Nashville Predators: Midseason Grades for the Young Guns
By Michael Wade
![(Photo by John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images) (Photo by John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/0b400b48d238eb328c4b43d06ca5032310c3c246d88ff2da6664402df1dee4de.jpg)
Colton Sissons: 24 years old
Fans who jumped aboard during the previous postseason might be disappointed by Sissons’ recent performance. Since his spotlight-stealing hat trick that gave the team its first Conference win, he’s been essentially invisible.
For those of you who’ve been following the team for a bit longer, you’ll be less surprised. You might find it hard to believe that he’s played in 41 games so far this year. In those appearances, Sissons has nabbed twelve points from three goals and nine assists.
For a bottom-six center, being on pace for 24 points isn’t altogether too bad. The concern for Sissons comes from his five-on-five possession numbers:
TOI/GP | FF% | HDCF% | oZS% |
12:07 | 49.07 | 44.37 | 34.16 |
You’ll notice that his offensive zone starts are very low. It’s another example of how defensively the Nashville Predators like to use their bottom-six forwards. Unfortunately, Sissons doesn’t appear to be doing very well at suppressing scoring chances. I’d like to see his numbers in the middle two columns come up to 50% or more by the end of the season.
In addition to his relative invisibility on the ice, his mediocre possession numbers leave Colton Sissons on the naughty list for now.