Month: July 2019

Why Possession is the Key to Zone Exits

Alex Novet coaching, Data Analysis, League Wide Report, NHL League-Wide Analysis, Transition Project Leave a comment

If there’s anything you know from neutral zone analytics, it’s probably this: carry-in zone entries are better than dump-ins. In the linked piece, Eric Tulsky finds that “maintaining possession of the puck at the blue line (carrying or passing the puck across the line) means a team will generate more than twice as much offense as playing dump and chase”.

But what about zone exits? Is possession equally important there? Work by Jen Lute Costello suggests that it is, but her data was limited to one playoff series. Today, I’ll expand on her work to show that maintaining possession is crucial for successful zone exits, and breakouts should be structured with this in mind.

Continue reading →

Introduction to the Transition Project

Alex Novet coaching, Data Analysis, Neutral Zone Analysis, NHL League-Wide Analysis, Transition Project Leave a comment

This is one of my favorite plays:

https://twitter.com/hayyyshayyy/status/927700050813374465?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Almost every team is coached to make their opponent fight for every inch. Skjei’s end-to-end rush cuts through those defenses and leaves his team in a much better position than when he started.

But just how much better off did he leave them? How does that compare to alternative outcomes? And which players are the best at making these plays? We have unanswered questions about transitional play. We’d like to study them in more detail, but the gif above doesn’t appear anywhere in the league’s play-by-play data to help conduct analysis.

Continue reading →

Evaluating Nordic Drafting – A Potential Market Inefficiency

prashiyer97 Uncategorized 2 Comments

Over the last decade, teams have taken significant steps to improve their NHL entry draft approach. To do this, a number of teams have bolstered their analytics staff to identify the current “gaps” in prospect scouting. Whether it’s the Detroit Red Wings being the first team to dive head first into drafting Russian players, and then later Swedish players, or the Tampa Bay Lightning prioritizing small, skilled forwards, teams are looking for any available edge. More recently, the Pittsburgh Penguins have put a premium on overage players, as Namita Nandakumar found that overage players make the NHL faster. What’s the next big market inefficiency?

Continue reading →