Quote:
Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe
They just took advantage of the relatively low quality of competition and maybe just had a linemate or two that just 'clicked' with their game.
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But then you consider that elevating them to a top six role allows them to see more of the puck, get more confidence and play with better players, which are all factors that would lead you to think that their scoring rates should actually improve!
It's hockey, it's a bit of a crapshoot. You never know how for sure someone is going to respond to an increased role, but for the most part it's actually a pretty good predictor once you factor in WOWY (to take into account who's really driving the bus) and QualComp. There are tools to analyze almost any potential caveat you can think of. None of them are perfect, but you can get a pretty decent idea, enough to at least make an educated guess.
The general view, reading / listening to the "sleeper free agent" talk over the summer, was that Marchessault was undervalued and someone was going to get a good pick up. Obviously no one expected quite this level of production, but it's also not a huge shocker, as he always clearly had the skill to convert if you put him with good players, if you look back to his AHL track record.