Case study: Alec Regula's PP bumper role
Alec Regula's progression has been interesting to follow. After getting drafted in the 3rd round (2018) by the Detroit Red Wings more as a defensive defenseman, Regula's offensive numbers (especially goal scoring) exploded in the next two seasons for the London Knights with 27 goals in his 19 years old campaign. Now a property of the Chicago Blackhawks, we can see the offensive progression of Regula’s numbers when looking at his PNHLe (NHL RankKing):
There's a context for these numbers. He played the bumper role (the middle guy on a 1-3-1 set up), a position rarely filled by a defenseman, on a strong London Knights' power play who ended the season with a 25.9% (2nd in OHL for PP). Talented NHL 1st rounders like C. McMichael, R. Merkely, and L. Foody were part of that unit.
Yesterday, after playing the point on the PP for a few games, Alec Regula scored his first AHL goal when the IceHogs tried him in the bumper role:
So I decided to look at how he did in this position when playing for the Knights, seeing if his success was a product of talented linemates and being bigger than the competition or to see if there were some real abilities at this role. As we can see from In Stat's shooting charts, around 75% of his PP shots attempts and most of his PP goals from last season came from the bumper and net front area:
Here's a compilation of several of these goals (#72):
I noticed many great movements that made him a successful bumper guy and a plus for his PP unit (#75 this season):
1- When the half-wall playmaker skates with the puck below the dots, Regula pops between checks to be an option for a quick one-timer:
2- Similarly, when the puck goes from the half-wall to net front guy, Regula pops out for a net front to middle one-timer:
3- When to puck goes to the QB and he doesn't need to be in a support position, he slides to the net to create havoc:
4- when there's no space between checks to be a shooting threat, he does a great job sliding to create 3v2 at the net (to get more details on the 3v1 net PP, Jack Han greatly explained this concept in his newsletter):
5- Regula has some plays where he gets forgotten and slides to the left post, either for a royal road seam pass or to support left side half-wall guy:
Conclusion
Regula has many attributes needed to be an efficient PP bumper player:
-He reads off well the set plays of his unit, knowing when to pops up, when to slide towards the net, etc.
-He supports the player in possession, always trying to have his stick blade open for a shot/tip/bump pass
-He gets forgotten while between checks -He has a versatile shot that is heavy and gets off his blade quickly
-He has surprising small area puck skills in tight space
-He's big and strong. Not a necessity for a bumper player, but can be a plus when sliding at the net to create traffic and when retrieving loose pucks in battles
It will be interesting to see if the Hawks continue to develop him in this role. It's still a long shot for me because there are so many talented players & forwards at the pro level and power play spots are limited, but he has some positive traits that can make it work if given an extended opportunity.
Systems sheets drawn from Ice Hockey Systems
All clips powered by In Stat hockey