Valeri Nichushkin

Columbus Blue Jackets#43Right wing Shoots left

Age 31 · 6′4″ · 210 lb · Chelyabinsk, RUS

Strong two-way play and chance creation — he just isn't converting his looks, sitting at 0.09 goals below expected per 60 (63rd of 91).

Season grade: A; #63 of 403 qualified F84th percentile; Performance / 600.1733/72 GP

Loading season standing…

Games72T-309th in NHL

Goals170.24/GP▼0.25T-163rd in NHL

Assists320.44/GP▲0.14T-114th in NHL

Points490.68/GPT-137th in NHL…

5v5 xG share59.7%3rd of 109…

Avg TOI17:44T-260th in NHL…

Career awards

Qualified · 2025–26 forwards

PlayerPeer average

What each component is built from

Offense: Expected goals for while the player is on the ice
Defense: Expected goals against while the player is on the ice (fewer is better)
Chance creation: Expected goals from the player’s own shots
Finishing: Goals minus expected goals on the player’s own shots
Assisting: Primary assists plus half of secondary assists

Each is measured against expectation, per 60 rated minutes: plus is above, minus below.

How this is calculated

Score breakdown

Component	Weight	Scaled	Contribution
Offense	25%	0.342	+0.085
Defense	25%	0.306	+0.076
Chance creation	20%	0.137	+0.027
Finishing	10%	−0.129	−0.013
Assisting	20%	−0.043	−0.009
Performance rate			0.168

Per 60 rated minutes, over the scored appearances. Each component is scaled separately, then weighted; the contributions add to the performance rate at full precision, so rounded figures may differ.

Scoring

Season grade is the qualified peer percentile on the same letter bands as Game Grade — A+ ≥88, A ≥78, A− ≥68, B+ ≥58, B ≥50, B− ≥42, C+ ≥35, C ≥28, C− ≥22, D ≥15, F below 15 — and needs qualification plus at least 30 eligible peers. The letter describes this season’s performance, not permanent ability.

Comparisons

Rank and component percentiles compare this season’s qualified forwards on unrounded rates over every checked appearance; Game Grade compares one appearance with frozen historical games.

Component percentiles are never averaged into the score. Recent history is optional, from up to three completed prior seasons; small samples are provisional.

Coverage

Qualification: 14 covered appearances, 226.5 rated minutes, and 90% appearance and workload coverage. Minimums advance with league progress; valid low-sample results stay visible.

Rated minutes exclude play with a goalie pulled: 12.1 min excluded; official TOI 585.2 min.

Coverage: partial. Updated Oct 17, 2026.

Method

Five weighted components add to the performance rate. Five-on-five offense and defense account for recorded teammates, opponents and game state, so shared on-ice results are not isolated individual ability. Finishing is scored against the shot model’s historical-shooter expectation and assisting counts primary assists plus half of secondary assists; both use the strength baseline, chance creation its positional baseline.

Loading season standing and profile…

Season metrics

2025–26 · five-on-five · vs 109 positional peers

Player	Percentile	Rank
2.28		21 / 10981st
0.76		56 / 10949th
—	—	—

Shooting & finishing	Player	Percentile	Rank
	0.85		30 / 10973rd
	8.04		17 / 10985th
	16.01		22 / 10981st
	0.072		52 / 9143rd
	-0.09		63 / 9131st

Elite90+Strong70–89Average30–69Weak10–29Poor<10Bar length is the peer percentile, so longer is always better · tick at the 50th

How to read these comparisons

Player values are recorded season results. Peer averages are arithmetic means of qualified players in the selected group; each row uses the same peers for its average and rank. Ranks use unrounded values, with tied players sharing a rank and the next rank skipped. Lower xG against ranks better. Bar colours are the five performance tiers; context rows are blue and not graded. Differences from the average describe the season, not isolated player impact.

Goals above expected is the raw goals-minus-xG rate, without the shrinkage used in the older finishing comparison. On-ice measures include teammates, opponents and deployment. These recorded metrics describe different quantities from the adjusted Season score components beside them.

Skaters need 20 appearances and 300 five-on-five minutes; quality and finishing also need 75 unblocked attempts. Early in a season these minimums scale down with games played so far. At least 30 peers must qualify. Playoff ranks are withheld. A reviewed axis whose own evidence fails is withheld and shown with its reason rather than ranked. These workload rules do not express statistical confidence.

Position uses the NHL listed primary position available now; it does not establish historical position or actual deployment. Broad groups are forwards, defence and goalies. This version uses the current model’s covered games only.

