Here's how Spencer Carbery is using Rasmus Sandin and Martin Fehervary
Spencer Carbery has been the head coach of the Caps for nine games. Once thing I’ve been interested to see is what roles he’s assigning to which players. I am particularly interested to see how Carbery is using Rasmus Sandin and Martin Fehervary.
The development of Sandin and Fehervary will play a key part in how competitive the Caps can remain over the next couple of seasons. With much of the Caps core well onto the wrong side of the aging curve, positive developments from these two players could help soften the landing for the team.
So, how has the new coach used these two players? Let’s take a look (given that it’s only been nine games, I am just looking at usage today, not performance).
Rasmus Sandin
Sandin plays more 5v5 minutes than any player on the team, and it’s not particularly close. He’s averaging 19:50 per game, and the next closest is John Carlson at 17:10. Once accounting for all situation, Sandin’s 22:10 is second on the team to Carlson.
While a player with as much ice time as Sandin will play in a lot of different situations, Carbery clearly prefers to get him out there for offensive zone draws. Sandin has started 69% of his shifts in the offensive zone (not counting neutral zone and on-the-fly shifts), tops among Caps defenders. So, it’s safe to say Carbery is looking to maximize Sandin’s offensive talents.
This is also evident in which teammates Sandin is skating with, as he's played more minutes with Alex Ovechkin than any other forward on the team.
Martin Fehervary
Fehervary is skating 16:26 at 5v5, third among defenders and third on the team. He’s also seeing time on the second PK unit, to the tune of 1:56 per game. While this is an increase over the 1:38 per game he skated on the PK last season, Fehervary’s percentage of PK time on ice has slightly decreased from 38.6 to 37.3 percent per game.
As I wrote about earlier this week, Fehervary is seeing more starts in the defensive zone than any other player on the team. His most common icemate is Evgeny Kuznetsov, at 62:40. Although the reasons for success together are numerous, this may be a duo Carbery continues to skate together, as both players on-ice shot attempt numbers are much better together than apart.
It’s encouraging to see both Sandin and Fehervary getting the chance to shine, although I’m not sure what other choice Carbery has. Likely unsurprising to most, Sandin is being used as an offensive weapon, and Fehervary’s usage leans more defensive.
That’s all for now. Thanks for reading