First the obligatory caveat… It’s Early. Yeah. We know. But it’s still appropriate to point this out: Jordan Kyrou’s early brilliance places him among the top forwards in the NHL.
Kyrou has 10 points in nine games (5 goals, 5 assists.) And on the Blues 3-0 trip to Vegas and Anaheim, Kyrou had 3 goals and an assist and was +4. But the impact extends higher than that. Let’s take a closer look…
Kyrou ranks 7th among Blues forwards, and 129th among all NHL forwards, with 105 minutes and 34 seconds of 5v5 ice time. So he’s doing a great job of maximizing his opportunities. If we look at Kyrou’s production based on playing-time adjustment, he has a star by his name.
But if we pro-rate those minutes over the standard 60-minute game… my goodness.
Here’s where Kyrou ranks among league forwards (minimum 100 minutes) in several categories — using per 60 minutes of 5v5 ice time as the gauge:
Goals/60: 2.84 … 1st.
Assists/60: 2.27 … 10th
Points/60: 5.12 … 1st
Shots/60: 11.37 … 7th
Defense: Among NHL forwards with 100+ minutes at 5v5, Kyrou ranks 5th with 3.41 takeaways per 60.
In the words of Blues coach Craig Berube, Kyrou has “high-end skill.” But at age 22, and with only 44 scattered NHL games to his name coming into this season, it appears that Kyrou also has a defensive conscience.
“One hundred percent, the biggest thing is compete,” Kyrou said. “And that’s always being on the puck, always being tenacious and creating those turnovers. When you can do that, you get more chances, and the more chances you get, the more times you can put it in the net. Just got to keep that up.”
When Kryou is competing on the ice at 5v5, the Blues have an 11-6 edge in goals, a massive 63-35 advantage in scoring chances, and a whopping 24-12 superiority in high-danger chances.
One other important note on Kyrou … he makes it look easy, but it isn’t. Word is getting out on Kyrou; opponents are dishing plenty of punishment to try and slow him down. Through nine games he ranks 19th among NHL forwards with 7.96 hits absorbed per 60 minutes.
There’s toughness behind the high-end skill.
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