Carolina Hurricanes’ Joel Nystrom Has Earned an NHL Roster Spot After Breakthrough Season – The Hockey Writers – Carolina Hurricanes

There are very few defensive outfits in the NHL that are better than the Carolina Hurricanes. They are built from the blueline to protect their goaltender. They have had one of the best defensive units in hockey for almost a decade. Grizzled veterans who know their job on the backend play a vital role in the success of the Hurricanes organisation. However, there is now a young kid pushing through, trying to get an NHL roster spot, and that’s Joel Nystrom.

When Nystrom was called upon in the NHL last season, he wasn’t just decent. He was outright excellent. Across the 38 games he played, he had a goal and nine assists. Ten points is not special for a defender, but it is just bonus production from someone who was not supposed to be in the NHL last season. His offence wasn’t why he impressed; it was his defensive impact that earned him a new four-year contract, and it’s why he needs to be in the NHL full-time next season.

The Tough Start

If you want to see why Nystrom impressed so much, look no further than his NHL debut in Denver. He arrived later than the rest of the organisation due to delays flying out of O’Hare in Chicago. When he arrived, he didn’t get to skate with the team before the game; he didn’t get to sit back and deeply analyse the way the Hurricanes play; he was just put onto the ice.

Immediately, he took a puck off the jaw, missed the entire second period getting stitched up, and was on the bench to start the third. That’s the kind of performance that gets you endeared to a fanbase. Flexing his toughness to help the Hurricanes be one of just a handful of teams to take two points out of the Colorado Avalanche last season is no small feat, but it helped the Hurricanes cement the top seed in the East ahead of a run that would take them to the Stanley Cup. It was one of those performances that showed his strong preseason performance was more than just a flash when players aren’t trying. He was someone worth paying attention to, and he repaid the faith tremendously.

Analytical Domination

Well, he played 38 games, so we can’t harp on just one performance. How good was he in the rest of the games he played? Well, according to Natural Stat Trick, Nystrom had an expected goals for per 60 (xGF/60) at five-on-five of 3.65. That’s the highest of any Hurricanes defenseman to play at least 200 minutes. Maybe you don’t care about expected goals; you only care about real goals. He had a goals-for per 60 (GF/60) at 5-on-5 of 2.87, the third highest among the defenders in the same parameters. However, I already said his offence was a bonus, not what was expected from him.

His goals against per 60 (GA/60) at 5-on-5 was a ridiculous 1.95. Only Mike Reilly had a better GA/60, at 1.80. Those two had a better GA/60 than the six that eventually won the Stanley Cup in the regular season. However, goals-against stats can be swung by goalies, so what about the expected numbers? Well, Nystrom had an expected goals-against per 60 (xGA/60) of 2.32. That seems much higher than his actual number, but it’s still the best among all Hurricanes defensemen to play 200 minutes or more.

Now, it’s worth noting that Nystrom was protected. According to Dobbersports’ Frozen Tools, 219 minutes of his even-strength playing time came with Alexander Nikishin, which was the third pairing. He spent a further 112 minutes with Reilly, again on the third pairing. Let’s not be mistaken, there were times when he ended up way higher in the lineup and played very well, but he was primarily deployed as a third-pairing defenseman when his name was called. This isn’t to say he’s bad, but it means he shouldn’t be the immediate answer on the first pairing.

Crowded Blueline Creates Limitations

Carolina’s defence is currently suffering from having too many talents. Nystrom isn’t just trying to crack into any normal defensive group; these are the Stanley Cup Champions, and that’s a tough task. It’d be difficult for NHL veterans to get playing time on the Hurricanes blueline, so Nystrom is fighting a monstrous uphill battle to make it into the NHL with the Hurricanes. That’s not an easy battle to know you have to prove you’re better than a champion for a roster spot; it is intimidating. However, there are opportunities; with Reilly and Nikishin still unsigned, and the latter apparently drawing interest from other teams, there are open spots for Nystrom to target.

However, the confidence that can come from that if Nystrom wins out and earns a spot isn’t just something we can refine to the short-term. It’d be something that he could carry for the rest of his career. It’s going to be hard, especially because Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour is known to love his veteran guys because he knows what they will give him, whereas young players like Nystrom can be unpredictable, as is well-documented. But Nystrom is young enough to know his talent is only going to continue to blossom into something more than he already is. Patience is a virtue, and the Swedish defender will be in the NHL soon. He’s too good to overlook for long.