Season vs reference

Reference

Per game · all situations

Metric2025–26ReferenceDiff

0.240.49-0.25

0.440.30+0.14

0.680.79-0.11

2.222.74-0.52

Reference: 2024–25 · 43 games.

Season comparisons

Loading peer comparisons and model evidence…

Optional recent-history profile

Rolling Radar

Recent NHL history, carried across seasons. The radar compares this broader profile with a fixed position-group reference.

Rolling profile is currently unavailable.

Rolling Radar

Loading recent-history profile…

Results vs expected

Five-on-five · what happened beside the chances created and allowed

Chances	Player	Percentile	Rank
	3.26		3 / 10998th
	2.20		18 / 10984th
	59.7		3 / 10998th

Player	Percentile	Rank
—	—	—
—	—	—
—	—	—

Player	Percentile	Rank
—	—	—
—	—	—
—	—	—

Context · not graded

5v5 goals: —
5v5 expected: 51.5–34.8
EPV added: +3.08

On ice vs off ice

Colorado's share with Valeri Nichushkin on the ice against the same team without him.

Share	On ice and off ice	On-minus-off gap in percentage points
xGF%	On ice 59.7% · Off ice unavailable	—
CF%	On ice 57.6% · Off ice unavailable	—
GF%	On ice unavailable · Off ice unavailable	—

On iceOff ice

Scale 40–65% · marker at 50% · right column is the on-minus-off gap in points

Loading model evidence…

Defensive metrics

Five-on-five on-ice suppression; individual events in all situations.

Player	Percentile	Rank
52.83		31 / 10972nd
—	—	—
0.056		14 / 10988th

Player	Percentile	Rank
—	—	—
—	—	—
—	—	—

Physical style	Player	Percentile	Rank
	—	—	—
	—	—	—

Context · not graded

Evidence coverage: high danger 37 of 72 games.

Discipline & puck management

Recorded season event counts · all situations

Penaltiesnet —

Taken —Drawn —

Puck eventsnet —

Giveaways —Takeaways —

Blocks: —
Hits: —

Both penalty counts cover 39 of 72 games with every drawn role recorded.

Loading defensive evidence…

SituationChancesViewShot type

Shot map

All 242 attempts

Goal17Shot on goal143Missed shot82Blocked shot0Larger dot = higher xG

Shooting by zone

Hover a row to light it up · click to pin

Zone	Att	G	xG	Goal rate	Exp.	G−xG
Inner slot	76	11	10.7	14.5%	14.0%	+0.3
Outer slot	14	1	1.0	7.1%	7.4%	0.0
Below goal line	2	0	0.1	0.0%	5.3%	−0.1
Left circle	9	0	0.2	0.0%	2.1%	−0.2
Right circle	13	0	0.5	0.0%	3.8%	−0.5
Point	51	0	1.6	0.0%	3.1%	−1.6
High slot	77	5	7.1	6.5%	9.2%	−2.1
All zones	242	17	21.1	7.0%	8.7%	−4.1

Finishing evidence. Scoring 7.0% on chances vs 8.7% expected (−1.7 points), with the largest shortfall in the high slot.

Sorted by goals minus expected goals. Goal rate is goals per unblocked attempt against the expected rate.

Shot profile

Context · not graded

On-net rate: 66.1%
Slot share: 63.2%
Average distance: 28.8 ft
Rebound attempts / 60: 1.27

Shot types

242 attempts

Type	Share	Sh%	G−xG
Wrist	40.1%	5.6%	−3.6
Snap	23.1%	14.7%	−1.3
Tip-in	14.0%	16.7%	+0.2
Backhand	10.7%	16.7%	+0.7
Slap	7.4%	0.0%	−1.0
Deflected	2.5%	25.0%	+0.4
Other	2.1%	—	+0.6

Share is context, not a grade. Sh% counts shots on goal only.

High-danger chances

Model goal probability ≥ 0.20

Conversion25.0%−6.1 pts vs expected

Actual25.0%

Expected31.1%

Attempts: 20
Goals: 5
Expected goals: 6.2
G−xG: −1.2

Shot locations

Loading canonical shot events…

Usage by situation

Ice time, share of team ice time, scoring and scoring rate, with where shifts start.

