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Vegas Golden Knights Report Card: Tomas Nosek

By Andrew Steele-Davis

LAS VEGAS, NV - APRIL 21: The Vegas Golden Knights stand for the national anthem prior to Game Six of the Western Conference First Round against the San Jose Sharks during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at T-Mobile Arena on April 21, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/NHLI via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - APRIL 21: The Vegas Golden Knights stand for the national anthem prior to Game Six of the Western Conference First Round against the San Jose Sharks during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at T-Mobile Arena on April 21, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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LAS VEGAS, NV – APRIL 21: Tomas Nosek #92 of the Vegas Golden Knights prepares for a face off during the third period against the San Jose Sharks in Game Six of the Western Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at T-Mobile Arena on April 21, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/NHLI via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV – APRIL 21: Tomas Nosek #92 of the Vegas Golden Knights prepares for a face off during the third period against the San Jose Sharks in Game Six of the Western Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at T-Mobile Arena on April 21, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Why The Grade

Tomas Nosek enjoyed a career-year for the Vegas Golden Knights in 2018-19 and he put together his best season from an offensive standpoint. However, putting the stats aside for a moment, he wasn’t always effective when going on the eye test and he didn’t push on as much as maybe the franchise would have hoped.

However, and as already mentioned, he carved out career-highs in goals (eight), assists (nine) and points (17), logging an average of 12:28 minutes of ice time per game. That jumped to an average of 14:35 minutes of ice time per game in the postseason, where he was held without a point in seven contests.

Nosek proved valuable on the penalty kill and he was also a maestro in the faceoff circle, winning 82 of his draws for a magnificent winning percentage of 62.1, in addition to achieving a career-high in hits with 75.

He was used on both the third and fourth-lines throughout 2018-19 and, able to play on the wing or in the middle, he does offer the Golden Knights versatility which is a valuable commodity in today’s modern NHL. And, at 6’3″ and 209 lbs, Nosek boasts size and power and uses that to his advantage when laying the body on and playing hard in the corners.

It is fair to suggest that, despite having the best year of his career in the offensive zone, he could have been more productive and he ranked low in a number of metrics. However, at 26-years-old the forward is entering his prime years and he could be given more ice time in 2019-20 given some of the depth the Knights have lost this offseason.

Next. Should the Knights go after Ivan Barbashev?. dark

With Erik Haula, Nikita Gusev, Ryan Carpenter and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare all gone, Nosek could be given significantly more ice time, in addition to more responsibility on the penalty kill and in the faceoff circle. If that proves to be the case then it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Nosek put up career numbers again, especially when you consider that he’s now entering a contract year again.

But, going back to last year again, we felt it was fair to award Nosek a C+ Grade based on his career-highs in offensive categories, but also taking into account the eye test and his overall effectiveness throughout 2018-19.

SAN JOSE, CA – MARCH 30: Joe Thornton #19 of the San Jose Sharks takes a face-off against Tomas Nosek #92 of the Vegas Golden Knights at SAP Center on March 30, 2019 in San Jose, California (Photo by Brandon Magnus/NHLI via Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, CA – MARCH 30: Joe Thornton #19 of the San Jose Sharks takes a face-off against Tomas Nosek #92 of the Vegas Golden Knights at SAP Center on March 30, 2019 in San Jose, California (Photo by Brandon Magnus/NHLI via Getty Images) /

The Numbers

Games: 68

Goals: 8

Assists: 9

Points: 17

Game-Winning Goals: 1

Shots: 116

Plus / Minus: -10

FO%: 62.1

PIM: 18

ATOI: 12:28

Blocked Shots: 23

Hits: 75

Takeaways: 32

CF%: 55.4

oZS%: 53.0

Games (Playoffs): 7

PIM (Playoffs): 14

Plus / Minus (Playoffs): -3

ATOI (Playoffs): 14:35

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