Quote:
Originally Posted by fotze
It is infinitely more valuable, especially when every one of us has seen the stats, that is the datum, to project based on them adds no value.
Seeing a player play any game vs stats alone is so laughably more valid its not funny. Not one team employs a stats only scout, due to their uselessness. I would bet that they don't even exist.
I would take a poster I have never heard of views of watching a player 10 times out of 10 over a poster I completely respect who is looking at their hockeydb page.
Or maybe I am missing what you are arguing, because that makes no sense...  |
This seems logical, but humans are inherently biased. Some fan going to watch MacKinnon/Druoin play is more likely to look for things to confirm their opinion than reevaluate everything they think about the player. It's the same with any prospect that gets a cup of coffee in the NHL - everyone who thinks he has potential remembers all the good plays they made and everyone who thinks they are going nowhere remembers all the bad turnovers.
And let's not compare watching a few junior games to scouting. It's basically impossible to watch hockey to enjoy it and scout accurately at the same time. Scouting isn't just watching some QMJHL game and reporting all the good things MacKinnon/Druoin did. It involves watching each guy basically every second of every shift and seeing what he does away from the puck. There's not a lot of random fans out there attending games and watching a handful of players like this.