Advance Stats: Making bad look good and good look bad.
Posted 12:15 PM ET | Comments 1
Oh the Advance stats. How far they have come. From a bunch of non-jocks writing blogs to the NHL publishing them on nhl.com. Some call it a major advancement. Other say who really cares.
I fall into the who cares side of it. While they might have some use, I think too much value is being put in these number. A good example of this is the Battle of Alberta. I live right in the middle of it so I hear it from both side, but the differences between Flames and Oilers are night and day. What I can't understand though is who cares what Corsi or Fenewick says, as it stand today Calgary is in a play off spot and Edmonton is in 29th place. It does not matter how you spin the stats Calgary is winning and Edmonton is not, yet I have heard ASC (Advance Stat Crowd) talk all season about how much better Edmonton is and that it is only a matter of time before they turn it around or that Calgary is just playing lucky. I have two things to say about this.
1) Doesn't matter what the ADC says Edmonton is a bad hockey team. If I was coaching against them I would let them have as many shots from the outside as they want because they have no bomb from the point and no one that is gonna get the job done in front of the net. There is a reason they have such a low shooting percentage. It is not just luck, it is called no heart.
2) The exact opposite is true for Calgary. They may have high shooting percentage and low shoot totals because they fight for every goal they get. They don't just fire from the outside they crash the net every chance they get. They do have heart and are very exciting to watch.
So to sum it up, advance stats are majorly flawed, just as the ADC claim plus/minus flawed. They may have some use but take it with a grain of salt. There are no stats out there showing heart, desire and will to win of the player on that team. Any tradition hockey fan will be able to tell you the difference between the Flames and Oilers, just by watching them. The ASC will argue about how what we are seeing is actually a mirage.
Yes the NHL now publishes advance stats but he reason they are doing it is not because they are embracing advance stats, the reason they are doing this is because they see another revenue stream from individual that care more about number then watching the actual games.
So ASC, close the spreadsheets and quite arguing with everyone. At the end of the year the only stat that matters is the number of points a team has. It does not matter how they got them only that they got them. Simple stats beat the Advance stats every season.
Now go play some hockey with your kids.
I fall into the who cares side of it. While they might have some use, I think too much value is being put in these number. A good example of this is the Battle of Alberta. I live right in the middle of it so I hear it from both side, but the differences between Flames and Oilers are night and day. What I can't understand though is who cares what Corsi or Fenewick says, as it stand today Calgary is in a play off spot and Edmonton is in 29th place. It does not matter how you spin the stats Calgary is winning and Edmonton is not, yet I have heard ASC (Advance Stat Crowd) talk all season about how much better Edmonton is and that it is only a matter of time before they turn it around or that Calgary is just playing lucky. I have two things to say about this.
1) Doesn't matter what the ADC says Edmonton is a bad hockey team. If I was coaching against them I would let them have as many shots from the outside as they want because they have no bomb from the point and no one that is gonna get the job done in front of the net. There is a reason they have such a low shooting percentage. It is not just luck, it is called no heart.
2) The exact opposite is true for Calgary. They may have high shooting percentage and low shoot totals because they fight for every goal they get. They don't just fire from the outside they crash the net every chance they get. They do have heart and are very exciting to watch.
So to sum it up, advance stats are majorly flawed, just as the ADC claim plus/minus flawed. They may have some use but take it with a grain of salt. There are no stats out there showing heart, desire and will to win of the player on that team. Any tradition hockey fan will be able to tell you the difference between the Flames and Oilers, just by watching them. The ASC will argue about how what we are seeing is actually a mirage.
Yes the NHL now publishes advance stats but he reason they are doing it is not because they are embracing advance stats, the reason they are doing this is because they see another revenue stream from individual that care more about number then watching the actual games.
So ASC, close the spreadsheets and quite arguing with everyone. At the end of the year the only stat that matters is the number of points a team has. It does not matter how they got them only that they got them. Simple stats beat the Advance stats every season.
Now go play some hockey with your kids.
I agree, the stats are useless most of the time, of course a team loaded with stars and chemistry is going to have really good geek stats and a team like buffalo is going to suck. Anytime you compare a guys bad stats the geeks will just say that he needs to play with better players etc...Nonsense.