On the Forecheck
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Who Draws the Calls?
by Forechecker on 10/21/08 at 12:41 PM ET
Comments (7)
One of the pivotal moments in any NHL game is when one team or the other gets a power play. Particularly in light of this year’s new rule that has most power plays commencing with a faceoff in the offensive zone, special teams should play an especially critical role this season.
Even though they record which player draws a given call within the Play By Play files (i.e. “PENL ATL #4 BOGOSIAN Holding(2 min), Def. Zone Drawn By: WSH #91 FEDOROV"), the NHL surprisingly doesn’t track this data; so I do, and make the results available to the public as an online spreadsheet, which anyone can download and use on their own.
The penalties that drive these results exclude 10-minute misconducts, which don’t change the number of on-ice players for each team. They do include fouls which result in Penalty Shots, as the idea here is to capture which players are creating events which are likely to lead to either a Goal For or Goal Against, and a Penalty Shot is even more likely to result in a goal than a minor penalty is. What we end up with is how many penalties a player Draws, minus the number of Fouls they commit, to yield a Penalty Plus/Minus, an indication how that individual contributes to the special teams situations a team enjoys (or tries to survive).
Data updated each Monday during the season
Click here to go to the Google Doc
Like any statistic, we need to understand the context in which these numbers are generated, in order to have some perspective when trying to judge what is “good” vs. “bad”. Defensemen, by the nature of their craft, are naturally prone to taking penalties. While trying to contain an opponent cycling in their end, for example, a defender often has to hook or hold the attacking forward. So expect the bottom of this list to fill up with defensemen playing heavy minutes.
Similarly, the top of the chart is usually loaded with skilled offensive performers. Last year’s list was led by Dustin Brown, Sidney Crosby (despite missing a long stretch due to injury), Pavel Datsyuk and Alexander Ovechkin.
So when trying to determine what’s noteworthy here, let’s look for the exceptions to these rules…
Up near the top, there are a few surprises like San Jose’s Devin Setoguchi, and Buffalo’s Patrick Kaleta.
Looking at the bottom, what are Dallas’ Brendan Morrow and Phoenix’s Shane Doan doing down there? Captains should set a better example for their team!
Taking another tack, page through the list and look for those agitators like Sean Avery or Jordin Tootoo; are they generating power plays by frustrating opponents, or are they undisciplined, hurting their team by leaving them shorthanded?
Over the coming weeks, I’ll add additional fields that will allow you to sift through the information here by team, by player position, and whatever else you’d like to suggest in the comments below.
Filed in: NHL Statistical Analysis | On the Forecheck | Permalink
Comments
This is just a suggestion, but maybe you can categorize the spreadsheet by team? I love the concept, because that sort of statistic has always intrigued me, but categorization by team would make it easier to follow your favorite teams and their players (in my case, Detroit and Atlanta) on the penalty front.
Either way, thanks for this spreadsheet!
Posted by Alan from Atlanta on 10/21/08 at 12:02 PM ET
Wow, nevermind. I just read the bottom part of the blog. It even says it right there, that it will be added.
Oh well. I stand by the rest of my comment, though!
Posted by Alan from Atlanta on 10/21/08 at 12:05 PM ET
Stats are very fun to look at, see how they play out, and evaluate whether you believe they have merit or not. I remember the fun days when people had to do as you have done in this case to track hits and blocked shots. There are obviously countless stats that the League pays no attention to, but it’s interesting all the details they do note, but never categorize. One of my favourites in that department is the type of shot and distance out that a player takes a shot from, as well as whether it results in a save, a goal, or a rebound. Granted that’s a multi-dimensional stat, if you’re looking to drill down into it, but it would certainly be fun to know the average distance from which Holmstrom scores his goals, or whether Crosby is more effective on his forehand or backhand, and if Ovechkin does better the further out he shoots, or the closer in he drives.
Posted by SENShobo from Waterloo, ON on 10/21/08 at 12:14 PM ET
blueline: Hopefully the link immediately below the spreadsheet can get you right to the Google doc; from there you can Export it however you like.
SENShobo: I do plan on getting back into the issue of Shot Quality this season, but I’ve got some work to do on that front!
Posted by Forechecker from Nolensville, TN on 10/21/08 at 12:42 PM ET
Since it was a quickie, I went ahead and added a Team column, for all your sorting needs.
Posted by Forechecker from Nolensville, TN on 10/21/08 at 01:03 PM ET
Another suggestion for sorting/columns (besides position and team) would be TOI. A player like Ryan Jones for Nashville being +3 in very very limited time on the ice shows a different element. (i’m sure there are others as well, i just happen to know Jones’ situation). Not that he’s always going to keep it up, but i think it would be interesting to see that element.
Posted by pwnicholson from Nashville, TN on 10/21/08 at 10:05 PM ET
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About On the Forecheck
Dirk Hoag is the Forechecker, churner of NHL stats and analysis. Having started over 10 years ago writing for websites like In the Crease and e-Sports, Dirk launched On The Forecheck in 2005 to cover the Nashville Predators as well as apply statistical analysis to NHL hockey.
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Interesting spreadsheet. Will you publish it here periodically and/or will we have access elsewhere? (google docs or other.)
Posted by blueline on 10/21/08 at 11:55 AM ET