Philadelphia Flyers Season Review: F Nick Cousins
By Marc Naples
Philadelphia Flyers forward Nick Cousins hasn’t found any shortcuts to the NHL, but his time may have come.
Nick Cousins has never been a sexy name among Philadelphia Flyers prospects. Taken in the 3rd round of the 2011 NHL draft, most Flyers fans easily forget that the Flyers got 2 picks from Columbus in the Jeff Carter trade. Everyone remembers how the first pick was used; on Sean Couturier.
Since then, Nick Cousins has quietly gone about his business. He has shown steady improvement every year in juniors and the AHL, and from what I saw last season, he was the Phantoms most impressive player. Cousins improved to career highs, scoring 38 points in 38 AHL games.
Cousins played 4 games with the Flyers in late November, and he became a permanent fixture in the lineup in February. All told, Cousins played 36 games with the Flyers this season, scoring 11 points. His stat line of 11 points, +5 seem pretty pedestrian, although +5 puts him 3rd among all Flyers forwards. To be fair, Cousins likely benefited from joining the team at the right time, like Andrew MacDonald.
Related Story: Andrew MacDonald Season Review
Go one level deeper in the stats, and Cousins has some nice numbers.
Cousins didn’t get a ton of ice time, but he was a very reliable player. His teammate relative Corsi percentage ended at +2.17, which he accomplished mostly by limiting opponent shots. Furthermore, his teammate relative expected goal percentage was +4.03. Even knocking him for his timing of joining the team, these are nice numbers.
Cousins particularly found success when paired with Matt Read and Scott Laughton down the stretch. These 3 speedy, undersized players formed an effective two-way third line for the Flyers–something they had lacked for most of the season. When together, they performed at an approximate Corsi percentage of ~55%, even if many goals didn’t come for them.
Cousins also has room for improvement. His point-per-game play in the AHL shows he has offensive talents. He will never be that kind of producer in the NHL, but that usually projects to a capable depth forward. One item on Cousins’ list to improve is his point production.
Cousins falls at 8th in points per 60 at 5v5 this season. This isn’t horrible for a depth forward, but certainly room for improvement.
The second item on Cousins’ list for improvement is to become a special teams player. He was not used in the penalty kill rotation this season, but he will probably need to earn a spot there if he’s to stick as a long term 3rd line center.
Lastly, Cousins only won 46.0% of faceoffs this season. He’ll want to get that percentage up. That would help him all situations, but would particularly make him a more effective penalty killer if he can be a good faceoff guy.
All in all, Cousins put in a solid rookie half-season. Cousins will turn 23 this summer, so he’s right on schedule to arrive in the NHL. The foundations of a solid NHL player are there, but he’ll have to keep his steady climb of improving every season to be a lineup fixture.
Cousins also needs a new contract this summer. He’s a restricted free agent this summer, but I see no reason the Philadelphia Flyers won’t sign him again. He only earned $842,500 last season, so a moderate raise on a 2-year “show me” contract would make a lot of sense for both sides in my opinion.
Cousins may continue to be an un-glamorous Flyer. That hasn’t stopped him from improving in the past. With Brayden Schenn and Scott Laughton liking moving to the wing, and Sean Couturier being promoted to number 2 center, the number 3 center role is there for the taking. Cousins just might be ready to grab it.