It’s easy to see that this year’s Ryerson team is scoring at a far greater rate than they have been before, coming off the heels of their worst single-season offensive output since 2011-12. But the answer to Ryerson’s success goes far deeper than their goals for total. It all starts in the defensive zone for Ryerson, because when it comes to zone exits, nobody else in the OUA does it better than the Ryerson Rams.

Individually, Alex Basso leads all OUA West D-Men in possession numbers, and plays a fundamental piece in Ryerson’s ability to move the puck out of their own zone. His 73% efficiency on defensive zone exits leads Ryerson defenceman in that category, but most astoundingly, Basso holds the puck for an average of 5 minutes per game. When it comes to possession, Alex Basso is head-manning the charge for the Ryerson Rams.

Having the OUA West’s leading d-man in possession numbers is a huge asset, but past Basso the recent introductions of Luke Mercer, Brandon Devlin, and Austin Kosack to the back-end have all aided in Ryerson’s fantastic d-zone exit numbers. Collectively, Ryerson’s defensive core is the reason they lead the OUA in defensive zone exits, and it begins with smart, responsible plays like these.

And on occasion, the Rams are susceptible to connecting on a hail mary, which is why Brandon Devlin already has 12 assists this season.

Numerically, Ryerson’s possession stats are seeing an increase as a result of their ability to effectively start plays from their own zone. Over the last two seasons, Ryerson’s Corsi stats have not stacked up particularly well against the rest of the league, but going back to 2013-14, the Rams had some of the best possession numbers in the league (Basic Corsi of +128) when they had two lethal weapons in Jamie Wise and Domenic Alberga. This season, the Rams have a lot more than just two weapons, which is another big reason their basic Corsi already sits at +53 through 16 games this season.

Alex Basso is Ryerson’s best possession player with a CF% of 57%, Michael Fine second at 54%, and Aaron Armstrong nearby at 53.5%. But when you look deep into Ryerson’s lineup (min. 3 GP), you’ll find that only three players from the forward unit (Mitch Theoret, Chris Marchese, Lucas Froese) have a CF% of under 50. Many have said that the Ryerson Rams have never been deeper up front, and the numbers back up that claim. On the blueline, there’s exponential depth too when it comes to defensive zone exit efficiency. Not only are the Rams getting great possession out of their forwards, but their team defensive zone exit efficiency is at 62%, well above the league average of 56%.

Finally, Ryerson’s shooting percentage is reflective of their incredible finishing ability this season. Last year’s 86 goal performance was the worst for the Rams since 2011-12, and so was their shooting percentage, which stood at a lowly 8.6%, third last in the OUA West. But this season, the Rams are shooting out the lights, scoring on 12.3% of their shots, leading the OUA West in that regard. Not only are the Rams creating better scoring opportunities with responsible movement of the puck, but recent acquisitions such as Mitch Theoret (9.2 S%), Matt Mistele (11.3 S%), and Chris Marchese (11.8 S%) are among the best finishers in the league.

Here’s an example of a completely harmless play which is turned deadly because of Mitch Theoret’s wicked wrist shot.

But the Rams have done an excellent job of manufacturing plays starting from their d-zone, like this one.

Whichever way you slice it, the Rams are as dangerous as any team you’ll encounter in the OUA. They’ve had dangerous teams in the past, but when you look at the numbers, it’s not hard to understand why the Rams are as good as they’ve ever been offensively.

Written by: Victor Findlay (@Finder_24)