Blue Line Station
Fansided

New York Rangers: How does Filip Chytil’s age 19 season compare?

By Nicholas Zararis

NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 21: Filip Chytil #72 of the New York Rangers skates with the puck against the Minnesota WIld at Madison Square Garden on February 21, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 21: Filip Chytil #72 of the New York Rangers skates with the puck against the Minnesota WIld at Madison Square Garden on February 21, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 6
Next
NEW YORK, NY – FEBRUARY 21: Filip Chytil #72 of the New York Rangers skates with the puck against the Minnesota WIld at Madison Square Garden on February 21, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – FEBRUARY 21: Filip Chytil #72 of the New York Rangers skates with the puck against the Minnesota WIld at Madison Square Garden on February 21, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Chytilmania

Through 61 NHL games this season, Chytil has found his legs well enough to stand on. Even though Quinn healthy scratched him for two games last week, bringing his total to four on the year, the Czech forward has made the most of this opportunity. Chytil’s 21 points in 61 games don’t exactly jump off the page, but it’s how he’s recorded them that does.

This past Sunday against the Washington Capitals, Chytil, while being knocked to the ground, still managed to find Pavel Buchnevich behind him to score the game-tying goal late in the second period of a close game. It’s pretty much impossible to teach that level of situational awareness to know where a teammate is without looking for them.

Peeling back the curtain, his possession statistics aren’t jumping off the page, 46.5 CF% meaning that the Rangers create 46.5 percent of the scoring chances at even strength with Chytil on the ice, is pretty mediocre. It should be noted that the 19-year-old starts 51.9 percent of the time in the defensive zone, which shows a level of trust from the coaching staff.

In addition to Chytil’s playmaking, it’s worth noting his proclivity for shooting from high danger areas. Some younger players shy away from the contact associated with play around the net, but the 2017 first round pick isn’t one.

As Chytil gets more NHL game experience, he’s sure to continue on this upward trajectory, let’s compare this to proven NHL stars at age 19.

Home/Analysis