Point is a top-10 goalscorer, incredibly fast, has elite edges, and is strong on the puck. He doesn’t get the credit he deserves.
Suppose you were asked to name a player on the Tampa Bay Lightning. In that case, I have a feeling Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman, Andrei Vasilevskiy, or even former captain and current Predator Steven Stamkos might still come to mind. Rarely would people name Brayden Point. But they should. An elite scorer, Point was drafted by the Lightening in the 3rd round (79th overall) in the 2014 draft.
Indeed, #21 is one of the most, if not the most, underrated players in hockey today.
Last season, when Stamkos was still on the Lightning, Point led the team and goals and was second in scoring only behind Kucherov. Point scored 46 goals during the 23-24 campaign, beating out other league superstars such as Mikko Rantanen, Leon Draisaitl, and Kyle Conner. Two years ago, Point scored 51 goals and was 5th in goal scoring but received very little coverage; on top of that, out of those 51 goals, only 1 was an empty net goal. Plus, out of those 50 remaining goals, 20 came on the powerplay, which leaves him with 30 even-strength goals.
Let’s compare this to Leon Draisaitl, who scored 52 goals that season and is today’s current goal leader. Draisaitl had 52 goals, but 33 were not at even strength, leaving Drat with only 19 5v5 goals. Looking at a different facet of his game, Point is quite the speedster. During the 23-24 season, Brayden Point reached a top speed of 24.15 mph, which was fourth in the league behind Owen Tippett, Luke Hughes, and Connor McDavid, beating the likes of Mat Barzel and Nate MacKinnon. Speaking of Mac and Mc, they were first and second in 20-mile-an-hour speed bursts, and Point was third.
Also, unlike players like Mitch Marner and Artemi Panarin, Point did not perform any disappearing acts in the playoffs. Even though he doesn’t have a Conn Smythe Trophy, he was a big part of the Lightning’s two cup runs, putting in more goals than anyone else on the team and producing the second-highest point totals behind Kucherov. As of March 12, Point leads the Lightning with 32 goals and is third in points with 65.
Point is perhaps the best definition of big coming in small packages; he is always willing to stand up for his teammates and plays in the ever-demanding bumper slot at 5’11 175. You don’t see Connor Bedard doing that, and 6’3 230 lbs Chris Kreider has some on-and-off injury to playing in the bumper.
Brayden Point does not get enough credit for all that he does. He’s a top-10 goalscorer who’s incredibly fast, has elite edges, and is strong on the puck. Brayden Point should be recognized as a cornerstone of the Lightning franchise.
