Quote:
Originally Posted by Enoch Root
the tracker can tell you where on the ice the player is, but it can't determine the quality of the shot that he did or didn't take.
Baseball is static. The pitcher throws a pitch from the same spot every time, when he's ready. The batter will or will not swing.
In hockey, every single shot/play is different, and there is more or less available time to pull it off. They are also shooting with a stick, so there is the added variable of where on the blade the puck was, was it on edge, etc.
Baseball is highly conducive to statistical analysis, because every play is static, measurable, and repeated. Hockey is the complete opposite.
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It makes it more challenging, not impossible. It seems a bit defeatist to throw our hands up and say hockey is chaotic, which I don't think it is - it's possible to read and anticipate the play.
The release point of a pitch is a variable as is the type of pitch, the count, the score, base/out situation, the park. Swings can vary, stances can vary depending on the count. Where on the bat the ball is hit is a variable. It does lend itself well to statistical analysis as instead of calling it static, I'd call it a series of trials. It's the only sport where you can't waste time to win a game you're leading. You have no choice but to try to get the other team out.
I wish the NHL would release the positioning data as it could lend to interesting projects about optimizing defensive structure. If the data is recorded often enough, you can use the dx/dt and dy/dt to calculate velocity as well (not simply speed) which I suspect is at least somewhat illustrative and predictive of goal creation and prevention.