🏒@HockeyBangers2026-27 projections

Overview

@HockeyBangers

2026-27 Projection

Bryan Rust

PIT · Age 34.2 · 🇺🇸 USA · 5′11″, 192 lb · Draft 2010, 80th overall (PIT)
PITteam
RWposition
44position rank
110skater rank
64overall
27offense
36peripherals

Value over replacement, based on 82 games played.
Ideal for H2H 12-team banger category leagues, 16 roster spots.

Per 82 GP2026-27projection2025-2672 GPH234 GPH138 GPPrev 3214 GP · 3y
TOI19.5719.9418.7419.0019.00
PP TOI3.343.353.752.992.43
G3033313530
A3341364534
PTS6374678064
PPP1827193515
SOG208209202214229
PIM2730213726
Hits5340542779
Blocks6781709157

Sample: 72 GP · 1,003 5v5 min (2025-26) — how much ice time backs these rates

Positional rankingRight wing · league-wide (of 273)
offenseperipheralsvalue over replacement

Counts = projected deployment × projected /60 rate, per 82 GP. Rates regress off the process metric (ixG, shot-driving), not last year's finishing %. PP points = projected PP rate (anchored on the 2nd-half PP1 role, finishing regressed) × projected PP TOI.

Metrics worth highlighting

The charts that move this projection — where he broke from his own 3-year rate, where the season split in half, and where we’re taking the number next year
Second-half fade
PPP
1822-2323-2424-25H1H226-27

Power play points ran at a 19 pace in the second half after 35 in the first, per 82 games.

Below his 3-year rate
Hits/60
1.6122-2323-2424-2525-26

Hits/60 ran 57% below his 3-year rate last season (1.61 against 3.75).

Above his 3-year rate
PP TOI
3.3422-2323-2424-2525-2626-27

PP TOI ran 38% above his 3-year rate last season (3.35 against 2.43).

Second-half fade
PIM
2722-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5

Penalty minutes ran at a 21 pace in the second half after 37 in the first, per 82 games.

Picked automatically from every chart on this card, ranked by how far each number moved. Each claim is measured off the chart drawn beside it.

Similar & complementary players

Similar makeup Forward
Closest across all seven categories — match % is the whole-profile fit
  • Nico HischierC · New Jersey Devils92% match
    shared: G, Blocks, SOG, PPP
  • Brock NelsonC · Colorado Avalanche88% match
    shared: Blocks, G, PPP, SOG
  • Auston MatthewsC · Toronto Maple Leafs86% match
    shared: Blocks, G, SOG, PPP
  • Wyatt JohnstonC,RW · Dallas Stars85% match
    shared: G, Blocks, PPP, SOG
Complementary Forward
Same position, opposite profile — strong where Bryan Rust is weak or average, light where he’s strong
Profile shape — per-82 category values vs the league p99 for the position (same scale as the hero bars)
This player
GAPPPSOGPIMHitsBlocks
the profile below
vs Similar
GAPPPSOGPIMHitsBlocks
similar players hug the shape
vs Complementary
GAPPPSOGPIMHitsBlocks
complements fill the gaps

Deployment

Deployment projection — next-year TOI & PP TOI vs the last two years (the role that drives every count)
Coaching
2026-27 · Dan Muse (PIT)
Last year: Dan Muse full season (1st yr) — no change
Metric26-27
proj
2025-26Prev 3Diff
TOI19.5719.9419.00+5%
5v5 TOI13.5513.9314.13-1%
PP TOI3.343.352.43+38%
By quarter — 2025-26 vs 3-yr baseline
GP  17 · 21 · 18 · 16
TOI*
3-yr 19.0018.73Q1Q2Q3Q4
5v5 TOI
3-yr 14.1313.24Q1Q2Q3Q4
PP TOI
3-yr 2.433.90Q1Q2Q3Q4
*Total TOI by quarter reconstructs 5v5+PP quarterly totals plus a held-flat season PK/GP — NST has no all-strength quarterly export. Level is accurate; quarter-to-quarter movement comes from 5v5+PP.
By season — year over year
TOI
19.5722-2323-2424-2525-2626-27
5v5 TOI
13.5522-2323-2424-2525-2626-27
PP TOI
3.3422-2323-2424-2525-2626-27

Shooting — volume & conversion

How much and how well he shoots — volume (SOG), finishing (% vs chance quality), and the individual shot-quality funnel (iCF ⊇ iSCF ⊇ iHDCF).

