EDMONTON, Alberta — The start of the season in which Anders Lee took all the questions about his failure to play at age 34, rolled them up and threw them in the trash didn't happen by chance.
Rather, after the 2023-24 season, in which Lee showed some decline in his game and had his worst scoring season since 2015-16, excluding the effects of the pandemic, the Islanders captain made major changes to his offseason training. and used the services of famous players. skills coach and NHL Hall of Famer Adam Oates;
“I think we worked on a lot of little things that paid off in a big way,” Lee told the Post after the Islanders practiced Monday on the first of a 12-day road trip. “I came in feeling really good. My body is in a great place. I felt really good on the ice and I tried to keep it going. Like everyone else, I'm going to be a better hockey player once I get through the summer.” Go into every summer believing that you have a great mindset and have accomplished a lot of great things.”
Oats, who is based in Toronto, has worked with many players in the Islanders organization, including Bo Horvat, Matt Martin, Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Maggio.
He traveled to Minnesota, where Lee is based, for two weeks last summer, working with local clients and leaving other areas to Taylor Williamson. Taylor Williamson is a former national champion women's hockey player at the University of Minnesota who became a coach after graduating in 2016. 2019.
Lee found the program very useful because much of it focuses on the subtle nuances within the game.
“The little moments in our game: how we pick up the puck, how we handle it, how we control our bodies,” Lee said. “And the moment I got back on the ice with him, I felt like this is something I really like and something I really need. It feels really good.”
Lee, whose four-game assist streak ended with Saturday's loss to the Devils, scored nine points in the first 15 games of the season and was a prominent presence in front of the net, where the 6-foot-3 winger resided. I am doing it. earned a living.
It's no surprise that all four of Lee's goals came from directly in front of the crease, with 29 of Lee's goals coming from directly in front of the crease, which puts him in the 99th percentile league-wide for shots on goal from such areas, according to data from NHL Edge. It is recorded.
Those numbers have always been good and account for the advanced metrics that show Lee is one of the Islanders' best players in individual expected goals, but last year he had little finishing touch. Ta.
For comparison, Lee shot 13 percent on high-danger looks a year ago. In the 2021-22 season, the first year such data is kept, he shot 23.7 percent from the field.
Part of it is a matter of goaltending and luck. But the disparity was large enough that Lee could not simply ignore it.
“I think it’s a combination of both when it comes to touches around the net.” [bad luck and something needing to be fixed]” said Lee. “A lot of times the goalkeeper makes a good save and I liked the way I played. I like my thought process, I like my touch, and also. [there are] Maybe there are times when you don't like the way you do things. And how can the next person in its place, or the next person there or so, find a way to put it in? ”
So far this season, it's only a fraction of the time, Lee's shooting percentage is up just 0.8 percent in high-danger areas, but he's getting so many chances that it doesn't really matter.
His advanced metrics were also impressive, with the Islanders controlling 57.99 percent of their 5-on-5 scoring chances with their captain on the ice.
Little things that make a big difference.
