As you can see, the players differ quite significantly in the way they gained their points. You have some potential shooters in TOP 5 (Schneider and Möller), potential playmakers (Malinen, Lasch) and one who is a bit of both (Stach).

Statistically, it’s useful to divide assists into primary and secondary ones. Secondary assists are known to be more random. When comparing season-to-season results, the players tend to be quite consistent, scoring the expected number of goals and primary assists. However, the secondary assists are much noisier and their count jumps up and down during a player’s career.

Even-strength vs. Special Teams

Before we dive into the numbers, let’s just look at something obvious: to join the battle for the Top Scorer title, it’s quite important to play in the powerplay. Many people working with basic statistics counting (goals and assists) don’t realise how an influence the powerplay has on a player’s numbers. All the Top Five players got at least several points from special teams. On the other hand, all were able to get a decent number of points in 5v5. Productivity in all manpower situations is clearly necessary if you want to rise to the top.

The Top 5 Top Scorers so far

David Stach, HC Pilsen

• Points: 3+7+1 (involved in 44% of Pilsen’s goals)
• Shots per game: 4,5 (2nd among HC Pilsen forwards)
• Shooting percentage: 21,4%
• On-ice 5v5 Chances: +33/-19 (4th)
   

Entering the season, you probably wouldn’t have bet on David Stach to become the best point scorer for HC Pilsen. His totals in the Czech Extraliga last were 35 points in 46 games which is a decent result, but competing with teammates like Milan Gulaš means you have to go the extra mile, which Stach didn’t. Still, this year’s CHL season seems to be turning out well for him. He is not a volume-shooter, he’s averaged 1.9 shots on goal per game in his last three seasons in Czech league, but he was able to find the right spots in CHL 2018/19 (4.5 shots per game, 2.3 shots on goal per game).

As a right-winger, he finds his shots mostly around right face-off circle (see above) and he provides Pilsen with a good option on the left half-boards on power play. He and his linemates were able to get 56% of the shots and 64% of all chances at even strength (one of the best results among Pilsen’s forwards). This suggests that his line was able to create solid offensive opportunities and thus literally created their own luck.

Peter Schneider, Vienna Capitals

• Points: 7+2+1 (involved in 53% of Vienna’s goals)
• Shots per game: 7,0 (1st among Vienna’s forwards)
• Shooting percentage: 25,9%
• On-ice 5v5 Chances: +34/-33 (3rd)
   

Another rightie in the mix, Peter Schneider, is definitely not a shy shooter. He averages about 3 shots on goal per game in his home league EBEL (which roughly translates to 5-6 shots when you include other expected shot attempts that went wide or were blocked). Schneider was a beast for the Capitals in the CHL with 7 shots per game and he had a point on a whopping 53% of all goals his team scored in the competition. Unfortunately, his big push wasn’t enough and Schneider is the only one of the best Top Scorers who won’t be able to increase his points total in the play-offs.

Vienna's team wasn’t very dominant in the group stage but with Schneider on the ice, they had a bit of an edge in the chances department (34 chances for, 33 against). Looking at his shooting chart, the coaches must be impressed by how often he finds himself in the so-called “dirty” areas in front of the net. His other favorite spot is at the left faceoff circle, the usual place for a right-handed shooter on power plays.

Jarrko Malinen, Tappara Tampere

• Points: 2+7+1 (involved in 34,5%of Tappara’s goals)
• Shots per game: 1,4 (10th among Tappara’s forwards)
• Shooting percentage: 33,3%
• On-ice 5v5 Chances: +28/-22 (2nd)
   

Making a smaller sample even smaller, Jarkko Malinen played only five games in a group stage. This makes him the best points producer if you’re into per-game stats (10 points, 2pts per game). He is the only one in our selection who isn’t among the most frequently shooting forwards on his team, so there is not much information available in Malinen’s shooting chart. 

There is an underlying trend in his stats suggesting he is not one of the guys with a “shoot first” mentality. His shot totals are quite low in comparison to other forwards on his teams and even though he scored a solid number of goals, a good chunk of them happened in power play situations. Even one of his CHL goals was just an empty netter.

Ryan Lasch, Frölunda Indians

• Points: 0+4+6 (involved in 45,4% of goals)
• Shots per game: 4,3 (3rd among Frölunda’s forwards)
• Shooting percentage: 0%
• On-ice Chances: +61/-19 (1st)
   

If you present a chart of your Top Scorer who has 4 primary and 6 secondary assists, normally you'd be a little worried about the sustainability of his performance. That is, unless the player’s name is Ryan Lasch. Lasch’s career numbers are nothing short of impressive. He was one of the top producers wherever he went – be it SHL, NLA or Liiga. In CHL he’s had 57 points in 40 games which makes him the current all-time best point scorer of the league.

Despite the fact he didn’t score in the group stage, he recorded 26 shots from decent locations on the ice. Frölunda had 76,3% of chances and 72% of all shots while Lasch was on the ice. In conclusion, it doesn’t look like this year’s six games in the CHL will become a solitary peak in his career.

Oscar Möller, Skellefteå AIK

• Points: 7+1+1 (involved in 33,3% of goals)
• Shots per game: 8,7 (1st among Skellefteå’s forwards)
• Shooting percentage: 20,6%
• On-ice 5v5 Chances: +58/-23 (4th)
   

When you’re doing a statistical analysis of leagues like CHL, one of the main worries is an uneven quality of competition. There are obviously more and more competitive teams coming from non-traditional markets but still, there is a higher chance of a blowout when someone like the SHL runners-up from last season travel to Poland. Fortunately Oscar Möller was kind enough to score the majority of his points against IFK Helsinki, effectively proving wrong every doubt about his ability to score against expected stronger opponents.

His career stats concur, too. He is a small-ish volume-shooter who is not afraid to look for open spaces in the middle of the attacking zone. In CHL games, he shot from everywhere – in front of the net, the dangerous home plate area and the blue line – and he was often successful. There’s no publicly available information about his shot locations from his home league the SHL, but suffice to say Möller attempted the highest count of shots on goal last season and he scored 92 goals in 205 games in Sweden.

Bonus Chart: Shot locations for every player in the CHL and other stats

If you want more information about other Top Scorers, use the interactive chart below and find your team’s favorite spots and other interesting data.