Metric (5v5)26-27
proj
2025-26Prev 3Diff
SOG/606.626.829.05-25%
G/600.861.021.05-3%
iSH%13.0314.9611.64+29%
ixG/600.951.07-12%
iCF/6012.9815.50-16%
iSCF/608.6110.14-15%
iHDCF/604.375.38-19%
By quarter — 2025-26 vs 3-yr baseline
GP  17 · 21 · 18 · 16
SOG/60
3-yr 9.056.23Q1Q2Q3Q4
iSH%
3-yr 11.6418.14Q1Q2Q3Q4
ixG/60
3-yr 1.070.84Q1Q2Q3Q4
iCF/60
3-yr 15.5012.46Q1Q2Q3Q4
iSCF/60
3-yr 10.147.37Q1Q2Q3Q4
iHDCF/60
3-yr 5.383.97Q1Q2Q3Q4
By season — year over year
SOG/60
6.8222-2323-2424-2525-26
iSH%
14.9622-2323-2424-2525-26
ixG/60
0.9522-2323-2424-2525-26
iCF/60
12.9822-2323-2424-2525-26
iSCF/60
8.6122-2323-2424-2525-26
iHDCF/60
4.3722-2323-2424-2525-26
Per-82 count — 3 seasons, 2025-26 halves & 26-27 projection
G
3022-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5
SOG
20822-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5
The blue 26-27 point is our projection. The bold line is all situations; the muted line under it is 5v5 alone, so the gap between them is his special-teams production. Full seasons are true per-82 counts; the 2025-26 H1/H2 reconstruct all-strength from the 5v5+PP quarterly exports plus the season's held-flat PK/other. The projected 5v5 point is the engine's even-strength share of the total, converted to 5v5 by his own 5v5-to-even-strength split, so overtime and 4-on-4 scoring stays out of it.
Regression read — where next year's /60 rate lands and why (process over finishing)
RiskGoals projected DOWN: iSH% ran hot at 15.0% vs a 11.6% 3-yr mark while 5v5 ixG/60 0.95 (91st pct league-wide) was flat — finishing, not process. Regressing iSH% toward 13.0% pulls the goal rate ~15% down.
RiskShot volume down 25% (5v5 SOG/60 6.82 vs 9.05) — volume is the repeatable half, so this caps the goal ceiling.
ContextTrajectory: 5v5 ixG/60 fell from 1.05 (1st half) to 0.81 (2nd).
RiskAge 34 — modest past-prime drag on scoring rates.

Assists — playmaking & on-ice offense

Primary vs secondary helpers, plus the on-ice offense and luck signals underneath them.

Metric (5v5)26-27
proj
2025-26Prev 3Diff
on-ice SH%11.1913.089.66+35%
IPP57.2654.8760.64-10%
1A/600.610.600.56+8%
2A/600.400.360.42-14%
By quarter — 2025-26 vs 3-yr baseline
GP  17 · 21 · 18 · 16
1A/60
3-yr 0.561.70Q1Q2Q3Q4
2A/60
3-yr 0.420.57Q1Q2Q3Q4
By season — year over year
1A/60
0.6022-2323-2424-2525-26
2A/60
0.3622-2323-2424-2525-26
Per-82 count — 3 seasons, 2025-26 halves & 26-27 projection
A
3322-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5
PTS
6322-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5
The blue 26-27 point is our projection. The bold line is all situations; the muted line under it is 5v5 alone, so the gap between them is his special-teams production. Full seasons are true per-82 counts; the 2025-26 H1/H2 reconstruct all-strength from the 5v5+PP quarterly exports plus the season's held-flat PK/other. The projected 5v5 point is the engine's even-strength share of the total, converted to 5v5 by his own 5v5-to-even-strength split, so overtime and 4-on-4 scoring stays out of it.
Regression read — where next year's /60 rate lands and why (process over finishing)
RiskOn-ice SH% hot at 13.1% vs a 9.7% 3-yr mark — teammate finishing regresses (~8% is league-normal), so some assists come off.

