gretz listed Dumoulin's rankings among the eight Pittsburgh defensemen who played at least 150 minutes.
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As we once again ponder lies, damn lies, and statistics, I suppose we're just going to have to wait for the season to start, wish Brian Dumoulin the best, and decide for ourselves.