Earlier this month The Flight Path surveyed the Air Force hockey team about various player characteristics.
Twenty-five of the 30 players on the roster responded (83 percent) through an online survey. All results were anonymous. I’d like to thank the AFA players for taking the time to take the survey.
I’d also like to thank the following sponsors for helping make this possible:
Kostoff and Co. at Nova Home Loans – The Right Loan, The Right Lender
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What follows is second of five parts of the survey, along some accompanying analysis.
Part 2: Shooting and Stick handling
6 – Which player has the hardest shot?
Phil Boje – 22 (88 percent)
Trevor Stone – 3 (12 percent)
Behind the numbers: These two are often mentioned as having the hardest shots. None other than goalie Billy Christopoulos told me before the season that if Boje winds up, look out. And if Stone has the puck on his stick from the circles down, his snap shot is absolutely wicked.
7 – Which player has the most accurate shot?
Ben Kucera – 6 (24 percent)
Kyle Haak – 3 (12 percent)
Erik Baskin, Evan Feno, Evan Giesler, Jordan Himley, Jake Levin, Matt Serratore and Trevor Stone – 2 (8 percent)
Tyler Ledford and Walker Sommer also received a vote..
Behind the numbers: This speaks to the perception that Air Force has a lot of guys who can hurt a team with their shot. Kucera can do plenty of damage if he gets the puck in a shooting position, and he was one of the Falcons’ top scorers two seasons ago.
8 – Which player has the quickest release on his shot?
Trevor Stone – 10 (40 percent)
Jordan Himley, Matt Serratore and Walker Sommer – 3 (12 percent)
Evan Feno and Ben Kucera – 2 (8 percent)
Tyler Ledford and Isaac Theisen also received a vote.
Behind the numbers: Again, lots of balance in a category that most scouts will tell you is more important than velocity with the improvements in technique and equipment goalies enjoy. Stone is the one player who appears in all three shooting categories, suggesting that the sophomore might be a player due to really break out in the second half or down the road. Also notable is the presence of a couple of freshmen in this category – Sommer and Theisen. The Falcons brought in a lot of skill last fall.
9 – Which player is the best overall stick handler?
Tyler Ledford – 8 (32 percent)
Evan Feno – 5 (20 percent)
Jordan Himley, Matt Pulver – 4 (16 percent)
Shawn Knowlton, Zack Mirageas, Matt Serratore and Isaac Theisen each received a vote.
Behind the numbers: It’s no secret Ledford and Himley have magic mitts, but Feno’s presence in several of these categories hints to just how big of a loss his was due to a season-ending knee injury. Three more freshmen appear here as well.
10 – Which player can maneuver through traffic best with the puck on his stick?
Tyler Ledford – 12 (48 percent)
Jordan Himley – 4 (16 percent)
Evan Feno, Matt Serratore – 3 (12 percent)
Marshall Bowery, Zack Mirageas and Matt Pulver each received a vote.
Behind the numbers: Yes, seniors Ledford and Himley are here again, as are Serratore and Pulver, who show up rather frequently in every skill category. But there are Feno and some freshmen again.
Previously
Coming up:
Part 3: Passing, vision, hockey sense and face-offs
Part 4: Defense, positioning, leadership
Part 5: Breaking down the numbers
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