Jochen Hecht: 2009-2010 Report Card

It's time to put the finishing touches on the 2009-2010 season for the Buffalo Sabres. Here is a complete report card of every single player that played any amount of time with the Sabres this season. The journey will begin with Chris Butler and conclude in almost a month with Thomas Vanek. Thanks to Japers Rink and Mile High Hockey for the inspiration.

Jochen Hecht

#55 / Left Wing / Buffalo Sabres

Height: 6-1

Weight: 199

Born: Jun 21, 1977

 

2008-2009 Grade: D-

Contract Status: Signed for $3.25 million

Introduction: Nobody could have predicted how much the Sabres would miss Jochen Hecht when the playoffs began. With a first round loss in our rear view mirror we have a better understanding of how much he meant to this team. He was a guy that was productive all season and he did it while playing the tough minutes, against the opponents best players. It was exactly what we have grown to expect out of Hecht prior to his disappointing season in 2008-2009.

Vote: It's time to vote on the play of Jochen Hecht. Last season we used a letter grade but this season we are adapting the Japers' Rink method of rating. Every player has expectations before the season begins. This ranking should be based off of those expectations. If a player met your expectations you will give him a 5 or a 6 ranking. If they exceeded your expectations the rating should be higher with 10 being the best. If they fell short of expectations the rating will be lower with 1 being the worst.

Follow the jump for more on Jochen Hecht.

Key Stat: I could ramble off plenty of stats to show you how important Hecht was to the team but the only stat that matters is scoring goals. Hecht scored 21 goals this season which was his second best season ever, his best goal output came in 2007-2008 when he lit the lamp 22 times.

Fun Fact: Hecht had seven multi-point games this season.

Linemates: Who did Hecht fare well with this season?

Line Stats according to Dobber Hockey.com

Thumbs Up: This was a bounce back season for Hecht. After a very disappointing 2008-2009 campaign he set out to redeem himself and it showed in his play. He scored only 12 goals and had just 27 points to go along with his unflattering minus-9 rating in 08-09. This season he scored 21 goals, marking only the second time he has reached 20 in his career, he also led the team with a plus-14 rating. Some his play can be attributed to his linemates Tim Connolly and Jason Pominville but as we seen in the playoffs, it was Hecht that made that line tick.

Hecht managed to put up great stats while playing against the opponents best opponents. His Quality Competition rating of 0.063 was fourth on the team according to Behind the Net. His offensive numbers are even more impressive when looking at them based on even strength and time on ice. Hecht scored 18 even strength goals which was first on the team and he scored 1.03 goals per 60 minutes of ice time. Only Thomas Vanek scored more based on time on ice.

Thumbs Down: Obviously the timing of his injury was horrible for both him and the Sabres but it is something he could not avoid. I have hard time calling it a thumbs down but it stands out more than any thing Hecht did on the ice. 

If I have to talk about his on ice play it would be goals against. Hecht is known as a two-way forward and yet opponents scored more when he was on the ice than when he was off the ice. Opponents scored 2.51 goals per 60 minutes when he was on the ice and only 2.31 when he was off the ice. That stat can be slightly misleading because he plays against the opponents best lines on most occasions.

Milestones:

• Jochen Hecht scored his 400th career point on March 3, 2010 against the Washington Capitals.