Regular season

Zach Metsa

Buffalo Sabres · D · #73

Depth DDepth Defenseman?6 points and 31 blocks in 43 games in a supporting role

HT: 5'9"
WT: 198 lb
Age: 27
Shoots: R
From: Delafield, USA

54Alpha?

Alpha sub-scores

what drives the rating · percentile vs position group

3131pctl

1717pctl

1919pctl

2929pctl

League profile

vs. defensemen with 20+ GP

0.1413pctl

0.0542pctl

0.0910pctl

0.64pctl

+1687pctl

027pctl

HockeyAlpha advanced

event-derived proxies · 1,312 games analyzed

0.9%3pctl

0.598pctl

0.016pctl

Def Suppression?

0.069pctl

Defenseman toolkit

vs. defensemen with 20+ GP

0.723pctl

3.9445pctl

Blocks / 100 shifts?

5.343pctl

0.64pctl

0.1817pctl

0:0223pctl

0:1912pctl

On-ice impact

shift charts × our xG model · 28 GP tracked · 6h TOI

On-ice xG share (5v5)?

48.2%37pctl

On-ice goal share (5v5)?

71.4%99pctl

O-zone deployment?

44%26pctl

Usage profile

assignment difficulty · higher fill = tougher job

Competition faced?

16.8 min12pctl

Support received?

16.4 min82pctl

D-zone deployment?

56%74pctl

Micro-metrics

Structural Metric Model · sequences, geometry & leverage from every shot

Cross-slot shots / GP?

0.004pctl

Net-front presence / GP?

0.061pctl

Second-chance touches / GP?

0.106pctl

Cross-slot suppressed?

0.20/gm61pctl

Pressure escape rate?

7.8%50pctl

2025-26 regular season · Percentile beams: fill = league percentile, tick = league median · hockeyalpha.com

The Blueprint

Structural Event Engine · percentile vs defensemen · center = median · 457 EV min

General Offense

2.8933

1.8419

Shot Setups/60?

0.5327

Chance Setups/60?

0.3926

Primary Contributions/60?

3.4230

Rebounds Created/60?

0.1324

Playmaking Sequences

Point Shot Setups/60?

0.0035

Center-Lane Setups/60?

0.1321

High-Danger Setups/60?

0.1345

Deflection Setups/60?

0.1379

One-Timer Setups/60?

0.1361

Offense Types

Cycle Offense/60?

1.7154

Rush Offense/60?

4.2024

Shots off HD Setups/60?

0.3965

0.1332

0.0030

Deflections/60?

0.0028

Zone Entries

Entries Started/60?

0.0035

Entries Finished/60?

0.1327

Entries w/ Chance/60?

0.0024

DZ Retrievals / Exits

DZ Involvements/60?

2.7652

0.1319

2.6367

Retrieval Success %?

5%19

Exit Involvements/60?

0.0040

Exit Success %?

0%40

Forechecking

0.5363

Dump-In Recoveries/60?

0.0049

Derived from event sequences in public play-by-play data - the ? on each metric explains exactly how it's computed. · hockeyalpha.com

Contract & market

Contract value?

beta · cap data: CapWages

$0.78M

cap hit

$1.04M

Alpha-market value

overpaidmarketsurplus

C

Fair market deal (+$0.3M)

Top comparables?

nearest profiles at the same role · match = statistical fit

Player	Alpha	Archetype	Production	Cap hit	Market	Value	Match
Zach Metsa	54	Depth Defenseman	6 P · 43 GP	$0.78M	$1.04M	C+$0.3M	this player
Matthew Kessel	57	Depth Defenseman	3 P · 29 GP	$0.80M	$1.51M	C+$0.7M	88%
David Jiricek	52	Depth Defenseman	0 P · 26 GP	$0.92M	$0.86M	C−$0.1M	87%
Jacob Bryson	57	Depth Defenseman	8 P · 50 GP	$0.90M	$1.51M	C+$0.6M	87%
Michael Kesselring	57	Depth Defenseman	2 P · 34 GP	$1.40M	$1.51M	C+$0.1M	86%

Chemistry

Finishes from

assisters on Zach’s goals

Creates for

goals Zach assisted on

From official goal credits - scorer + assists on every goal, all season.

Recent form · last 10 games

2 pts · 0 G · 2 A · 6 shots in last 10Cooling off(-0.4 P/GP vs prior 5)

vs TOR

0P

0G 0A

vs TOR 03-14

0G 0A · 1 shots · 15:32 TOI

@ VGK

0P

0G 0A

@ VGK 03-17

0G 0A · 2 shots · 11:53 TOI

@ SJS

1P

0G 1A

@ SJS 03-19

0G 1A · 0 shots · 15:48 TOI

@ LAK

1P

0G 1A

@ LAK 03-21

0G 1A · 1 shots · 13:59 TOI

@ ANA

0P

0G 0A

@ ANA 03-22

0G 0A · 0 shots · 12:13 TOI

vs NYI

0P

0G 0A

vs NYI 03-31

0G 0A · 1 shots · 14:04 TOI

@ OTT

0P

0G 0A

@ OTT 04-02

0G 0A · 1 shots · 16:04 TOI

@ WSH

0P

0G 0A

@ WSH 04-04

0G 0A · 0 shots · 15:15 TOI

vs CBJ

0P

0G 0A

vs CBJ 04-09

0G 0A · 0 shots · 19:26 TOI

vs DAL

0P

0G 0A

vs DAL 04-15

0G 0A · 0 shots · 14:43 TOI

Tile tint = points that night · underline = shot volume (full bar = 8+ shots) · oldest on the left

The Territory

attacking → · every recorded touch, normalized to one end

Goal On goal Missed/blocked▲ takeaway▽ giveaway■ hit＋ block◯ faceoff dot (size = wins)92 events shown

The office: the inner slot - 1 of 2 goals live there

Defensive floor: 31 blocks · 1 steals inside the d-zone

NHL career · regular season

Season	Team	GP	G	A	P	+/−
2025-26	Buffalo Sabres	43	2	4	6	16
Career	1 team	43	2	4	6	16