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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: 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) /

Tomas Nosek enjoyed a career-year in 2018-19 for the Vegas Golden Knights and he was rewarded with a new deal earlier in the offseason.

Tomas Nosek: Grade C+

Our 2018-19 Vegas Golden Knights Report Cards series comes to a close today, and we finish with Tomas Nosek who again proved his worth as a valuable depth player for the franchise.

His Season

Selected from the Detroit Red Wings in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft, Tomas Nosek arrived in Sin City with limited NHL experience – just one point in 16 games across two years between 2015-17 and an average time on ice total of 10:08.

However, a change of scenery did wonders for Nosek and he benefitted hugely from playing on a team that was packed to the brim with players from similar backgrounds, players who also had chips on their shoulders and were looking to prove a point in the NHL.

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He finished 2017-18 with 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) in 67 regular season games with the Golden Knights, in addition to playing a key role in the franchise’s historic run to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural year with four goals and two assists for six points in 17 playoff contests.

After being signed to a new one-year deal worth $962,500 as a reward for his exploits, Nosek paid back that faith by going on to enjoy another productive year in both zones in 2018-19.

Spending most of the season on the fourth-line with Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Ryan Reaves – 18.89 percent of the year to be precise – Nosek also got significant time on a line with Cody Eakin and Ryan Carpenter (17.40 percent), enjoying success in both of those combinations.

He finished 2018-19 having enjoyed his best year yet in terms of offensive production, carving out career-highs in goals (eight), assists (nine), points (17), PIM (18), game-winning goals (one) and shots (116).

Nosek also excelled in the faceoff circle when he was tasked with that responsibility, winning 82 of his draws for a superb winning percentage of 62.1. Not only that but he had a career-high in hits with 75, while he also blocked 23 shots and had 32 takeaways, while giving up just 14 giveaways.

Another important factor when assessing Nosek’s year is the fact that he averaged 1:42 of shorthanded time per game, which ranked second among Golden Knights forwards behind Pierre-Edouard Bellemare.

He helped Vegas claim the 14th best penalty kill in the NHL (80.9 percent), which gave up the 12th fewest goals (44) and scored 11 shorthanded goals in the process. In addition, Nosek’s Goals Against per 60 minutes while shorthanded was 5.17, which ranked third on the team among forwards with at least 20 minutes of ice time on the penalty kill. He also gave up just 10 shorthanded goals.

VANCOUVER, BC – MARCH 09: Vegas Golden Knights Winger Tomas Nosek (92) celebrates after scoring a goal as Vancouver Canucks Defenceman Luke Schenn (2) looks on during their NHL game at Rogers Arena on March 9, 2019 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Derek Cain/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
VANCOUVER, BC – MARCH 09: Vegas Golden Knights Winger Tomas Nosek (92) celebrates after scoring a goal as Vancouver Canucks Defenceman Luke Schenn (2) looks on during their NHL game at Rogers Arena on March 9, 2019 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Derek Cain/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

In terms of other stats and metrics, Nosek had a 55.4 CF% and a 53.0 oZS%, although his Goals For Percentages never got above 42.86 during the regular season, which leaves a lot left to be desired. Furthermore, his goals-per-60 rate of 2.1 ranked 10th among Golden Knights forwards who finished the year in Sin City and played at least 20 games.

But, switching our focus on to the eye test now, Nosek although not spectacular was a solid depth player for the Vegas Golden Knights and he was able to provide secondary scoring, while being an effective penalty killer and excelling in the faceoff circle.

He will never be a highlight-reel type player and he won’t always be pleasing on the eye, but he adds to the bottom-six depth for Vegas and, after signing a new one-year contract worth $1,000,000 in the offseason, Nosek could have a bigger role in 2019-20 following the departures of Erik Haula, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Ryan Carpenter.

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