Mikey Eyssimont: A Hidden Gem on a Stacked Team

The next day, early in the second game of the back-to-back series, Eyssimont looked to give his team a spark once again. As Manitoba trailed 2-1 halfway into the first period, Eyssimont — who measures out at 6 feet (generously) — unloaded a massive hit on Wolves forward Stelio Mattheos a mere seconds after his on-the-fly line change.

Ultimately, it’s Eyssimont’s tenacity that’s the driving force of his effectiveness.

“He’s [hard] on pucks. He’s back-pressuring, he’s lifting sticks. He’s disrupting all the time,” Moose head coach Mark Morrison explained after the Moose’s February 28 practice.

All season long, Eyssimont has quietly been one of Manitoba’s most productive offensive players. While his raw point totals — 26 points in 41 games (9 of which came in his last 10 games) — don’t jump off the page, he’s extremely efficient at even strength. He’s long been one of the AHL’s best at producing scoring chances and shots on goal. Plus, a deeper look into his production this season reveals he may actually be one of the most underrated players in the league.

Now, if some of the numbers listed in the chart above are confusing (and the explanation in the captions aren’t clear enough), don’t worry; we’re going to unpack a lot of it. The first thing that’s interesting to note is Eyssimont’s Game Score ranking. For those that are unfamiliar, Game Score was developed by The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn as a way to measure single-game performance. It takes about 10 or so stats and weighs each separately based on the stats’ correlation with goals.

While Game Score has a lot of limitations, it provides a decent idea of how well players perform, on a game-to-game basis, at the NHL level. While I intend to create a more AHL-based Game Score equivalent someday soon, I used Dom’s model with the AHL data as just a general summarizer of individual game output, for now.

Dom’s Game Score Formula = (0.75 * G) + (0.7 * A1) + (0.55 * A2) + (0.075 * SOG) + (0.05 * BLK) + (0.15 * PD) – (0.15 * PT) + (0.01 * FOW) – (0.01 * FOL) + (0.05 * CF) – (0.05 * CA) + (0.15 * GF) – (0.15* GA)

Eyssimont’s 1.12 Game Score/GP is 23rd amongst all forwards, which is pretty impressive given that he scores just 0.63 points per game. It’s a testament to his play-driving ability.

“He works for all of his chances,” Moose assistant coach Marty Johnston pointed out after Friday’s game against Belleville.

Eyssimont’s 65.9% CF% rating this season is the best individual Corsi output of any AHL forward over the last three seasons. Making that number all the more impressive is the fact that his CF% rel is a +14.02 on a Manitoba team that’s sat comfortably in the top three of Team Corsi rankings all year long. Given the fact Manitoba possesses the puck for the majority of the time he’s on the ice, it’s pretty telling that Eyssimont is in the 66th percentile for hits per 60. If that’s not a testament to his willingness to finish each and every check, I don’t know what is.

Scoring Chances are not factored into Game Score, but shots on goal are.

Eyssimont has been elite in getting shots on goal at even strength in each of the past three seasons. He leads the league with 13.00 EV SOG/60 this year. During the 2021 season, he recorded 12.09 EV SOG/60, second to San Jose’s Joachim Blichfeld. Before that, Eyssimont recorded 12.00 EV SOG/60 during the 2019-2020 campaign.

If only he could convert at a higher rate.

“I’ve left some points on the board where I’ve been in a position to succeed,” Eyssimont admitted when discussing his offensive capabilities. “I think that it’s important that I take that very seriously and try to work on that for when I have those opportunities again.”

While beefing up those point totals would certainly help his chances of playing in NHL Games down the road, Eyssimont isn’t going to be a goal scorer at the next level. If he ever gets over the hump and earns a shot in the big leagues, it’d be as an energy fourth liner. And for my money, he checks all the boxes, especially with the energy he brings on a nightly basis.

“It’s something that guys can follow,” CJ Suess said of Eyssimont’s high energy level in an interview after Manitoba’s practice on March 1. “His love for the game and his passion pushes other guys.”

With the playoffs fast approaching, these next few months are going to be huge for Eyssimont. If he ends up having a big-time playoff performance, it’ll surely bode well for him once next fall’s training camp rolls around. The Winnipeg Jets organization would probably give him a longer look if he indeed does have a good playoff.

But, even if Mikey Eyssimont never plays a game for Winnipeg, his impact with Manitoba is immensely valuable — especially this year — as the organization’s AHL affiliate is poised for a legitimate Calder Cup run.