NEWARK, N.J. — The stat sounds made up, like something an agent would come up with to bolster his client’s stock.
Stick checks.
And while it’s not the sort of category poolsters will start incorporating into their fantasy leagues, it says plenty about a player’s reach, timing and ability to read plays.
It’s not sexy, but there couldn’t possibly be a stat more catered to Kevin Bahl’s game.
Despite missing nine games this season, the 24-year-old Flames revelation leads the league with 2.3 stick checks per game.
“I'll take it,” said a smiling Bahl, when informed of the category he dominates.
“At least I’m leading something.”
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A relative unknown when acquired with a first-round pick for Jacob Markstrom last summer, the 24-year-old has already exceeded expectations.
Bahl’s game mirrors his personality, as the soft-spoken defenceman quietly goes about playing a defensively sound game that meshes well with Rasmus Andersson on the Flames’ top pairing.
Andersson’s response when asked about his left-hand shot says plenty about how the native of New Westminster, B.C., has fit into the room and the lineup.
“The guy has got two brain cells and they’re fighting with each other every day,” said a beaming Andersson, ensuring his chuckling pal could hear every word.
“The guy is nine feet tall and it feels like his stick is 12 feet long at times. He’s got a long reach, and his stick is everywhere. He even pokes it from me sometimes.” Cue more giggles from across the room.
Bahl’s reach is aided by a six-foot-six frame that allowed him to apply to the league to extend his stick an additional two inches.
It gets in the way a lot.
He uses it to break up endless offensive forays, as the obscure stat suggests.
“Yeah, it seems like it's a new one,” said Flames coach Ryan Huska of the stat.
“He's got a terrific stick. He's not a physical, put-you-through-the-walls type defender, but he's able to close and take away space fairly quickly because of his size and his stick.
“He knocks a lot of pucks away, which I think helps his partner get the puck a little bit more. We've relied on our top four a lot over the last little while, and they've done a really good job. Kevin's been a big part of that.”
Only two Flames average more ice time than Bahl’s 21:17, which speaks to his importance on a stingy defensive team that leans heavily on its back-enders.
Without him, who knows how successfully the Flames would have filled out their top four.
The trade that brought him to Calgary may end up being GM Craig Conroy’s finest of swaps, as it gave the club a cornerstone blueliner, it opened the door for Dustin Wolf to flourish and brought in a first-round pick for this summer.
Bahl is a restricted free agent this summer who says he loves Calgary and plans to be with the club for a long time.
He returned to New Jersey for the first time Thursday when a four-goal third period kept the Flames within two points of the West’s final wild-card berth, thanks to a dramatic 5-3 win over Markstrom’s Devils.
It was there, just one year earlier, Bahl parlayed a great training camp into his first full season in the NHL, tasked with shutting down the opposition’s top trios.
A tall ask for a lad playing a position that generally takes many years to settle into.
“It was a pretty similar role to the one I play here,” said the second-round selection of the Coyotes in 2018, who went plus-90 over his next two years with the Ottawa 67’s.
“I was nervous when I got to Calgary, but at the same time I had the confidence because I played a lot of minutes the year before.
“I just learned so much and I know I can do a lot better than what I just did. It's always about getting better every year.”
Huska said he has been pleasantly surprised by how much more of a playmaker the stay-at-home defender has been than advertised.
“For a young guy, he's been much more than we were anticipating getting,” said Huska, whose club concludes its four-game eastern swing Saturday afternoon on Long Island against the Islanders.
“I would take two, three or four more just like him if I could.”
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