McKeen’s 2021-22 Yearbook - A versatile veteran center who can effectively handle a third-line center role while driving play, Bonino can also bring some value on special teams. A smart player who has good puck skills, he was trudging through last season, with nine points (4 G, 5 A) in his first 39 games before finishing with a flourish, putting up 17 points (6 G, 11 A) in his last 16 games of the season. His role was reduced in the playoffs, though, and Bonino finished with no points in seven games against Vegas. He ought to have a big role in San Jose, where they lacked reliable options on the bottom half of their forward depth chart last season, and Bonino has been good for 15-16 minutes per game for close to a decade. While he is not expected to be an offensive leader, Bonino almost always finds a way to contribute, so a point total in the mid-30s is a fair expectation.
McKeen’s 2020-21 Yearbook - Matched his 2019 point totals despite playing 14 fewer games and 214 fewer minutes .. set career...
McKeen’s 2021-22 Yearbook - A versatile veteran center who can effectively handle a third-line center role while driving play, Bonino can also bring some value on special teams. A smart player who has good puck skills, he was trudging through last season, with nine points (4 G, 5 A) in his first 39 games before finishing with a flourish, putting up 17 points (6 G, 11 A) in his last 16 games of the season. His role was reduced in the playoffs, though, and Bonino finished with no points in seven games against Vegas. He ought to have a big role in San Jose, where they lacked reliable options on the bottom half of their forward depth chart last season, and Bonino has been good for 15-16 minutes per game for close to a decade. While he is not expected to be an offensive leader, Bonino almost always finds a way to contribute, so a point total in the mid-30s is a fair expectation.
McKeen’s 2020-21 Yearbook - Matched his 2019 point totals despite playing 14 fewer games and 214 fewer minutes .. set career highs in goals, assists, and points at 5v5 .. picked up all but one of his points at even strength .. earned Selke Trophy votes for the third time in his last four seasons .. achieved a rare feat on October 29th, scoring a hat trick in a 3-0 final .. acquired by the Wild in an October trade with the Predators .. primarily played with Rocco Grimaldi and Craig Smith in Nashville .. shot at a career-high 19.75% at 5v5, leading to 6.12 goals above expected .. an on-ice SH% of 10.3% at 5v5 was also a career-high, and well above the league average .. history suggests solid-third line contribution, but betting on a repeat or exceeding of last year's totals, especially at even strength, might be somewhat optimistic.
McKeen’s 2019-20 Yearbook - Creative, control-type forward .. soft hands, keen instincts .. processes game situations quick .. composed and senses pressure well .. complementary skilled puckhandling, in-tight control .. solid below the hash mark .. accruing Selke trophy votes in the process, Bonino had an incredibly solid season as the third center in the Nashville locker room, compiling an 81-17-18-35 point season and playing outstanding defense that gives him value in multi-category leagues .. he started a remarkable 69.6 percent of shifts in the defensive zone and still posted somewhat even possession stats (48.4 CF%, 50.3 FF%), which speaks to his incomparable effectiveness in his role .. his on-ice goal differential of 1.18 was in the top 10 percent of all NHL skaters last season, while his 0.79 goals per 60 minutes was good for top-20 percentile .. given his deployment as a super-defensive center, draft him with caution and be ready to replace him with a bench player periodically, but the historically streaky Bonino is a quiet source of fine fantasy value in deeper leagues.
Scouting: Creative, control-type forward with soft hands, keen instincts and industry .. processes game situations quickly, proactively formulating a stance .. composed in all facets, senses pressure well and complimentary skilled puckhandling .. solid in-tight control .. heavy shot from a quick, stealthy release .. doesn’t telegraph shots, generating impressive velocity with minimal windup .. skating is not strongest asset – hunches forward, propelled by a wide, part-sloppy stride which lacks power and startup speed .. opportunistic, structured power game below the hash marks .. effective use of his body to shield the puck and prolong cycles .. proficient at wraparounds and bulling his way out from behind the net .. steady, hard and determined worker - gets back responsibly into sound positions, exploiting reach and stick skills to defend passing lanes.
McKeen’s 2018-19 Yearbook - His first full season in Nashville after signing a four-year deal, $4.1 million AAV prior to the year .. expensive for a depth forward but bring Stanley Cup experience winning two with the Penguins and solidifies the team down the middle .. he kills penalties effectively (2:05 per game), led the team in take-aways with 64 and delivered a solid 54.3% win rate on 970 face-offs .. only saw 26.7% of his starts in the offensive zone drawing tough competition contributing to the third worst shot differential among forwards (C+/- -73) .. production was down from the 37 points he scored with the Penguins to 25 all attributed to the 11 power play points (1:44 per game) he scored in Pittsburgh to zero (0:41 per game) in Nashville .. the acquisition of Turris pushed him down the line-up and eliminated any power play time .. an important role in Nashville’s Stanley Cup push but draft for similar numbers.
