colin blackwell

What a year for Colin Blackwell. I could probably end this article here and call it a day. But you all know me, I can’t just do that. But what a year for Blackwell, again. Signed as a depth forward, Blackwell thrust his way into the top-six with relative ease. His success was a surprise even to the biggest fans of the signing, of which I am one of them. It’s pretty easy to predict what Blackwell’s final report card grade will be, so you can skip to the end if you want.

Blackwell played 47 games for the Rangers, bouncing between the second, third, and fourth lines. His line of 12-10-22 represent career highs, shattering his prior highs. The career AHLer prior to this season burst onto the scene in a big way. He had solid underlying metrics prior to the signing, and it paid off in spades.

On-ice impacts

Blackwell was, for the most part, very solid for the Rangers this season. However he was extremely miscast as a top-six winger, where he spent most of this time. As great as it was to watch a journeyman put up 12 goals and 22 points, he really didn’t belong on a line with Artemiy Panarin and Ryan Strome. That’s more on David Quinn than Colin Blackwell, of course, and Blackwell did as well as he could in that role.

Blackwell’s story is more about his season long numbers, though. Blackwell had a very strong first 19-20 games or so, and then slowly declined in his on-ice impacts. His production remained relatively consistent because of his linemates and his unsustainable 18% shooting rate. Blackwell was more miscast as a top-six player than Jesper Fast, with whom he was compared many times this season. That doesn’t detract from the player, so don’t take that the wrong way.

Even with the declining metrics, Blackwell outperformed his contract and expectations by a country mile this season. What is interesting to see here is that his expected GAR (goals above replacement) was higher than his GAR, which suggests there was even more untapped potential there. Defensively was a different story. All this leads me to believe that Blackwell will be the one the Rangers protect in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft. His performance was far better than any of the other forwards the Rangers might want to protect.

Final Grade

What else is there to say about Blackwell? This may be one of the shorter report cards, and it’s because how easy it is to grade him this season. He far exceeded any realistic expectations, and his metrics suggest it might actually be repeatable.

Some things to watch for next season with Blackwell are the SH% and the on-ice impacts. It’s expected that he won’t shoot 18% again, but will his expected metrics and better usage lead to more efficient numbers? It’s certainly possible.

Colin Blackwell Report Card Grade; A

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