🏒@HockeyBangers2026-27 projections

Overview

@HockeyBangers

2026-27 Projection

Matt Grzelcyk

CHI · Age 32.6 · 🇺🇸 USA · 5′10″, 176 lb · Draft 2012, 85th overall (BOS)
CHIteam
Dposition
231position rank
658skater rank
-37overall
-37offense
0peripherals

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

Per 82 GP2026-27projection2025-2669 GPH228 GPH141 GPPrev 3220 GP · 3y
TOI17.3016.9716.5216.3118.60
PP TOI1.080.841.340.700.97
G20003
A2314161426
PTS2514161429
PPP741106
SOG8381619595
PIM3538413630
Hits3133243955
Blocks6564596892

Sample: 69 GP · 1,036 5v5 min (2025-26) — how much ice time backs these rates

Positional rankingDefense · league-wide (of 303)
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
We project it up
A
2322-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5

We’re projecting assists 64% above last season, 14 to 23.

Second-half fade
Hits/60
3-yr 2.300.72Q1Q2Q3Q4

Hits/60 finished the year 48% below where it started (1.73 in the first half, 0.91 in the second). The projection leans on how the season ended, so the second half counts for more.

We project it up
PP TOI
1.0822-2323-2424-2525-2626-27

We’re projecting PP TOI 28% above last season, 0.84 to 1.08.

Second-half fade
SOG
8322-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5

Shots ran at a 61 pace in the second half after 95 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 Defense
Closest across all seven categories — match % is the whole-profile fit
Complementary Defense
Same position, opposite profile — strong where Matt Grzelcyk 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 · Jeff Blashill (CHI)
Last year: Jeff Blashill full season (1st yr) — no change
Metric26-27
proj
2025-26Prev 3Diff
TOI17.3016.9718.60-9%
5v5 TOI14.9415.0316.37-8%
PP TOI1.080.840.97-13%
By quarter — 2025-26 vs 3-yr baseline
GP  20 · 21 · 22 · 6
TOI*
3-yr 18.6014.21Q1Q2Q3Q4
5v5 TOI
3-yr 16.3713.80Q1Q2Q3Q4
PP TOI
3-yr 0.971.34Q1Q2Q3Q4
*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
17.3022-2323-2424-2525-2626-27
5v5 TOI
14.9422-2323-2424-2525-2626-27
PP TOI
1.0822-2323-2424-2525-2626-27

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/603.373.473.65-5%
G/600.000.000.08-100%
iSH%1.570.002.24-100%
ixG/600.090.15-42%
iCF/608.049.11-12%
iSCF/600.872.23-61%
iHDCF/600.000.28-100%
By quarter — 2025-26 vs 3-yr baseline
GP  20 · 21 · 22 · 6
SOG/60
3-yr 3.654.35Q1Q2Q3Q4
iSH%
3-yr 2.240.00Q1Q2Q3Q4
ixG/60
3-yr 0.150.08Q1Q2Q3Q4
iCF/60
3-yr 9.117.24Q1Q2Q3Q4
iSCF/60
3-yr 2.230.72Q1Q2Q3Q4
iHDCF/60
3-yr 0.280.00Q1Q2Q3Q4
By season — year over year
SOG/60
3.4722-2323-2424-2525-26
iSH%
0.0022-2323-2424-2525-26
ixG/60
0.0922-2323-2424-2525-26
iCF/60
8.0422-2323-2424-2525-26
iSCF/60
0.8722-2323-2424-2525-26
iHDCF/60
0.0022-2323-2424-2525-26
Per-82 count — 3 seasons, 2025-26 halves & 26-27 projection
G
222-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5
SOG
8322-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
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)
ContextFinishing looks earned: iSH% 0.0% sits near the 2.2% 3-yr mark with 5v5 ixG/60 0.09 (2nd pct league-wide) — goals held close to last year.
ContextTrajectory: 5v5 ixG/60 fell from 0.10 (1st half) to 0.08 (2nd).
RiskAge 32 — 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%9.949.989.90+1%
IPP22.0915.7732.39-51%
1A/600.400.350.45-22%
2A/600.270.060.40-85%
By quarter — 2025-26 vs 3-yr baseline
GP  20 · 21 · 22 · 6
1A/60
3-yr 0.450.00Q1Q2Q3Q4
2A/60
3-yr 0.400.00Q1Q2Q3Q4
By season — year over year
1A/60
0.3522-2323-2424-2525-26
2A/60
0.0622-2323-2424-2525-26
Per-82 count — 3 seasons, 2025-26 halves & 26-27 projection
A
2322-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5
PTS
2522-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
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)
TailwindIPP 15.8% sits below the 32.4% 3-yr mark — participation should rebound, nudging assists up.
ContextDefenseman — weight transition/PP facilitation over raw 2A; secondary assists read a touch better for D than forwards.

Power play

PP opportunity and finishing — modelled separately from 5v5.

Metric26-27
proj
2025-26Prev 3Diff
PP TOI1.080.840.97-13%
PP iSH%0.000.000.00
PP SOG/605.315.157.00-26%
PP ixG/600.490.39+27%
By quarter — 2025-26 vs 3-yr baseline
GP  20 · 21 · 22 · 6
PP TOI/GP
3-yr 0.971.34Q1Q2Q3Q4
PP SOG/60
3-yr 7.004.08Q1Q2Q3Q4
PP ixG/60
3-yr 0.390.41Q1Q2Q3Q4
By season — year over year
PP TOI/GP
0.8422-2323-2424-2525-26
PP SOG/60
5.1522-2323-2424-2525-26
PP ixG/60
0.4922-2323-2424-2525-26
Per-82 count — 3 seasons, 2025-26 halves & 26-27 projection
PPP
722-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
PPG
122-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
PPA
622-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
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)
TailwindPP role projected up: 0.8→1.1 PP TOI/gp (same coach (Jeff Blashill) — carries the elevated finish (2nd half 1.3, Q4 1.3) over the full-year 0.8) — the biggest PPP lever.
TailwindPP chance quality up (PP ixG/60 0.49 vs 0.39) — 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/601.921.851.01+83%
Hits/601.341.452.30-37%
Blks/602.752.953.75-21%
By quarter — 2025-26 vs 3-yr baseline
GP  20 · 21 · 22 · 6
PIMs/60
3-yr 1.012.90Q1Q2Q3Q4
Hits/60
3-yr 2.300.72Q1Q2Q3Q4
Blks/60
3-yr 3.751.45Q1Q2Q3Q4
By season — year over year
PIMs/60
1.8522-2323-2424-2525-26
Hits/60
1.4522-2323-2424-2525-26
Blks/60
2.9522-2323-2424-2525-26
Per-82 count — 3 seasons, 2025-26 halves & 26-27 projection
PIM
3522-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5
HITS
3122-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5
BLK
6522-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
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)
RiskHits tailing off: Q4 0.72/60 and 2nd-half 0.91 below the 1.45 season rate — projected DOWN to 1.34/60, weighting the recent decline over the 2.30 3-yr mark.
RiskBlocks tailing off: Q4 1.45/60 and 2nd-half 2.27 below the 2.95 season rate — projected DOWN to 2.75/60, weighting the recent decline over the 3.75 3-yr mark.