Cory Conacher has cooled off

[His Dudeness]

Thought worth a thread as something seems to have happened over the last month or so as he's really cooled off.

To recap, he started the 2012/13 AHL season on-fire with 9 points in first 5 games. On October 23, Bob McKenzie picked him as a favourite for the Calder Trophy should there be an NHL season. By about November 20 he had 17 points in 14 games, still really good. He's now sitting on 22 points in 26 games, and now sits 25th in the league in points, and tied for 3rd in points on Syracuse.

So since Nov 20 (just under a month), he's had 5 points in 12 games.

Obviously there are ebbs and flows in any season, but I'm hoping he can turn it on again. I haven't seen anything suggesting that he's injured. Syracuse has a number of good offensive players (Johson with 27 points, Connolly with 23, Panik with 22 etc etc) so there does seem to be quite a bit of competition.

[Pantagruelist]

Imo, the reason for the decline is that he's no longer sneaking up on anyone. With the influx of NHL calibre/ready defencemen into the AHL he's facing the top defensive pairing each night because he is now a known quantity across the league. When you win a scoring crown team's have to start game-planning for you and I think this is the reason guy's like Panik, Connolly, and Tyler Johnson are out-scoring him now. Obviously, they have talent but when you are facing an opponent's 2nd pairing there are going to be many more opportunities for you than there might against the first.

[His Dudeness]

Imo, the reason for the decline is that he's no longer sneaking up on anyone. With the influx of NHL calibre/ready defencemen into the AHL he's facing the top defensive pairing each night because he is now a known quantity across the league. When you win a scoring crown team's have to start game-planning for you and I think this is the reason guy's like Panik, Connolly, and Tyler Johnson are out-scoring him now. Obviously, they have talent but when you are facing an opponent's 2nd pairing there are going to be many more opportunities for you than there might against the first.

Very interesting point.

[One87]

Imo, the reason for the decline is that he's no longer sneaking up on anyone. With the influx of NHL calibre/ready defencemen into the AHL he's facing the top defensive pairing each night because he is now a known quantity across the league. When you win a scoring crown team's have to start game-planning for you and I think this is the reason guy's like Panik, Connolly, and Tyler Johnson are out-scoring him now. Obviously, they have talent but when you are facing an opponent's 2nd pairing there are going to be many more opportunities for you than there might against the first.

He may have cooled off, but he's still moving at a respectable clip.

[His Dudeness]

He may have cooled off, but he's still moving at a respectable clip.

5 points in his last 12 games - not that respectable. Unless by "moving" you mean he's skating well?

[One87]

5 points in his last 12 games - not that respectable. Unless by "moving" you mean he's skating well?

22pts in 26gp is plenty repectable. So his cooling is roughly a point every other game. Some guys would kill for that to be their "cooling." He'll be fine.

[His Dudeness]

22pts in 26gp is plenty repectable. So his cooling is roughly a point every other game. Some guys would kill for that to be their "cooling." He'll be fine.

Agree fully with you. My post is more about the last 4 weeks though, where there does seen to have been a noticeable drop off in his production.

[ericdaoust]

Let's wait to see his full body of work. Shit happens during the season. 82 games is more representative than 26. I mean, if he catches fire tomorrow he could still finish with 90-95 points by the end of the season. Or he could finish with 60. Who knows?

[angus]

The AHL is a significantly better league compared to last year as well - another factor.

[arctic_rogue]

The AHL is a significantly better league compared to last year as well - another factor.

Most definitely. It's a better indicator of how will fare in the NHL. Now we just have to see if this is just a dry spell, or a true indicator of his performance/production.

[One87]

Most definitely. It's a better indicator of how will fare in the NHL. Now we just have to see if this is just a dry spell, or a true indicator of his performance/production.

I hear you, Dude. Good point, Angus. If this is a snapshot of what he can do at the NHL level, I think a lot of us will be happy with the FA find, AR.