The New Jersey Devils organization has been open and honest about their reliance on hockey analytics to make decisions. Now, other NHL teams are following suit and strengthening their data and analytics departments. The hockey world saw the death of a beloved site, CapFriendly, when the Washington Capitals purchased the public site for private use. Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan explained the purchase would “significantly enhance and integrate the various branches of our hockey operations department, allowing us to strengthen our management, scouting, analytics and player development, in addition to augmenting our salary cap and contractual applications” (from ‘CapFriendly officially shutters website for public use after being purchased by Washington Capitals,’ RMNB, 7/10/24).
Data and Analytics are becoming a prominent piece of the game due to the advanced technology that is offered to teams. Teams have the ability to know every single factor about a player without watching a second of them play. However, there is controversy about heavily relying on underlying analytics because people also believe in the ‘eye test.’ Instead of relying on computers and numbers to see if a player is playing well, people want to simply watch them and see their impact the old-fashioned way. Most teams use both methods to analyze players on their team and often to see if a player will be a fit for their team.
Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Football League (NFL), and the National Basketball Association (NBA) are ahead of the NHL in using sports analytics. Each league uses their own systems. The MLB uses Statcast, which allows viewers to see another point of view that highlights a player’s accuracy, distance traveled, speed, and more. The NFL uses Catapult, which the players wear during the game and speed, body performance, and more are tracked. Finally, the NBA uses SportVU, a system that uses a tracking camera system to collect advanced analytics on each player. The NHL just launched NHL EDGE in the 2023-24 season which tracks the players during the game. Sports Analytics is changing the way the game is played and how teams choose their players. The Devils are at the forefront of analytics in the NHL.
Devils’ Analytics Driven by Details
At the head of the Devils hockey analytics department is senior vice president Tyler Dellow. New Jersey hired him in 2019 after he worked for the Edmonton Oilers for two years. In an interview with Shayna Goldman of The Athletic, he states, “HBSE is an organization that has a strong belief in analytics and using data to drive better decisions and I think that that is particularly historically visible on the Sixers side, with what they’ve done in terms of trying to build a data-driven operation” (from ‘A look into the Devils’ analytics team, how they understand data and their relationship with the front office,’ The Athletic, 3/30/22). Every year since 2019, the Devils have added roles to their hockey analytics department. They now have nine people in roles such as data scientists, software engineers, data engineers, player development analysts, and hockey analysts.
General manager Tom Fitzgerald has spoken about the work that the analytics department does and how he has all of their work laid out in front of him at every draft event. Now, most of the 32 general managers have all of the data at their fingertips. The Capitals were noticeably behind in analytics, and with the purchase of CapFriendly, they significantly bolstered their data set.
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The Devils employ people to work through every piece of the organization. The Adirondack Thunder of the ECHL and the Utica Comets of the American Hockey League (AHL) partake in data collection that the Devils use to better their team and draft process.
Relying on NHL Analytics
Now, all 32 NHL teams have at least two members assigned to hockey analytics. However, there is still hesitation on how heavily a team should rely on it. The amount of data that comes out of one NHL hockey game is beyond what any human can understand with just the eye test. Moreover, hockey has proven time and time again, that the simple game is better. Determining which player has the fastest speed bursts and the hardest shot does not mean that they will be the correct piece for the team. In fact, the people that interpret the collected data are far more important than the actual data that is collected. Nevertheless, teams rely on the data that is put in front of them.
CapFriendly being bought by an NHL team is the perfect example of a team valuing and utilizing data that is collected. Furthermore, other sites have been purchased over the years by other teams. The Vegas Golden Knights purchased General Fanager, the Toronto Maple Leafs purchased Extra Skater, the Minnesota Wild purchased War on Ice, and the Calgary Flames purchased HOCKEY ANALYSIS.
The Devils and the rest of the NHL are constantly trying to improve their teams. In today’s world, technology and science allow them to use analytics and data to try and do this. Trades, draft picks, a team’s cap situation, and contracts are all taken into account and analytics have become a vital part of the sports world.
