Looking like Vladimir
It’s almost uncanny when you compare the trend of Filip Forsberg and Vladimir Tarasenko of the St. Louis Blues. Tarasenko is a season ahead of Forsberg and nearly three years older but their goal scoring stats have traveled the same path.
| Season | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | Plus/Minus |
| Filip Forsberg | ||||||
| 2014-15 | 82 | 26 | 37 | 63 | 24 | 15 |
| 2015-16 | 82 | 33 | 31 | 64 | 47 | 1 |
| Vladimir Tarasenko | ||||||
| 2013-14 | 64 | 21 | 22 | 43 | 16 | 20 |
| 2014-15 | 77 | 37 | 36 | 73 | 31 | 27 |
| 2015-16 | 80 | 40 | 34 | 74 | 37 | 7 |
So in his first year Tarasenko scored 21 goals in only 64 games and Forsberg had 26. In their second season, Tarasenko 37 and Forsberg 33. Last year in Tarasenko’s third season, he had 40 goals. Forsberg could be on his way to that.
If we look at the following comparison it is even more telling:
In this case, it shows that although Tarasenko may still be forecast to score a little more, Forsberg is much better in Possession and Shot Suppression numbers. It also points to more shots for Forsberg. All of it looks like Forsberg could be having a year like Tarasenko did last season at the very least and could very well score 40 goals or more.
They are similar types of players. They both can carry the puck, be creative with lethally accurate shots that they can snap off quickly and through traffic
Vladimir Tarasenko was voted on the Cover of NHL 17 this season. Filip Forsberg could very well become that kind of player.
Next: The Subban Effect