Scope	TOI/GP	Team share	G	A	P	P/60
Five-on-five	13:10	—	12	24	36	2.28
Power play	1:55	—	1	3	4	1.75
Penalty kill	1:42	—	1	0	1	0.49
Other	0:57	—	4	5	9	7.94
All situations	17:44	—	18	32	50	2.35

Where the 50 points come from · All situations

Goals18 · 0.85/60
Primary assists— · —/60
Secondary assists— · —/60

Zone starts — offensive of OZ + DZ

Offensive —Neutral —Defensive —

Shifts

— a game · — average

Zone starts: five-on-five · Shifts: all situations

Usage by situation

Loading usage…

Power play

137:30 recorded ice time · peers need 100 minutes

Share of team PP: —
PP points: 4
Unit xGF / 60: 7.30

Player	Percentile	Rank
1.75		59 / 602nd
—	—	—
7.42		56 / 607th
1.51		47 / 6022nd
7.30		50 / 6017th
—	—	—

Evidence coverage: goals 34 of 65 games · team time 39 of 72 games.

Penalty kill

122:28 recorded ice time · peers need 100 minutes

Share of team PK: —
SH points: 1
Unit xGA / 60: 5.53

Player	Percentile	Rank
5.53		—
—	—	—
84.27		—
—	—	—
0.57		—

No rank yet

Evidence coverage: goals 39 of 72 games · high danger 38 of 72 games · team time 39 of 72 games.

Loading special teams…

Split	GP	G	A	P	P/GP	5v5 xG share	Team record
Venue
Home	34	7	15	22	0.65	63.3%	20–8–6
Away	38	10	17	27	0.71	56.4%	27–7–4
Rest
Back-to-back	9	2	5	7	0.78	56.9%	4–3–2
1 day of rest	45	9	21	30	0.67	60.5%	29–10–6
2+ days of rest	17	6	6	12	0.71	58.6%	13–2–2
Opponent
vs Eastern	27	8	8	16	0.59	57.3%	15–9–3
vs Western	45	9	24	33	0.73	60.9%	32–6–7
vs playoff teams	37	6	11	17	0.46	56.3%	23–8–6
vs non-playoff teams	35	11	21	32	0.91	62.8%	24–7–4
Recent
Last 10	10	2	6	8	0.80	63.1%	7–2–1

Teammate	Pos	TOI together	xG share together	GF–GA	CF%	Him without	Teammate without
Brock Nelson	C	646:33	59.7%	33–25	57.5%	59.5%	61.3%
Brent Burns	D	371:17	57.9%	22–14	56.8%	60.8%	56.7%
Josh Manson	D	338:28	65.2%	21–12	60.4%	56.4%	56.8%
Sam Malinski	D	291:38	61.9%	18–6	58.0%	58.7%	62.1%
Cale Makar	D	284:30	55.9%	14–15	54.9%	61.2%	57.7%
Devon Toews	D	259:25	57.8%	15–17	56.5%	60.4%	61.3%
Artturi Lehkonen	L	221:36	64.5%	16–9	59.6%	58.1%	58.7%
Gabriel Landeskog	L	215:32	62.5%	10–7	60.4%	58.7%	57.1%
Ross Colton	C	205:23	60.2%	14–10	57.6%	59.4%	60.2%
Nathan MacKinnon	C	180:38	66.8%	12–7	61.4%	57.6%	59.6%
Samuel Girard	D	128:19	61.6%	11–9	58.6%	59.3%	58.6%
Brett Kulak	D	114:40	52.8%	1–1	52.1%	60.5%	45.0%

	Opponent	Result		G	A		PPP	+/−	SOG		5v5 on-ice xG share	Game
May 24	@ VGK	L 3–5	8:34	0	0	0	0	-1	2	0.13	34.5%	View →
May 22	vs VGK	L 1–3	15:07	0	0	0	0	-1	2	0.10	18.5%	View →
May 20	vs VGK	L 2–4	13:39	1	0	1	0	1	3	0.21	52.3%	View →
May 13	vs MIN	W 4–3 OT	15:32	0	0	0	—	1	2	0.06	63.9%	View →
May 11	@ MIN	W 5–2	19:09	0	0	0	0	0	3	0.26	49.8%	View →
May 9	@ MIN	L 1–5	13:25	0	0	0	0	-1	1	0.01	27.5%	View →
May 5	vs MIN	W 5–2	17:56	1	0	1	0	1	1	0.00	16.6%	View →
May 3	vs MIN	W 9–6	15:24	0	2	2	0	1	2	0.19	51.6%	View →
Apr 26	@ LAK	W 5–1	14:38	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.11	43.5%	View →
Apr 23	@ LAK	W 4–2	17:29	0	0	0	0	0	1	0.01	52.1%	View →
Filtered 10	—	6–4	15:05 avg	2	2	4	—	1	17	1.08	44.2%	—

