[News] NHL testing new player tracking technology

[sureLoss]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sport...ticle18595761/

Until now: As the NHL playoffs move toward the Stanley Cup finals, change is coming off the ice. The National Hockey League plans next fall to test new technology to track players in action and produce a vast new array of information – a boon to teams seeking competitive advantage and astute fans placing bar bets.

A league-wide system could be in place for the start of the 2015-16 season, according to John Collins, NHL chief operating officer.

Mr. Collins sees more than raw numbers. The figures can paint detailed pictures of the game and its players that can help the NHL market its product, complementing efforts such as the league’s reality show this season, NHL Revealed. “It’s about telling stories,” Mr. Collins said in an interview.

Hockey has slid gradually into the age of advanced analysis. About half of NHL teams gather and analyze a range of more sophisticated information on their players and opponents, such as a particular skater’s favourite scoring spot on the ice.

Such efforts are soon to become the norm. The NHL first has to decide which technologies to test, with Sportvision and SportVU, both Chicago-based, the leading contenders. The league aims to test one or more systems, starting this fall, with five to eight teams. One goal would be to integrate all the information with the league’s broadcasters.

[Poe969]

Maybe this will help the rest of the league see how great Backlund and Brodie really are!

[sureLoss]

the tracking technology explained:



http://deadspin.com/player-tracking-...ium=socialflow

Fortunately, it seems as if the league is finally trying to change that. It was reported over the weekend that the NHL is looking at using the kind of player-tracking technology already long-since put into use by the NBA as a means of pulling so much more data out of the game than before, and filling in all those little gaps between shot attempts. It could be in place for the start of the 2015-16 season.

[Street Pharmacist]

Great article

[getbak]

Now something like that might actually lead to true "advanced" stats.

[Jacks]

I'd like to see the stats on how often Ovi enters his own zone with any speed.

[bc-chris]

i wonder if burke's ready to pay cash for this info??

also... i think it would be pretty funny to see ovechkin's 'tracking' when he doesn't have the puck!

[19Yzerman19]

Originally Posted by getbak

Now something like that might actually lead to true "advanced" stats.

Really it'll just save some work and smooth out the lines a bit. People have actually tried using a stopwatch to calculate puck possession (i.e., in X team's possesion for 20 ES minutes, in Y's possession for 22 ES minutes) and the correlation to fenwick is striking.

[Ashartus]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

the tracking technology explained:



http://deadspin.com/player-tracking-...ium=socialflow

That looks a lot like those diagrams Howie Meeker used to do in the 1970's...

[FakenHaken]

Originally Posted by Ashartus

That looks a lot like those diagrams Howie Meeker used to do in the 1970's...

Now STOP IT RIGHT THERE.....He he kids that's how you back check right there.

[RW99]

Ha, mentions glowing puck technology at the end. I'm still waiting for the technology to accurately determine when a puck crosses the line

[Nehkara]

Originally Posted by RW99

Ha, mentions glowing puck technology at the end. I'm still waiting for the technology to accurately determine when a puck crosses the line

Honestly I completely agree. Whichever technology they adopt, needs to come part and parcel with the ability to track the puck and definitively tell if it is over the goal line.

[Locke]

Player tracking? Evander Kane is not going to like this...not one bit...

[TheDebaser]

Very exciting stuff for the advanced stats crowd. Player tracking is where the real meat of the data is.

[troutman]

Is this like soccer where they tell you how many kms a player ran in the game?

[PeteMoss]

Originally Posted by 19Yzerman19

Really it'll just save some work and smooth out the lines a bit. People have actually tried using a stopwatch to calculate puck possession (i.e., in X team's possesion for 20 ES minutes, in Y's possession for 22 ES minutes) and the correlation to fenwick is striking.

I think the main concern is that puck possession isn't tremendously advanced to begin with. It may not have been expressed in numbers - but 'the goalie stole that game' has been used forever in hockey analysis.

What I and I think most people want from their advanced stats is something actionable that can actually help a team. Possess the puck more isn't advanced.. the question of how to do it is (i.e. player combinations, when to dump vs carry - which has been looked at a basic level, which players are better at carrying it in, etc).

[the_only_turek_fan]

Not to sound like a complete idiot, but when people talk about advances stats, what are they looking at?

It seems pretty easy for baseball, but what are they actually tracking in hockey?

[PeteMoss]

Originally Posted by the_only_turek_fan

Not to sound like a complete idiot, but when people talk about advances stats, what are they looking at?

It seems pretty easy for baseball, but what are they actually tracking in hockey?

Shots on net by situation (PP/ES/PK and score) mainly.

[northcrunk]

Originally Posted by the_only_turek_fan

Not to sound like a complete idiot, but when people talk about advances stats, what are they looking at?

It seems pretty easy for baseball, but what are they actually tracking in hockey?

The Oilers like the TDPG (Toe Drags Per Game) stat a lot.

[IgiTang]

All this tech and they still cant put a chip in the goal-line, posts and puck to give a 3d image of where the puck is when it is under a goalie.

GJ NHL!