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Vegas Golden Knights Report Card: Ryan Reaves

By Andrew Steele-Davis

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 06: Derek Forbort #24 of the Los Angeles Kings defends the puck against Ryan Reaves #75 of the Vegas Golden Knights during the first period at Staples Center on April 06, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 06: Derek Forbort #24 of the Los Angeles Kings defends the puck against Ryan Reaves #75 of the Vegas Golden Knights during the first period at Staples Center on April 06, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images) /
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SAN JOSE, CA – APRIL 12: Ryan Reaves #75 of the Vegas Golden Knights warms up prior to Game Two of the Western Conference First Round against the San Jose Sharks during the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs at SAP Center on April 12, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/NHLI via Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, CA – APRIL 12: Ryan Reaves #75 of the Vegas Golden Knights warms up prior to Game Two of the Western Conference First Round against the San Jose Sharks during the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs at SAP Center on April 12, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Why The Grade

We’ve elected to give Ryan Reaves a B- Grade for a number of reasons. Firstly, you have to take into account his role and, given his limited minutes as a fourth-line enforcer, anything he does is in a relatively small sample size compared to more talented players on the roster who eat monster minutes night in and night out.

However, there is no getting away from the fact that Reaves put together arguably one of the best years of his career in 2018-19, posting career-highs in a number of categories including goals (9), assists (11), points (20), power play points (3), total shots attempted (160), ATOI (10:52) and a bone-crushing 305 hits.

He was dominant most nights and is clearly loved and trusted by the Golden Knights coaching staff, as backed up by the spike he enjoyed in his ATOI, which surged to an average of 10:52 minutes of ice time a night in 2018-19 compared to an average of 9:55 minutes of ice time per game the year before.

Next. Knights have two included in Prospects list. dark

You get what you see with Reaves and he is never going to be a flashy, highlight-reel type of player for the Golden Knights. At 6’1″ and 225 lbs, the forward is a human battering-ram and he relishes the nitty gritty aspect of hockey. It brings the very best out of him and he’s a reliable SUV for Vegas, rather than a high-end Rolls Royce.

With one-year left on his current deal, Reaves will be motivated to carve out another career-year in 2019-20 in order to either secure a new contract in Sin City or earn one last payday elsewhere. Whatever happens next offseason, there is no doubt that Ryan Reaves will have a big role to play for the Golden Knights again this year as they try to become the fastest expansion team in major sports to win a championship.

The Numbers

Games: 80

Goals: 9

Assists: 11

Points: 20

Shots Attempted: 160

Power Play Points: 3

Plus / Minus: +1

ATOI: 10:52

PIM: 74

Blocked Shots: 24

Hits: 305

Takeaways: 37

CF%: 54.8

oZS%: 59.0

Games (Playoffs): 7

Plus / Minus (Playoffs): -1

ATOI (Playoffs): 8:45

Hits (Playoffs): 38

Next Report Card: Brad Hunt

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