Last season was Pittsburgh defenceman Ryan Graves‘ first in Pittsburgh. His offensive totals were the lowest in his career in a full season, as he had 14 points. His 11 assists were also the lowest of his career in a full season. Lots of Penguins fans were extremely disappointed with his play and some even wanted him off the team. In large part due to his play as well as he just signed a six-year contract with the team.
At the end of the season last year and before the season this year, Graves acknowledged he needs to play better and still has the confidence in himself to be a good player. A month ago he talked to the media about how last season went.
“I know I’m not thrilled with how I played last year,” Graves said Wednesday in Cranberry. “I feel confident I’ll be better this year. A lot was made of it. The media loves a negative storyline. If you read the storylines, you’d think I had played bad every night. That’s not the case. I’m a guy that prides myself in consistency and being reliable and that just wasn’t there. There was good games, there was bad games. I’m able to look at the good ones and improve.”
How Is He Going To Bounce Back?
He also mentioned it is not up to his standard. Now, Graves spent a lot of time putting work in this past summer to play better and bounce back from that bad season.
“Put a lot of work off the ice to be better this year and to continue to improve, be better for my teammates,” Graves said. “I’m looking forward to it. The summer’s long when you have a little bit of a sour taste in your mouth. I’m happy to be back, and I’m looking to put in a lot of work to be reliable and to be a good player.” Graves also mentioned that he believes he is still a good player.
Coaching & Management’s Support
General manager Kyle Dubas in his press conference before the season spoke about many things. One of the things Dubas touched on was Ryan Graves and how he feels he is going to have a bounce back second season with the Penguins.
Head coach Mike Sullivan, also has faith in Graves as he is more familiar with the team and their expectations.
“Ryan’s second year now, he comes back to Pittsburgh, he has, I think, an understanding of what the expectations are,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “He has more of a comfort level with his surroundings. He has established relationships with his coaching staff. There’s a lot of things — just familiarity — that might help a player like Ryan in that second year in making that adjustment. We know that Ryan has the ability to be more of an impact player. We anticipate that he will be.”
Ryan Graves’ Summer Was Well Worth It
Graves’ hard work throughout the summer has been very beneficial to both himself and the team. Graves is still searching for his first point this season. However, defensively he has been rock solid.
He is averaging over a takeaway a game, and is the only defenceman on the team with a positive +/- as Graves is a +2. Also, amongst Penguins defenceman, Graves is first in goals against, first in expected goals against, first in scoring chances against, and first in high danger chances against. Out of 63 defenceman that have played at least 90 minutes, Graves ranks 12th in the league in expected goals against.
Graves is quietly having a solid season for the Penguins. However, it is early so hopefully he can continue his solid play. If Graves can continue his momentum and success, he is owed an apology and his support from the Penguins fans that doubted him.
Graves Is Not The Issue Defensively
Amongst the Penguins defenceman out of the 63 defenceman that qualify in expected goals against, Erik Karlsson is 63rd, Marcus Pettersson is 60th, Kris Letang is 57th, and Matt Grzelcyk is 55th. Penguins fans have been very frustrated with Tristan Jarry and rightfully so as he has not played like the franchise goalie he once was. However, to Jarry’s credit, he clearly has not had solid defensive play in front of him.
In the loss against the Jets, Graves and Grzelcyk were the only Penguins defenceman to not give the puck away. Also, Graves and Karlsson were the only Penguins defenceman to record a takeaway.
Main Photo: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
