The New Jersey Devils have so much going well, but not everyone is getting the recognition they deserve. Yegor Sharangovich has been on fire, but most of us aren’t talking about it. Until now.
Jesper Bratt has been one of the best players in the NHL to start the season. He’s fourth in the league in points scored, with 16 in 10 games. Nico Hischier looks like a legitimate Selke Trophy candidate, scoring 10 points in nine games while playing elite on both sides of the ice. John Marino has been one of the better defensemen in the league after coming over from the Pittsburgh Penguins in the offseason. This is all before mentioning Jack Hughes, the team’s best player (who now has 10 points in 10 games). All that is forcing us to drive down some of the other big stories on the team.
Yegor Sharangovich is straight-up underrated at this point. Sharangovich doesn’t have the numbers as some of his counterparts (he has six points in ten games), but he is still having a decent start to the season.
He just had his first two-point night of the season against the Vancouver Canucks. One of those points came on a great pass while the New Jersey Devils were shorthanded. The other came with his signature lethal shot and an even better celebration.
"OH, MY!" x2
— Devils on MSG (@DevilsMSGN) November 2, 2022
- @KenDaneykoMSG pic.twitter.com/9tPqBUOBQr
Sharangovich is also looking great with his underlying stats. According to Natural Stat Trick, Sharangovich is third on the team with 11 individual high-danger chances. He’s third on the team with five rush chances. These are all at 5v5. When adding all strengths, the numbers are even better.
Sharangovich is on pace for just under 50 points. When three players score at a point per game or better, someone with six points isn’t going to take all of the headlines. However, Sharangovich is also playing incredibly on the penalty kill, hitting on a large percentage of the chances and putting his teammates in a great place to score; that player deserves recognition.
This Devils team will miss Ondrej Palat while he recovers from groin surgery, but Sharangovich can mostly replace his production. He can play a smart, two-way game. He can score. This is where he will help this team in the long run, and he deserves praise. We expect the points to come, and he’s scoring at a fine enough clip. For now, Sharangovich continues to be underrated.