McKeen’s 2017-18 Yearbook - Signed a four-year, $16.4 million contract with the Predators, walking across the dressing room as part of the Stanley Cup Champion Penguins to the SC Finalists, Predators .. broke his tibia in his left leg in Game 2 of the Cup Finals, ending his season for good, and elected not to have surgery during the off season – should be ready for training camp, but a situation to watch .. played career high games (80) and 5v5 time on ice (963 mins) most with Phil Kessel and Carl Hagelin (209 mins, 38.5 GF% & 46 CF%) .. likely slots up and gets more time on ice in distinct scoring situations in comparison to playing behind Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin .. 20 goals and mid-40’s in points.
15-16 Report/16-17 Outlook: Wrote a legend-worthy playoff performance with points in 14 of 17 (17-3-11-14) games before the Stanley Cup Finals where he played through an elbow infection, a victim of a shot in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning .. five of 12 career playoff markers were game winners .. missed one game early in the season courtesy of a Jason Demers elbow to the head (the Sharks connection in a dual reference) running up 10 points (40-3-7-10) up to the midseason hand injury that would cost him 17 games over Q3 .. point-per-game pace over Q4 (20-6-14-20), highlighted by a five-point game (1-4-5), leading the NHL in 5v5 P/60 (3.98) - and A/60 (2.99) – with new linemate Carl Hagelin not far behind (3.96), second overall .. contributed to 80% of 5v5 on-ice goals, continuing to be a factor in scoring while on the ice .. an injury to Evgeni Malkin would force a reshuffle up front, with Phil Kessel finishing the season (209 mins, 75.0 GF% & 57.8 CF%), finishing 3rd on the club in P/60 (2.02 – 1st line threshold) sharing 13 points together as a sneak preview of the postseason .. drew the attention of WWE star Shawn ‘Heart Break Kid’ Michaels when the line was dubbed the ‘HBK Line’ – while drawing exceptional calls from the Punjabi broadcasts for CBC Hockey Night in Canada .. enters the season in the final year of his contract facing unrestricted free agency .. well off pace offensively, but there’s hope for a 40-point season – maybe more if the HBK line stays together and remains productive.
14-15 Report/15-16 Outlook: When the Canucks traded Ryan Kesler to Anaheim in the summer of 2014, they got a man in Bonino that could assume the vacant roll, but not hope to fully replace Kesler .. Bonino got off to a fast start with Vancouver, scoring seven goals and 19 points in 24 contests through November, but he recorded four goals and seven points over his next 30 contests .. broke out again in March with four goals and seven assists in 16 games .. hot-and-cold season amounted to 39 points in 75 contests, down his ’13-14 career highs (77-22-27-49) .. went from logging 2:51 power-play minutes per game with Anaheim to averaging 1:52 mins last season .. had four power-play points in ’14-15, down from 20 points in his previous campaign .. in 5v5 play, Bonino set new career-highs with 17 assists and 31 points .. 5v5 Corsi For of 51.3% last season was another personal best .. Vancouver had a 49.1% CF when he was off the ice, making 2014-15 his first campaign with a positive relative Corsi .. ranked second on Vancouver in total faceoffs (1,245) and won 47.4% of them .. only Drew Miller and Ryan Getzlaf blocked more shots than Bonino (90) among forwards .. at his best offensively when playing with Alexandre Burrows (15 5v5 points over 294:25 minutes of ice time), but Burrows is more likely to play with the Sedins in 2015-16 .. Bonino can’t reasonably be expected to be the second coming of Kesler, but he should continue to chip in with Vancouver in a lot of different ways.
13-14 Report:.. Enters a hockey obsessed market as the key return (along with Luc Sbisa and a 2nd round pick) for Ryan Kesler - arriving with expectations that may be difficult to meet .. 26-year old came out of Boston University and has less than 200 NHL games experience .. enjoyed his most productive season to date topping twenty goals for the first time (22) finishing third on the Ducks with 49 points and second in powerplay points (7-13-20) - a total that would have led the 26th ranked Vancouver unit .. played on both special teams, averaged 2:58 a game on the first unit power play as part of a four-forward group, while skating 1:41 shorthanded .. proved that he’s a capable ‘jack-of-all-trades’ playing with a host of different linemates - switching between the wing and the middle .. offensive gains came while playing sheltered minutes for the Ducks against weak competition in only 11:40 at even strength - only achieving middle of the road possession numbers (49.8% CF) .. projected as a second-line center it will be a very different assignment if the Sedins return to taking the bulk of offensive zone starts .. how he is able to handle a much more substantial role against tougher competition will define his season .. a left-handed shot will not necessarily mesh with the Sedins and might relegate him to the second powerplay unit .. it is possible they use him as a fourth forward with jumpstarting the man advantage a priority – monitor training camp for developments .. beginning a 3-year, $5.7 million contract representing a cap bargain if he comes close to achieving last year’s numbers .. expect a regression.
2011-12 Report .. Given an opportunity when Bruce Boudreau took over as coach - and proceeded to carve out a niche in Anaheim's lineup .. earned the first of three call-ups in late October, only to suffer a knee injury in his NHL season debut and miss five games .. former San Jose sixth-rounder won a national championship with Boston University as a sophomore in `08-9 .. promoted for good in mid-December - and started to warm into the third-line center spot over the final month.