Top centres with low FOW totals

[horrorfan]

Hey all,

Just a general question about some top centres who have had low FOW totals recently, whether it's due to a poor percentage or a lack of opportunities (or both).

I would appreciate some insight on whether or not you see a possible improvement in their faceoff totals this coming season. I'm not asking about specific league context, just some general thoughts on what you might expect for these guys. I've included last season's numbers for reference.

Jack Hughes (78 GP, 164 FOW, 35.3% won)
Tage Thompson (78 GP, 350 FOW, 43.1% won)
Roope Hintz (73 GP, 249 FOW, 52.0% won)

Thanks.

[Sixtyfourbits]

Here are my thoughts:

Jack Hughes - last year I remember him splitting time between center and wing. If he stays only at center this year, his FOW numbers may go up a bit, but his FOW% suggests that they likely won't go up a crazy amount, even if given lots of faceoff opportunity.
Tage Thompson - last year he mostly played center, though there was a stretch where he shared a line and the faceoffs with Cozens. So I think this one more depends on who his linemates are this season, and I haven't watched much of their preseason games to get a good feel for that. My bet is that they split Thompson and Cozens up though for a 1-2 punch down the middle.
Roope Hintz - I believe most of last year he played with pavelski on his wing, and they often split the faceoffs. Pavelski is the stronger of the two at taking draws, so he probably got more of them, even though he was on the wing. I imagine they will have Hintz and Pavelski on the same line again this year, at least for the start, so barring any Pavelski injury or team line shuffles, Hint will likely have similar FOW numbers to last year.

All 3 had low enough FOW numbers last year that they could easily improve this year, and I am betting that they all do, but not by huge amounts. On the plus side, each of these centers are more likely than others to get wing eligibility, which would boost their value (depending on your league settings I guess).

[Axeman33]

I am not overly optimistic on Hughes totals going up for a couple more years. Like a lot of kids coming into the league early, it's hard to win faceoffs against bigger, stronger guys who have more experience. That's what he'll need if he wants to improve; practice and a bit more size. That's also why I am skeptical about Bedard coming into the league as a center. He's small and has a lot to learn. I wont be surprised to see him start in the league on the wing, or at least struggle with FOWs for years.

I do think that Thompson and Hintz could see an uptick this year but as mentioned already, Hintz tends to share the dot with Pavelski, depending on what side the faceoff is on.

[metaldude26]

Hughes is brutal at faceoffs and has never gotten better at it. At some point he will, but until then he's going to frequently be paired up with a guy like Haula. It is interesting to see that they haven't given him much cover in the pre-season and that in a small sample he has won over half his draws. He was also better in the playoffs. But he's not going to be a PK FOW guy, and he won't be the option they go to on the PP either, so even just getting opportunities will be a challenge.

Hintz will be depressed by splitting draws with Pavelski until that line/PP unit is broken up. Hard to see them breaking from that combination without the wheels completely falling off on Pavelski. Hintz is primed for a jump whenever Pavelski retires.

Thompson, like Hughes won't get the special teams draws so that drops him down. And Skinner got a good chunk of strongside draws last season. But he feels like the most likely option for an uptick, entering his mid-20s where strength/experience bring improvements, but without special teams draws he will suffer.

[horrorfan]

Thanks for all your insight.