Todays player profile is on Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, the longest tenured Edmonton Oilers on the roster at 13 years. As such he has seen the Oilers at one of their lowest points, not seeing a lick of the playoffs in his first five seasons and only once in his first eight seasons. Despite this Nugent-Hopkins has been a consummate professional, never wavering in an even-temper, and always playing his best hockey. The hockey gods have seen fit to reward him with individual and team success. No one deserves it more.
Nugent-Hopkins’ playing career
The Burnaby, BC native was drafted first overall in the WHL Bantam Draft by the Red Deer Rebels despite not having played his second year of pee-wee hockey. Nugent-Hopkins played two full years for the Rebels, scoring 171 points in 136 games in that time.
When the 2011 NHL Draft rolled around, Nugent-Hopkins was picked up first overall once again, this time by the Oilers. He immediately endeared himself to the Edmonton faithful by tying Gabriel Landeskog in rookie scoring with 52 points in only 62 games, 20 games fewer than Landeskog, but was somehow robbed of the Calder Trophy by Landeskog himself. He did, however, make the all rookie team.
Nugent-Hopkins has been an Oilers his entire career, signing a seven-year, $6M AAV contract in the summer of 2013 and an eight-year, $5.125M AAV in the summer of 2021. In all those years he has scored at a fairly consistent 50 to 70 point pace with the exception of the 2022–23 season when he exploded for 104 points, becoming the third player on the team that season to have over 100 points, which was a near thirty year record.
International play
Nugent-Hopkins has had the honour of playing for Team Canada on four occasions. First at the 2010 Hlinka-Gretzky Cup where team Canada won gold and Nugent-Hopkins scored seven points in five games. He played with Team Canada at the World Cup in 2012 where he scored six points in eight games, and in 2018 with eight points in 10 games—Canada finished fifth and fourth respectively. He captained team Canada and earned forward of the tournament honours at the 2013 World Junior Championship with 15 points in six games, though Canada finished fourth.
Nugent-Hopkins also played on the electrifying Team North America at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, scoring three points in three games but finishing fifth overall.
Nugent-Hopkins’ statistics
| Season | Tm | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | S% | ATOI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-12 | EDM | 62 | 18 | 34 | 52 | -2 | 13.4 | 17:36 |
| 2012-13 | EDM | 40 | 4 | 20 | 24 | 3 | 5.1 | 18:52 |
| 2013-14 | EDM | 80 | 19 | 37 | 56 | -12 | 10.7 | 20:24 |
| 2014-15 | EDM | 76 | 24 | 32 | 56 | -12 | 12.7 | 20:38 |
| 2015-16 | EDM | 55 | 12 | 22 | 34 | -9 | 11.1 | 19:04 |
| 2016-17 | EDM | 82 | 18 | 25 | 43 | -10 | 9.0 | 17:42 |
| 2017-18 | EDM | 62 | 24 | 24 | 48 | 10 | 15.9 | 18:05 |
| 2018-19 | EDM | 82 | 28 | 41 | 69 | -13 | 13.5 | 20:06 |
| 2019-20 | EDM | 65 | 22 | 39 | 61 | 1 | 12.8 | 20:28 |
| 2020-21 | EDM | 52 | 16 | 19 | 35 | -4 | 11.9 | 20:46 |
| 2021-22 | EDM | 63 | 11 | 39 | 50 | 3 | 7.1 | 19:19 |
| 2022-23 | EDM | 82 | 37 | 67 | 104 | 12 | 18.4 | 19:48 |
| 2023-24 | EDM | 80 | 18 | 49 | 67 | 10 | 9.8 | 19:37 |
| Career | 13 yrs | 881 | 251 | 448 | 699 | -23 | 12.0 | 19:27 |
Nugent-Hopkins player profile
Nugent-Hopkins is a hard working left-winger with above average scoring and play-making ability, good speed, and underrated defence. While you wouldn’t consider him a first line centre, Nugent-Hopkins started his NHL career at centre and is capable of running the second or third line on competitive teams.
Nugent-Hopkins is probably best utilized where he plays now, on the first line at left wing. He complements Connor McDavid well as he is a big enough threat that McDavid can rely on him when he is being quadruple teamed. He is not known as being especially physical but is a hard worker.
Strengths
Nugent-Hopkins is most known as an intelligent player, with a good wrist shot, and an excellent passer. Throughout his NHL career his assists have outweighed his goals. Despite this, nine of his 13 NHL seasons he has had a shooting percentage well over average with the 2022–23 104-point season being twice average.
Nugent-Hopkins real biggest strength is probably his intelligence. It’s what allows him to be a great passer, but more importantly he can complement any line well. This dynamism is a big part of what makes him a coaches dream.
By far the most underrated part of Nugent-Hopkins game is his defence. He is a very hard worker and never gives up on a play. He showed his value last playoffs against L.A. more than once when he backchecked hard to break up a two-on-one. There is only so much two defenceman can do against three attacking forwards, on a successful team, the rest is handled by players like Nugent-Hopkins.
Among all NHL players over 500 minutes played last season, Nugent-Hopkins ranks sixth in on-ice HDCF% and 31st in on-ice CF%, while being well over 50% in most other on-ice stats. These stats are boosted by being on McDavid’s line but it is clear to anyone who watches the Oilers that Nugent-Hopkins adds a lot of defensive value to this line.
Weaknesses
There isn’t a lot to nit pick with Nugent-Hopkins, and any faults mentioned will be just that. As mentioned previously, Nugent-Hopkins is a coaches dream, a very solid, hard-working, all around player.
One area that affords some criticism is his physicality. Listed at 6’1” and 192 lbs, Nugent-Hopkins is not a mountain of a man and he doesn’t run around like one. There is only so much one player can do and certainly his value is not in fighting but he could lay the body a little more, entering a puck battle in the corner with a hit sets the tone well, so long as you are coming from the side and not from behind.
The only other place to nit pick is with his inability to drive his own top-six line with consistent efficacy. He just does not possess the level of offensive skills needed to carry a first or second line, though he fits very well as a supporting member of those lines.
Nugent-Hopkins fit into the Oilers lineup/organization
Nugent-Hopkins spent the vast majority of his time last year on the first line and, considering their success, that is likely to stay the same. Here is the expected forward lineup:
| Ryan Nugent-Hopkins | Connor McDavid | Zach Hyman |
| Jeff Skinner | Leon Draisaitl | Viktor Arvidsson |
| Evander Kane/Dylan Holloway | Adam Henrique | Corey Perry |
| Mattias Janmark | Derek Ryan | Connor Brown |
Nugent-Hopkins occupies a spot on the first power play alongside Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, and Evan Bouchard, a true honour as it is one of the best power plays to ever exist in the NHL. He also plays on the first penalty kill unit, as advertised, a true all around player.
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
