The revolution in hockey analysis,
late-developing and centered around the increased reliance on statistical information, has been underway for some time now. A small and marginalized movement in the past
for various reasons, advanced analysis has gained such widespread traction that its relevance and influence is no longer deniable. That isn't to say that advanced stats are close to or ever will be the panacea for evaluating hockey players and teams. As Robert Vollman, one of the leading hockey statisticians out there, explained in the foreword to his recently released
2011-2012 Player Usage Charts:
"...objective hockey analysis acts a useful supplement to everybody’s own experience-based understanding of the game..."
Part of a larger sports trend, this shift, predictably, has faced some well-reasoned skepticism (for example, Daniel Wagner's
Kierkegaard, Choice and the Limitations of Advanced Statistics) and, from traditionalists, prolonged resistance and outright disavowals (
here's looking at you, Brian Burke and Mike Milbrury). At present, there's a very charged discourse surrounding the merits of advanced statistics but, no matter one's take, clearly a new era in professional hockey has dawned when the powers that be are
attending conferences on sports analysis, teams (
including the Lightning) are adding analysts to their operational staff and mainstream sources are catching on. For these reasons alone, it's worth keeping up with the times.
http://www.boltprospects.com/content...-boltprospects
07-11-2012, 05:40 PM
The Future is Already Here: Advanced Stats and BoltProspects
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