When looking at the Philadelphia Flyers defense, names like Ivan Provorov and Shayne Gostisbehere come to mind first. One could even put Travis Sanheim in that conversation as well. But there is one defenseman who has quietly been putting up solid numbers for the Flyers. And that defenseman is none other than Radko Gudas.
Radko Gudas Quietly Putting Up Solid Numbers
Picturing some of the names on the blue-line for the Flyers, one would not expect Gudas’ name to be high on the stats list. And looking at just points, it is not. He ranks fifth in points among Flyers defensemen. If you were to look deeper, however, Gudas is impressing in other categories.
Looking down the list of stats, Gudas leads all Flyers defensemen in numerous categories. It all starts with looking at the chances for and against the Flyers when Gudas is on the ice. He leads with a 54.16 Corsi for percentage, eight percent better than his next teammate Robert Hagg. Things look even better when looking at the relative Corsi numbers.
Gudas sits at a 5.8 Rel CF%, a little over three percent better than the second-ranked Sanheim. The team is also most likely to score when Gudas is on the ice as he sits with a 58.33 goals for percentage. Only Gudas and Hagg have been on the ice for more goals for the Flyers than against them. While Gudas and Hagg are close in GF%, Gudas is miles ahead in Relative Goals For percentage at 13.81%.
It would then make sense that the Flyers are expected to score more when Gudas is on the ice. His 56.78 xGF% and 9.25 Rel xGF% both lead defensemen on the Flyers.
Now there is a minor area that Gudas can clean up and that his individual penalties drawn. His 14 penalties taken is the most between Flyers defensemen. Looking briefly at all Flyers, this ranks second on the team. Though, his 12 individual penalties drawn are the most between defensemen and tied for second among the team. So while he is taking a few too many penalties still, he is also good at getting other teams to take them as well.
And the numbers don’t just look good compared to his teammates. He is standing tall against some of the league’s other defensemen.
Radko Gudas Impressing Among Others
To take a fair look at how Gudas compares to other defensemen, looking at players who have played at least 600 minutes is the place to start. With Gudas having appeared in 46 games, this puts the lowest games played at 36 games. Gudas’ numbers are already known, but not how they stand up against other defensemen in the league.
Starting with CF%, Gudas ranks 18th among the 130 defensemen who have played at least 600 minutes. Names above him are not surprising as they include players such as Erik Karlsson, Brent Burns, and Mark Giordano. Names below him, however, include Kris Letang, Victor Hedman, and Roman Josi.
Staying on the trend of Corsi, Gudas is among the top five in Rel CF% as he sits fifth in the league. Only Letang, Brian Dumoulin, Karlsson, and Thomas Chabot have a better percentage there. Seth Jones, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Giordano are among those behind him.
As for his GF%, Gudas ranks 16th in the league. His Rel GF% sits him at seventh in the league. And for his xGF%, Gudas sits just outside of the top 10 as he ranks 11th. Lastly, his Rel xGF% has him second in the league, only behind Niklas Hjalmarsson.
Radko Gudas is impressing among not only his teammates but defensemen around the league as well. With the Flyers currently towards the bottom of the standings, there aren’t many positives to look at. The play of their young goaltender is one and the play of Radko Gudas should be another one fans look towards.
Main Photo by Kate Frese (@KateFresePhoto), licensed to Last Word on Hockey. The Photographer retains all rights to the photograph.
