Zach Werenski

Finesse
Workhorse
Playmaker

Points, 2026–27: 6; 0 G, 6 A in 7 GP
Individual xG: 1.1; 0 goals from it
Ice time per game: 29:22; 16 shots on goal
xGF% at 5v5: 50.6; share of chances while he's on

Zach Werenski has 0 goals and 6 assists (6 points) in 7 games for the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2026–27, with 16 shots on goal and 29:22 of ice time a game. His Grit & GF rating for 2026–27 is 54.8 out of 100, provisional until he has 15 to 20 games.

7 games in. The methodology requires 15 to 20 games to be accurate, so this season's rating still leans on the league average for his position and will move.

GRIT & GF

Rated above 87% of defencemen

Goals above average: +0.7
Wins: +0.12

Where the rating comes from

Weight × score in standard deviations. They sum to +0.03, which the normal curve turns into the rating.

Your weights

Under these weights he ranks above 87% of 223 rated players

The default weights are our call. Set your own; they get rescaled to add up to 100%.

Physicality38%GF38%Intimidation11%Chemistry13%Clutch0%

Chemistry

+1.15 SD · 93th percentile · weight 13% · +0.5 goals

How much his linemates' attack improves with him, measured teammate by teammate (with or without you), at 5-on-5.

Linemates' xGF liftper 60Teammates' expected goals per 60 with him minus without him, weighted by shared time.0.2193th pct
Shared minutes measuredminutesHow much evidence the chemistry number rests on.5358th pct

Percentiles are against 223 rated defencemen in 2026-27, on 152 minutes of his 5-on-5 time. Hits, blocks and takeaways count toward the rating and are worth zero goals until a study shows otherwise. Model grit-0.5.

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<a href="https://www.gritandgf.com/players/8478460"><img src="https://www.gritandgf.com/grit/card/8478460.png" alt="Zach Werenski's Grit &amp; GF card (Grit &amp; GF)" width="600" height="315" style="max-width:100%;height:auto"></a>

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Game notes

Written the morning after from the night's stats, for games where he did something worth a sentence.

vs PIT
Friday, October 9
Volume
Zach Werenski had 9 shot attempts. Four reached the net and none went in. His average this season was 4.0. The Blue Jackets beat the Penguins 3-2 in a shootout.
vs BOS
Sunday, April 12
Volume
Zach Werenski had 8 shots on goal. He came in averaging 3.4 shots on goal a game. The Blue Jackets fell 3-2 to the Bruins.
at MTL
Saturday, April 11
Volume
Zach Werenski had 12 shot attempts. Four reached the net and none went in. He came in averaging 7.8 attempts a game. The Blue Jackets beat the Canadiens 5-2.
at BUF
Thursday, April 9
Volume
Zach Werenski had 12 shot attempts, more than any other skater that night. Five got through to the goalie, and none went in. He came in averaging 7.7 attempts a game. The Blue Jackets fell 5-0 to the Sabres.
at DET
Tuesday, April 7
Volume
Zach Werenski had 15 shot attempts, more than any other skater that night. Six reached the net and one went in. His average this season was 7.6. He played 33:26, about 7 minutes over his average. The Blue Jackets beat the Red Wings 4-3 in a shootout.
vs SEA
Saturday, March 21
Big night
Zach Werenski had three points, three assists. He has 75 points in 62 games this season. He played 24:07 and had four shots on goal. It finished 5-2 for the Blue Jackets.
vs NYR
Thursday, March 19
Big night
Three points for Zach Werenski: three assists. He has 72 points in 61 games this season. He played 24:09 and had five shots on goal. It finished 6-3 for the Blue Jackets.
vs UTA
Saturday, March 7
Volume
Zach Werenski had 13 shot attempts, more than any other skater that night. Two reached the net and none went in. His average this season was 7.8. The Blue Jackets fell 5-4 to the Mammoth in overtime.

Player card

Percentile among 194 defencemen with enough games this season. 50 is the median.

Scoring

Ice time per game29:22
100
Points per 601.75
87
Goals per 600.00
30
Individual xG per 600.31
72
Shots per 604.7
73

5-on-5 play

xG for per 60, on ice2.68
61
xG against per 60, on ice2.61
39
xGF%50.6%
51

Physical

Hits per 600.6
11
Blocks per 605.8
74
Penalty minutes per 600.0
93

Skating and shooting

NHL EDGE puck and player tracking, 2026–27. Percentiles are the league's, against all skaters.

Skating

Top speed22.2 mph
94
Bursts over 20 mph9
82
Distance skated30 mi
90

Shooting

Hardest shot89.0 mph
71
Shots on goal16
89
Shooting %0.0%
41

Zone time

Offensive zone time42.7%
64
Offensive zone time, even strength42.1%
53

Who he plays with

His most-used defence partners at 5-on-5 this season, with what happened while they were out together.

Partner	Games	TOI	Shot attempts	xG	Goals	xG share
Damon Severson	5	86:33	82–92	3.9–4.5	5–1	46%
Denton Mateychuk	7	42:45	39–34	1.8–1.5	2–1	54%
Erik Gudbranson	7	10:19	10–8	0.9–0.1	1–0	88%
Emil Andrae	4	6:25	2–13	0.1–0.4	1–0	24%
Carson Soucy	6	3:32	2–2	0.2–0.0	0–0	95%

Where he shoots from

His unblocked shots this season, attacking right. 0 goals from 25 attempts.

GoalShot or miss

Last 20 games

Columns are his individual expected goals, the quality of his own chances. Dots are goals he scored.

ixGGoal

0.000.501.00

03-2210-18

By season

Season	GP	G	A	P	SOG	ixG	TOI/GP	Hits	Blk	xGF% 5v5
2026–27	7	0	6	6	16	1.1	29:22	2	20	50.6
2025–26	75	22	59	81	260	17.2	26:37	30	95	55.4
2024–25	81	23	59	82	298	20.9	26:45	19	134	53.1
2023–24	70	11	46	57	202	12.7	24:27	23	131	47.3

Last 20 games

Date	TOI	G	A	SOG	ixG	Hits	Blk	PIM
2026-10-18	28:43	0	1	3	0.09	0	1	0
2026-10-17	32:18	0	1	1	0.09	2	4	0
2026-10-13	26:16	0	0	3	0.08	0	3	0
2026-10-10	28:13	0	1	1	0.05	0	3	0
2026-10-09	29:36	0	1	4	0.56	0	3	0
2026-10-03	31:43	0	0	1	0.04	0	5	0
2026-10-01	28:46	0	2	3	0.15	0	1	0
2026-04-14	25:59	0	0	3	0.21	0	2	0
2026-04-12	30:27	0	0	8	0.19	0	0	0
2026-04-11	25:42	0	1	4	0.18	0	1	2
2026-04-09	28:46	0	0	5	0.26	0	0	0
2026-04-07	33:26	1	1	6	0.27	0	5	0
2026-04-04	27:27	0	0	0	0.12	0	3	0
2026-04-02	22:12	0	0	0	0.14	1	1	0
2026-03-31	27:29	0	1	3	0.21	1	1	0
2026-03-29	30:11	0	0	2	0.11	0	2	0
2026-03-28	30:51	0	0	3	0.10	0	0	0
2026-03-26	27:21	0	0	1	0.13	0	1	2
2026-03-24	24:27	1	1	3	0.99	0	0	0
2026-03-22	29:01	0	0	3	0.12	0	0	0