21/22 Kings Seasons In Review – Carl Grundstrom

Happy Saturday, Insiders!

Fresh off of representing Team Sweden at the 2022 IIHF World Championships, we’ll begin our skater evaluations with forward Carl Grundstrom, one of the team’s postseason standouts. Grundstrom found himself in and out of the lineup at times this season but found a consistent home in the playoffs, burying three goals and tallying four points in six games against Edmonton, all of which came in Games 4 – 7.

Carl Grundstrom
NHL Statline – 54 games played, 9 goals, 6 assists, +4 rating, 26 penalty minutes
NHL Playoff Statline – 6 games played, 3 goals, 1 assist, -1 rating, 0 penalty minutes
Possession Metrics (Relative To Kings) – CF% –52.8% (+0.2%), SCF – 52.9% (+1.4%), HDCF – 51.9% (+0.5%)

When you compare the body of work of a player of the 82 games on the schedule, compared to the short but important seven games the Kings played in the playoffs, perhaps no one saw bigger growth in the latter than Carl Grundstrom. Starting in Game 4, Grundstrom was placed on the Kings’ second line due to an injury to Viktor Arvidsson and he responded with three goals and four points over the final four games of the series, producing in a top-six role when his team needed him to. His October-through-May improvements are ones that his head coach and teammates alike took note of.

“He has and he will continue to [grow into the player the Kings want him to].” Head Coach Todd McLellan said. “When it comes to Grunny, more than one individual thought that he was the most improved player, just in our short meetings.”

Trending Up – Beginning with the postseason, Grundstrom was a player who upped not only his offensive production, but his offensive chances created as well. On a per/60 minute basis, Grundstrom had 34.5 scoring chances for and 15.8 high-danger chances for, up from 29.0 and 11.7 during the regular season. Some of that was opportunity – Grundstrom played with Phillip Danault and Trevor Moore for four games – but some of it was his own personal performance as well in earning that role and those chances.

Even looking from 2020-21 to 2021-22, Grundstrom’s numbers were substantially higher across the board. Looking at percentages of chances controlled, Grundstrom’s numbers saw more than a seven-percent uptick in percentage of shot attempts controlled and double-digit percent growth in scoring chances and high-danger chances. His chances for in all three metrics went up and his chances against in all three metrics went down. Couldn’t ask for much more improvement than that.

While his raw numbers during the regular season aren’t jaw-dropping – nine goals and 15 points – Grundstrom ranked fifth on the Kings in goals per/60 (0.85). Grundstrom also led the Kings in hits/60 and was on the ice for fewer goals against per/60 than any other Kings forward. Goal scoring, physical play and defensively responsible were three evident traits of Grundstrom’s season, traits that even Dustin Brown let us know in his season-ending interview that reminded him a bit of himself in some ways. Not a bad comparison to have.

Lastly, Grundstrom’s play this season earned him the opportunity to represent Team Sweden at the 2022 IIHF World Championships. Grundstrom had two points from five games in the tournament, in a situation where he joined up with the team midway through and jumped right into action. A nice end-of-season reward for a player who saw his output crescendo as the season went along.

Trending Down – While outside of his control in a lot of situations, Grundstrom was a healthy scratch on a decently regular basis throughout the regular season. Many times he felt like the odd-man out. Someone back from injury? Grundstrom comes out. Back from COVID? Grundstrom comes out. Team lost, want to change up the personnel? You get the gist. Whether or not he plays on a given night is outside of his control, but at the same time, you want to see Grundstrom make his presence felt in such a way that you can’t take him out of the lineup and he didn’t do that every night throughout the season.

This is also outside of Grundstrom’s control, but at 64.3 percent, he was among the highest on the team in offensive-zone start percentages, typically a sign of more sheltered matchups. Others in that category included Quinton Byfield, Rasmus Kupari and Arthur Kaliyev, younger players who the Kings tried to avoid challenging, defensive-zone matchups against. Grundstrom wasn’t quite as high as those players, and that stat is a reflection of his usage not his own play, but something to take note of when considering certain possession metrics.

2022-23 Status – Grundstrom is a restricted free agent this offseason as his two-year contract extension, signed on September 1, 2020, concludes at the end of the 2021-22 season.

End-of-season comments suggest that Grundstrom has earned a place in the Kings plans and being under team control, there’s no rush to get a deal done. Should he re-sign with the organization, the expectation would be for Grundstrom to be one of several wingers competing for roster spots, with his full season at the NHL level and playoff performance giving him a leg up heading in on others in that competition. From there, it’s up to performance, and Grundstrom will look to get off to a faster start here in 2022.

In the coming days, we’ll continue on with evaluations at the forward position, continuing with the first-line duo of Masterton nominee Blake Lizotte, Messier winner Anze Kopitar and 35-goal scorer Adrian Kempe. As always, thanks for following and reading!