Introduction Ice Hockey is fun to watch, fun to play!
In other professional sports, most notably baseball and basketball, analytics has started/ is playing a major role in how teams are constructed.
The NHL (National Hockey League) is just on the cusp of taking analytics to the next level.
On March 3, 2020, it was announced on NHL.com that the final stage of testing for puck and player tracking was underway, to be rolled out by the time playoffs (were supposed to) come around.
This is of course exciting news! It opens many more avenues for analytics and understanding the game better and how to improve.
Objectives of this analysis While this new fountain of data to come with player and puck tracking is yet to be implemented, advanced metrics based on currently tracked and available information has been devised.
The objective of my project is to examine team performance metrics as they are now to understand if there are any indicators for post-season success.
These metrics will be analysed through 5 different aspects of the game:
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Shot Volume
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Shot Accuracy
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Possession of the Puck
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Goalie Save %
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Physicality/Grit