	Opponent	Result		G	A		PPP	+/−	SOG		5v5 on-ice xG share	Game
Apr 16	vs SEA	W 2–0	18:13	0	2	2	0	2	0	0.07	76.6%	View →
Apr 14	@ CGY	W 3–1	15:55	0	0	0	—	0	1	0.07	34.0%	View →
Apr 13	@ EDM	W 2–1 SO	16:10	0	0	0	—	-1	1	0.41	69.4%	View →
Apr 11	vs VGK	OTL 2–3 OT	16:52	0	0	0	0	-1	2	0.42	64.4%	View →
Apr 9	vs CGY	W 3–1	16:01	0	0	0	0	1	3	0.45	80.3%	View →
Apr 7	@ STL	W 3–1	15:45	2	0	2	0	2	6	0.39	67.0%	View →
Apr 4	@ DAL	W 2–0	16:43	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	62.3%	View →
Apr 1	vs VAN	L 6–8	13:01	0	2	2	0	2	2	0.07	30.0%	View →
Mar 30	vs CGY	W 9–2	15:42	0	1	1	—	1	4	0.13	66.9%	View →
Mar 28	vs WPG	L 2–4	16:01	0	1	1	0	0	0	0.00	81.5%	View →
Filtered 10	—	7–2–1	16:02 avg	2	6	8	—	6	19	2.02	63.1%	—

Teammate	Pos	TOI together	xG share together	GF–GA	CF%	Him without	Teammate without
Brock Nelson	C	646:33	59.7%	33–25	57.5%	59.5%	61.3%
Brent Burns	D	371:17	57.9%	22–14	56.8%	60.8%	56.7%
Josh Manson	D	338:28	65.2%	21–12	60.4%	56.4%	56.8%
Sam Malinski	D	291:38	61.9%	18–6	58.0%	58.7%	62.1%
Cale Makar	D	284:30	55.9%	14–15	54.9%	61.2%	57.7%
Devon Toews	D	259:25	57.8%	15–17	56.5%	60.4%	61.3%
Artturi Lehkonen	L	221:36	64.5%	16–9	59.6%	58.1%	58.7%
Gabriel Landeskog	L	215:32	62.5%	10–7	60.4%	58.7%	57.1%
Ross Colton	C	205:23	60.2%	14–10	57.6%	59.4%	60.2%
Nathan MacKinnon	C	180:38	66.8%	12–7	61.4%	57.6%	59.6%
Samuel Girard	D	128:19	61.6%	11–9	58.6%	59.3%	58.6%
Brett Kulak	D	114:40	52.8%	1–1	52.1%	60.5%	45.0%

Split	G	A	P	5v5 xG share	5v5 CF%	5v5 GF–GA
Period
1st period	5	11	16	—	—	—
2nd period	4	10	14	—	—	—
3rd period	8	11	19	—	—	—
Overtime	0	0	0	—	—	—
Score state · 5v5 on ice
Leading	—	—	—	56.4%	53.5%	16–10
Tied	—	—	—	59.2%	58.1%	16–18
Trailing	—	—	—	65.3%	64.0%	21–11

Season	GP	G	A	P	SOG	P/GP	5v5 ixG/60	5v5 GP
2025–26	12	2	2	4	19	0.33	0.47	12
2024–25	7	3	1	4	13	0.57	0.60	7
2023–24	8	9	1	10	24	1.25	0.80	8
2022–23	2	1	0	1	6	0.50	1.21	2
2021–22	20	9	6	15	72	0.75	1.04	20
2020–21	10	1	2	3	30	0.30	0.84	10
2019–20	15	2	1	3	18	0.20	0.53	15
2018–19	1	0	0	0	0	0.00	1.02	1
2015–16	10	0	1	1	11	0.10	0.68	10

