Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

"The Numbers Cult"

10/08/2014 at 8:37am EDT

from Cathal Kelly of the Globe and Mail,

Hockey season kicks off Wednesday, and we’ll spend most of the next eight months arguing about math. Welcome to the mainstreaming of the Analytics War.

The (very reductive) analytics explainer: If you see more of the puck, and more of the offensive zone, you will, in all likelihood, win.

This sounds pretty sensible, which may be why it upsets people so much. When it comes to the canons of the country’s best-attended church, we aren’t prepared for quiet revolutions.

This will be positioned as a fight about the future of the game. Which it isn’t.

What it is is an attempt to make hockey make sense. Which it doesn’t.

At its best, the NHL is about the physical mystique of a few men doing things the rest of us can’t. Once you begin to pick apart that process, you’re no longer a fan. You’re a foot soldier in the ice Crusades.

read on

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About Kukla's Korner Hockey

Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.

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