Red Wings Report Cards: Welcome to Detroit, Jakub Vrana
By Alex Faber
One of the most exciting moments for fans this season was the blockbuster trade with the Capitals, where Detroit not only acquired more draft capital, they also secured 25-year-old forward, Jakub Vrana. More exciting than the trade? Vrana’s performance wearing the Winged Wheel thus far.
2021 Statline (With Detroit):
Games Played: 11
Goals: 8
Assists: 3
+/-: 1
Preseason Projections
Started the season in Washington, playing third line minutes. Traded before the deadline to the Red Wings to in a package deal to improve their top six.
2021 Season in a Nutshell
Statistically, Jakub Vrana was having a better season than Anthony Mantha before the trade. Averaging 14:22 time on ice, Vrana had 11 goals and 14 assists. Anthony Mantha’s time on ice was 18:14, with 11 goals and 10 assists. But with the championship window open for Washington, they decided to play aggressive at the deadline and acquire a high upside player in Mantha, using Vrana as one of the main pieces of the blockbuster deal.
The trade has worked out quite well for Detroit.
Since the move, Vrana has been given nearly three more minutes of ice time. And he’s done quite a lot with the opportunity. In 11 games with the Red Wings, Vrana averaged a point per game, with eight goals and three assists (Four of those goals coming in a single game against the Dallas Stars). Vrana looked like the player with the best shot on the team by far, as 25 percent of his shots on goal ended up in the back of the net (Per hockey-reference.com).
They said it
“I knew he was a good player. He’s more skilled than I realized. He’s got legit ability to score. He’s got a great stick. Now it’s just a matter of becoming that compete player and I learned he wants to be that.”
-Jeff Blashill via Mlive
Final Grade:
JAKUB VRANA. A. Is it a small sample size? Yes. Is a 25 percent shooting percentage sustainable? No. But in 11 games, we saw just how good Jakub Vrana can be. And in a deal where Detroit acquired quality draft capital in addition to Vrana, it certainly seems like the Red Wings came out on top. Even if this 11 game stretch is an aberration, it illustrated just how great Vrana’s potential is. Detroit acquired a player that was getting third line minutes and have made him a top-six forward. Given his results as a top line forward and the fact that he’s only 25 years old, it looks like Vrana’s upside is tremendous. Next year will be the true test for him, but for his first stretch of play in Detroit, Vrana gets top of the class marks.. Forward. Detroit Red Wings
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