This is interesting stuff from today’s morning skate:
Some really interesting stuff from Jeff Blashill this morning on the Red Wings’ use of analytics. A couple of nuggets: They use the NHL tracking data and Coaching Insights App, plus a third party. They still track scoring chances subjectively. (1)— Nick Cotsonika (@cotsonika) October 19, 2021
What is the Red Wings’ subjective criteria for a scoring chance? Shot location is part of it. So is the distance the goalie had to travel to make the save. “The more the goalie has to move, the greater the likelihood of the puck going in.”— Nick Cotsonika (@cotsonika) October 19, 2021
What is the Red Wings’ subjective criteria for a scoring chance? Shot location is part of it. So is the distance the goalie had to travel to make the save. “The more the goalie has to move, the greater the likelihood of the puck going in.”— Nick Cotsonika (@cotsonika) October 19, 2021
The Red Wings look beyond shots on goal and shot attempts. They look at Grade A scoring chances and zone time, in terms of actual game time elapsed. Again, they use NHL tracking data plus a third party.— Nick Cotsonika (@cotsonika) October 19, 2021
Blashill, on defining scoring chances and tracking them objectively: “We’ve written algorithms that take a lot of those factors into play. This will all get improved greatly as we are able to really harness the puck tracking and the player tracking.”— Nick Cotsonika (@cotsonika) October 19, 2021
The analytics stuff starts at about 8:15 —> Detroit Red Wings Morning Skate | Jeff Blashill – 10/19 https://t.co/F9oHEEMmGj via @YouTube— Nick Cotsonika (@cotsonika) October 19, 2021
Update:
I should point out that when a coach talks about something like analytics, it usually doesn’t mean the concepts are new to him or us. It does give us a welcome peek into what actually goes on behind the scenes, which teams usually won’t do for competitive reasons. (1)— Nick Cotsonika (@cotsonika) October 19, 2021
Everyone is looking for an edge and trying to protect that edge. Even something as simple as how a team defines and tracks Grade A scoring chances can be considered proprietary. That’s why I appreciate it when a coach shares at least some of it, so we can learn or confirm. (2)— Nick Cotsonika (@cotsonika) October 19, 2021
There is a difference between knowledge and wisdom. There is a lot of data, and more is becoming available. But what do you draw from it? And how do you apply your insight? That’s the key. It would be fascinating to know what different teams actually do with the same data. (3)— Nick Cotsonika (@cotsonika) October 19, 2021
