The 2021-22 AHL season provided an exciting opportunity.
Liam Kirk would have the chance to match himself against some of the best prospects and players outside of the NHL.
My plans to cover Liam’s rookie season using clips and collating advanced statistics (at a basic level) came to a crashing halt.
A season-ending knee injury ensured Liam Kirk started just eight AHL games in 2021-22.
Dissecting any eight-game sample size and making hard and fast judgements would be tenuous and frankly ill-advised.
That being said, what did we learn, if anything?
From purely the eye test, Liam Kirk could compete in all three zones at the professional level.
There were some rookie errors. Let’s not forget his North American experience is limited throughout his career to date.
His skating and Hockey IQ held up to the test and Kirk wasn’t afraid to drive to the net.
He also showcased a skill that we’ve seen him utilise at the World Championships. Namely becoming an elusive player in and around high danger scoring areas and finding space between opponents.
The limited statistics available also show Kirk in a positive light.
The AHLTracker.com website produces game scores for each performance by a player, using an altered version of the formula pioneered by Dom Luszczyszyn (please find further information here https://hockey-graphs.com/2016/07/13/measuring-single-game-productivity-an-introduction-to-game-score/).
Kirk recorded a positive Game Score in six of his eight outings, with a high of 1.13 and a low of 0.08.
In Game One, Kirk recorded a zero rating.
In the final outing, which ended through injury, produced a -0.15 score.
The rookie registered three points which were all primary, including two goals.
A goal and an assist during 5v5 action and a power play tally.
Goal 1
Goal 2
As importantly, all three points were accrued with a variety of teammates, some of whom are not known for putting up huge offensive numbers.
It feels tenuous to mention it, but Kirk was only on the ice for one goal against (5v5) through eight games.
To base evidence of excellent defensive play on that statistic is folly.
However, it lends a little support to the eye test that he was solid in the defensive zone.
With a plethora of injuries and call-ups to Arizona, the 2021-22 campaign could have ended up being anything for Kirk.
A chance to play top-line/top-six minutes in the AHL and even an NHL opportunity had he excelled with Tucson, such as the going’s on with Arizona last season.
An injury put paid to any of that but there is much to look forward to in 2022-23.
UK Hockey Blog 