Travis Yost, a hockey writer for TSN.ca, makes frequently use of analytics in his writing. (Analytics is data-driven analysis). The use of analytics is relatively new in the NHL. There are a number of “old school” people in hockey (e.g. in the media, coaches, general managers) who are not big fans of analytics and prefer to base their analysis on what they see on the ice based on their knowledge of hockey, their experience, their instincts, etc.
Travis Yost’s article on the Vancouver Canucks power play is based on data and less on a personal interpretation of on-ice events. He also uses graphics such as the one below.
Analytics is a fairly new approach in hockey and it offers a very different way to understand the game. Critics of analytics note that the complexity of hockey cannot necessarily be understood with a simple number or graphics. Critics also point out that many people in analytics have very little personal experience playing or coaching hockey and therefore do not really understand much of the game.
Image: Elias Pettersson of the Vancouver Canucks. https://i.cbc.ca/1.5283549.1568413452!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_780/elias-pettersson.jpg
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