JR Avon’s game holds steady

Jon-Randall Avon wrapped up his second season of professional hockey in the spring, and it was an up and down affair, on the whole. Coming into his rookie season with some promise after a solid OHL career and a contract signed with the Flyers as a free agent after going undrafted in 2021, the adjustment to professional hockey proved to be a steep one. And while he brought some flashes of truly dynamic skill with him along with a big of experience into his second season, many of his struggles remained the same, and the completely sure footing on the Phantoms continued to allude him, this past season.

Games played Goals Assists Points PIM Shots on goal Shooting percentage 60 7 10 17 11 93 7.5

It was something of a modest season from Avon, in terms of offensive output. He played five fewer games than in his first season, and only managed to score one fewer point (putting his overall production pace average out more or less equally), and this time around, the output was a little more balanced -- after last season scoring as many goals as he did assists, this season saw his goal scoring cool off a touch while his playmaking came alive more. And some of this scoring stagnation came down to pure luck, as he was shooting even a bit more this season, but his shooting percentage dipped nearly two and a half percent. Now, his rookie season average was 9.8 percent, which wasn\'t exactly sky high, so there\'s room for optimism that his production next season will improve on its own as he regresses upwards back towards the mean, but we also hope to see him taking a step forward beyond where luck would carry him in his third season in the league.

Games Tracked Corsi-For % Scoring Chances-For % High Danger Chances-For % Primary Shot Assists Secondary Shot Assists 18 46.18 54.81 56.34 13 1

His underlying impacts carry the same sort of tone, that of being reasonably solid but not wholly spectacular. The Phantoms were generally getting outshot generally when Avon was on the ice, but they were comfortably getting the edge in quality offense when he was out there, suggesting that his line was generally doing well to keep their opponents to the outside on their chances, while he also put in some good work to drive more dangerous chances for his side. And this matches, generally, what the eye would tell us -- that Avon seems to love a rush towards the net, as well as a nifty little setup to the netfront from below the goal line, and while the overall conversion rate on those chances might not be sky-high, along with the high percentage of primary shot assists he\'s contributing, it\'s still a good bit of work put in to support the team\'s push for high-danger scoring chances, for good offense.

Three Questions

Did he live up to expectations?

Avon came into this season, while not with the biggest amount of hype, with some optimism following him that the flashes he showed in his rookie season with the Phantoms could be built into a more commanding impact on the game as he continues to find his footing in the league. And while he still did manage to bring some notable flash in the games he got in for this season, just as often it felt like he was having games where he was sort of disappearing, struggling to make that next step forward in his game, overall.

There remains a lot to like about Avon\'s game -- his speed is a huge asset to the team, he has underrated soft hands around the net, and he\'s a legitimate threat to score in shootouts (somewhere the team hasn\'t had heaps of success up to this point) -- but we\'re still waiting for things to click for him in a more meaningful way, for the intriguing pieces of his game to come together on a more consistent basis.

What would we like to see him improve on next season?

Avon, for all the potentially high-end skill he brings, still has a little bit of junior hockey brain that he hasn\'t quite been able to shed yet. That is, there\'s still this instinct in him to try to be the one to do everything on his line, to carry the puck through the neutral zone, through traffic at the blue line and just inside it, and break to the net for a scoring chance. And while that net focus is certainly admirable, and valuable in the right moments, it isn\'t always the smartest play, and often this past season we saw a promising looking play for him negated when he got stood up at the blue line and turned the puck over because he refused to chip it into the corner and go get it. Avon has the raw speed to win a good number of those battles, but whether it\'s that he needs to build up some strength to feel more confident flying into those physical battles on the wall or a redefined mental approach, his promising offensive game has been limited up to this point by this struggle to pick his spots most efficiently. It\'s all amounted to a lack of consistency, and that\'s something that will need to come together if he wants to carve out a more defined role for himself at this level.

What can we expect from him next season?

This season is going to be a big one for Avon. That struggle to find consistency left him as one of the players most often rotated in and out of the lineup, and while having a new head coach at the helm will offer him something of a clean slate to work towards grabbing a more permanent lineup spot, it\'s going to be an even greater challenge as even more young prospects are added into the mix this season. Those top minutes are going to be especially difficult to come by, and there\'s a risk that Avon could find himself once again stuck in a platoon or shuffled down in the lineup if he doesn\'t begin to take off soon. The potential in his game hasn\'t changed, but with a crowded forward group heading into this season (and this being the last year of his contract), Avon needs to step up and really begin to build in the right direction, now that he has two years of professional experience in the back pocket.

Talking Points