Saad evolving into powerful playmaker

Listening to 24-year-old Brandon Saad, you'd think producing offense at an elite rate is second nature for him.
But then again, he makes a lot of things seem easy. The Pittsburgh native led the Blue Jackets in goals (31) and points (53) last season in his first year with the team.
Through 25 games this season, Saad leads the Blue Jackets in primary points (6-8-14), points per 60 minutes of play (3.21), and individual shot attempts (107) at 5-on-5 play, according to Corsica.hockey. He's also tied for second in 5-on-5 goals (6) and fourth in overall points (21).

But just how good is Brandon Saad? His teammates will readily tell you.
"He's powerful and very skilled with the puck," Seth Jones said. "He shoots the puck extremely well, he has a very quick release. And his speed is one of his biggest strengths. He uses it so well. It's more of his acceleration, his quickness. He gets up to his top speed so quick."
And it's not just what Saad does as an individual that makes him so impressive.
"I've enjoyed playing with Brandon. He's so dynamic," captain Nick Foligno said. "You can see it - every game he seems to get better in all aspects of the game and it just makes him that much more dangerous of a hockey player and that much more fun to play with."
Among all Blue Jackets players, Saad is the team leader in percentage of on-ice shot attempts for (56.75). That means that when Saad is on the ice, the Blue Jackets are responsible 56.75% of all shots being attempted by both teams.
The chart below from Sean Tierney shows how this compares to other Columbus forwards. The x-axis measures shot attempts for per 60 minutes of time on ice, with the number increasing from left to right. The y-axis measures shot attempts against per 60 minutes of time on ice, with the number increasing top to bottom. The higher on the y-axis, and the further to the right a player is, the better.
No Blue Jackets forward is producing as many shots for per 60 minutes of play as Saad (63.90), while limiting shots against per 60 (48.73).

We can see the impact of Saad's play driving more shots for than against on a game-by-game level, as well.
The below graphic (also from Tierney), shows the game-by-game differential between shot attempts for Columbus and shot attempts against Columbus when Saad is on the ice.
Every Columbus logo represents a game; the dark horizontal hash line represents a differential of zero. A logo sitting above the black line means the player helped to generate more shots for than against the Blue Jackets.
Accordingly, more times with a logo above the black line means a player is regularly helping his team win the shot battle. We can see it's a rare exception when Saad's production dipped below the break-even line, and he typically finished a game with a positive shot differential rather than a negative.

But shot attempts are one thing. You can take a lot of shots, but can you make them count and turn into goals?
Saad can.
Using a calculation called expected goals for (xG), we can evaluate not just shot volume but also the probability that any one shot will result in a goal. The xG methodology developed by Dawson Sprigings balances a variety of factors including shooter identity, type of shot, score situation, shot distance and angle to calculate the number of expected goals for a player.
The chart below represents how Blue Jackets forwards stack up when it comes to xG; here, ixG means "individual expected goals for," and higher is better.

Saad's 6.78 ixGF isn't just good enough for the lead on the Blue Jackets' roster; it's sixth-best in the entire NHL.
How do you defend against that?
"You have to respect his speed," Jones said. "Great players are going to find a way and he can do that. He's always done that since he entered the league. He's going to take what you give him that's what great players do. You have to do your best to just contain him."
The challenge for Saad is to continue his evolution, to morph from a great individual talent into a hockey player who can help more junior teammates around him in Columbus. By all accounts, Saad likes to lead by example.
"I think he's learning the other side of the game now where it's about work ethic and he's understanding he's a go-to guy now and that's the biggest thing that's switched from (his time in) Chicago to here," Foligno said. "He's gotten that responsibility and he's understood it now and he's running with it."
All data current through Dec 9, 2016. All visuals via Sean Tierney (@Chartinghockey). Data via Corsica.hockey and Dawson Sprigings as noted.