FOREWARD: Below is the article that ran in the Toronto Star this week. But I wanted to add just a little more discussion that wasn't included due to space limitations, but which I think it important to properly analyze the issue raised. First, although the article mentioned this, it's worth highlighting that Crosby and Malkin played […]
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Momentum Matters
By IJay Palansky and Phil Curry In sixteen NHL cities that aren’t Toronto, much of the talk over the past few weeks has been about the “momentum” each team carries into the playoffs. During lulls in the game when color commentators are desperate for something passably intelligent to say, they trot out the good ol’ […]
Nonis' Clarkson Catastrophe
July 5, 2013: The Toronto Maple Leafs sign David Clarkson to a 7 year, $36,750,000 contract. November 2013: Dave Nonis comments that “people run with these [advanced hockey] stats like they’re something we should pay attention to and make decisions on, and as of right now, very few of them are worth anything to us.” […]
Hockey analytics: Defencemen give Canada oh-so-slight advantage in Olympic semifinal
When two men’s hockey teams are as closely matched as Canada and the U.S., the difference between skating for gold and playing in the loser’s bracket can come down to which one shuts down the other’s biggest weapons. So the Department of Hockey Analytics set out to identify and analyze the Canada-U.S. semifinal’s critical matchups. We wanted […]
Did The U.S. Pick Their Best, Best Men’s Olympic Hockey Team?
By IJay Palansky and Phil Curry The Olympics are just around the corner and there’s no shortage of prognosticating and second guessing. Pundits have argued ad nauseam. What’s the magic formula? Experience? Speed? Heart? Size? Defense? Team chemistry? Ability to play on the larger international ice? I’m not going to talk about any of […]
Alex Ovechkin's "Statistical Dominance" In The NHL? Hardly
Alex Ovechkin scored his 400th career goal on December 19. NHL.com ran a story proclaiming his “statistical dominance.” My not-very-sensitive gag reflex was triggered. Don’t get me wrong, Alex Ovechkin is fantastic to watch and he’s exceptionally good at what he does. Unfortunately, he only does one thing: score goals. Now, one might reasonably, yet […]
Welcome!
Welcome to the Department of Hockey Analytics By IJay Palansky The Department of Hockey Analytics, or “The Department,” as we affectionately refer to it, has a simple mission: to use advanced statistics and our unique experience to develop innovative approaches to better understand the game of hockey. This is our first blog, but we’ve been […]