Season			Box score · all situations												5v5 individual				5v5 on ice					Season performance
Season	Age	Team	GP	G	A	P	+/−	PIM	SOG	Sh%	PPG	TOI/GP	Hits	Blk	P/60	ixG/60	SOG/60	xG/UA	xGF/60	xGA/60	xGF%	CF%	GF%	Perf/60	Grade	Rank
2026–27	31	CBJ	8	1	3	4	-2	0	10	10.0	0	15:56	14	6	1.85	0.69	6.15	0.074	2.39	3.40	41.3	47.6	—	—	—	—
2025–26	30	COL	72	17	32	49	9	26	160	10.6	1	17:44	—	—	2.28	0.85	8.04	0.072	3.26	2.20	59.7	57.6	—	0.168	A	63 / 403
2024–25	29	COL	43	21	13	34	11	8	118	17.8	5	19:44	—	—	—	—	—	0.093	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2023–24	28	COL	54	28	25	53	5	22	158	17.7	16	21:21	—	—	1.81	0.89	7.30	0.081	3.10	2.54	55.0	55.5	—	—	—	—
2022–23	27	COL	53	17	30	47	15	2	158	10.8	10	20:16	—	—	1.96	0.81	8.73	0.071	2.76	2.44	53.1	53.9	—	—	—	—
2021–22	26	COL	62	25	27	52	21	14	180	13.9	5	19:02	—	—	2.49	0.94	9.62	0.076	3.10	2.24	58.1	58.3	—	—	—	—
2020–21	25	COL	55	10	11	21	9	4	98	10.2	0	14:05	—	—	1.55	0.73	8.12	0.069	3.06	1.77	63.3	61.1	—	—	—	—
2019–20	24	COL	65	13	14	27	26	14	113	11.5	1	14:04	—	—	1.74	0.81	7.45	0.081	2.45	1.80	57.6	55.8	—	—	—	—
2018–19	23	DAL	57	0	10	10	-4	0	65	0.0	0	11:55	—	—	0.86	0.45	5.91	0.059	1.98	2.09	48.6	48.6	—	—	—	—
2015–16	20	DAL	79	9	20	29	2	12	139	6.5	1	13:56	—	—	1.61	0.81	7.64	0.077	2.64	2.57	50.7	52.2	—	—	—	—
Career	—	10 seasons	548	141	185	326	92	102	1199	11.8	39	16:39	—	—	—	—	—	0.076	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Valeri Nichushkin

Season performanceSelected-season standing and the components behind the scoreCollapse

Score breakdown

Scoring

Comparisons

Coverage

Method

Season metrics

Season vs reference

Season comparisons

Rolling Radar

Rolling Radar

On-ice impact5v5Elite 59.7% on-ice expected goal share at five-on-five (3rd of 109)What the team creates and allows during the player’s five-on-five minutesExplore

Results vs expected

On ice vs off ice

Defense5v5 · AllStrong 2.20 on-ice expected goals against per 60 (18th of 109)On-ice suppression and individual disciplineExplore

Defensive metrics

Discipline & puck management

Penaltiesnet —

Puck eventsnet —

Shooting & finishingStrong 0.85 individual expected goals per 60 (30th of 109)Where the player shoots, the quality of those chances, and actual versus expected goalsExplore

Shot map

Shooting by zone

Shot profile

Shot types

High-danger chances

Shot locations

Usage & deployment17:44 TOI per game (13:10 at five-on-five · 1:55 PP · 1:42 PK)Scoring by situation, zone starts and workloadExplore

Usage by situation

Where the 50 points come from · All situations

Zone starts — offensive of OZ + DZ

Shifts

Usage by situation

Special teamsPP · PKPoor 1.75 power-play points per 60 (59th of 60)Power play and penalty killExplore

Power play

Penalty kill

FormExplore

Rolling Radar

Splits0.65 points per game at home · 0.71 awayVenue, rest and opponentExplore

By period and score state

Linemates5v5Most often with Brock Nelson: 647 five-on-five minutes, 59.7% xG share togetherWho he plays with at five-on-fiveExplore

Playoffs12 playoff games: 2 goals, 4 points · 85 career playoff gamesExplore

2025–26 playoffs

Playoff games

Every playoff run

Game log72 games · most recent vs SEA, W 2–0: 0 G, 2 AOfficial totals and five-on-five evidenceExplore

Career10 NHL seasons: 548 games, 326 pointsEvery season and a recomputed career lineExplore

Data notesScopes, missing values and model evidenceExplore

Score breakdown

Scoring

Comparisons

Coverage

Method

2025–26 playoffs

Playoff games

Every playoff run

Defensive metrics

Discipline & puck management

Penaltiesnet —

Puck eventsnet —

Power play

Penalty kill

Results vs expected

On ice vs off ice

Shot map

Shooting by zone

Shot profile

Shot types

High-danger chances

Usage by situation

Where the 50 points come from · All situations

Zone starts — offensive of OZ + DZ

Shifts

By period and score state

Season metrics

Season vs reference