Power play

PP opportunity and finishing — modelled separately from 5v5.

Metric26-27
proj
2025-26Prev 3Diff
PP TOI3.343.352.43+38%
PP iSH%13.8217.4011.22+55%
PP SOG/6011.2911.4410.27+11%
PP ixG/602.322.02+15%
By quarter — 2025-26 vs 3-yr baseline
GP  17 · 21 · 18 · 16
PP TOI/GP
3-yr 2.433.90Q1Q2Q3Q4
PP SOG/60
3-yr 10.2713.45Q1Q2Q3Q4
PP ixG/60
3-yr 2.022.21Q1Q2Q3Q4
By season — year over year
PP TOI/GP
3.3522-2323-2424-2525-26
PP SOG/60
11.4422-2323-2424-2525-26
PP ixG/60
2.3222-2323-2424-2525-26
Per-82 count — 3 seasons, 2025-26 halves & 26-27 projection
PPP
1822-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
PPG
722-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
PPA
1122-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
The blue 26-27 point is our projection. PPG and PPA are the 2 halves of the PPP above them, split by the projection's own goal/assist mix. PP-only, so the halves are exact.
Regression read — where next year's /60 rate lands and why (process over finishing)
ContextPP role steady at ~3.3 PP TOI/gp.
TailwindPP chance quality up (PP ixG/60 2.32 vs 2.02) — a real process gain, the kind that sustains PP points.

Physical — PIM · hits · blocks

Peripheral counting categories. Noisier and scorer-biased — read as role over the years, not pure talent.

Metric (5v5)26-27
proj
2025-26Prev 3Diff
PIMs/601.141.201.21-1%
Hits/602.171.613.75-57%
Blks/602.532.872.02+42%
By quarter — 2025-26 vs 3-yr baseline
GP  17 · 21 · 18 · 16
PIMs/60
3-yr 1.211.70Q1Q2Q3Q4
Hits/60
3-yr 3.752.27Q1Q2Q3Q4
Blks/60
3-yr 2.022.83Q1Q2Q3Q4
By season — year over year
PIMs/60
1.2022-2323-2424-2525-26
Hits/60
1.6122-2323-2424-2525-26
Blks/60
2.8722-2323-2424-2525-26
Per-82 count — 3 seasons, 2025-26 halves & 26-27 projection
PIM
2722-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5
HITS
5322-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5
BLK
6722-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5
The blue 26-27 point is our projection. The bold line is all situations; the muted line under it is 5v5 alone, so the gap between them is his special-teams production. Full seasons are true per-82 counts; the 2025-26 H1/H2 reconstruct all-strength from the 5v5+PP quarterly exports plus the season's held-flat PK/other. The projected 5v5 point is the engine's even-strength share of the total, converted to 5v5 by his own 5v5-to-even-strength split, so overtime and 4-on-4 scoring stays out of it.
Regression read — where next year's /60 rate lands and why (process over finishing)
TailwindHits surging late: Q4 2.27/60 and 2nd-half 2.37 vs a 1.61 season rate (3.75 3-yr) (18th pct league-wide) — reads as a real role/confidence step, so projected UP to 2.17/60, weighting the finish over the 3-yr baseline.
RiskBlocks tailing off: Q4 2.83/60 and 2nd-half 2.40 below the 2.87 season rate — projected DOWN to 2.53/60, weighting the recent decline over the 2.02 3-yr mark.