Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Mirtle: RFID chips on player jerseys may provide the NHL's next stats revolution

09/09/2014 at 12:44am EDT

The Globe and Mail's James Mirtle reports that the NHL's considering taking a major step forward in terms of player-tracking technologies that will give teams much more data than what's currently available in terms of advanced and "regular" stats:

As reported by Marc Antoine Godin in La Presse on the weekend, the NHL is investigating a system that would put a small chip or RFID tag on its players as a new way to track their movements and collect information during games.

This, along with puck-tracking, would provide teams with the precise speed of players, their shots and passes, and even more elaborate data, such as which players enter the zone with possession of the puck the most, and which ones recover it the quickest in their own end.

The possibilities would theoretically become almost endless given how much data this kind of tracking can provide beyond what’s currently available.

And it would be given to every team to use as they saw fit.

“I think there would be some standardized sharing of the statistics,” the NHL’s chief operating officer John Collins told Godin. “Then clubs would be free to use it, slice it and dice it anyway they think of, based on their own philosophy on how to integrate statistical data into coaching, training and everything else.”

At the earliest, it’s expected the NHL would go this route by the start of the 2015-16 season, provided the NHLPA agrees to allow players to be tracked.

Mirtle continues at length and explains that two companies--PowerScout Hockey and SportVU--are attempting to convince teams to spend oodles of money on player tracking via cameras, which is kind of what most video scouting programs already use...

Create an Account

In order to leave a comment, please create an account.

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.

Email Paul anytime at [email protected]

Most Recent Posts

Most Recent Comments

Comment by Paul in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Same Lineup Tonight - 2 minutes ago
Comment by damndogrevenge in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Same Lineup Tonight - 28 minutes ago
Comment by bezukov in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Seider's Year - 33 minutes ago
Comment by bezukov in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Same Lineup Tonight - 37 minutes ago
Comment by bezukov in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Same Lineup Tonight - 37 minutes ago