Shot and save analytics will aim to give fans a better understanding of how players and teams are performing.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) and the NHL are to introduce two new on-screen analytics for the Stanley Cup.
The graphics and visualisations will appear in broadcasts, and aim to give fans a better understanding of how players and teams are performing.
Cloud technologies such as analytics, serverless compute, and media services are used to gather data from the ice in real time, analyze it, and visualise it for fans at home. The new stats draw on more than 10 years’ worth of data from the NHL’s Hockey Information and Tracking System (HITS), the League’s official system for recording game-time statistics, which is combined with real-time game activity to give extra insight.
Shot analytics will show the teams and players that have the highest shot-to-goal conversion rates from each area of the rink. It will also visualise how teams and players take advantage of even-strength, power play, and short-handed situations based on the number of shots and goals they attempt and score in each scenario. Supporters will be able to see this information for team and player performance for a single game or across a season.
Meanwhile, save analytics will calculate and visualize goaltenders’ save percentages and the volume of shots they stop from each zone on the rink. It will also display how goaltenders perform against different team strength conditions—such as when they’re missing a defender during an opposing team’s power play—and during different game phases or events, such as a breakaway by the opponent or in a shootout. In addition, save analytics will illustrate goaltenders’ success in making saves with their sticks, their gloves, or other pads, equipment, and body parts - and how these results vary based on where shots originate.
Dave Lehanski, executive vice resident, NHL business development and innovation, said: “NHL fans are extremely tech savvy. They love the speed and skill of the sport and they crave more opportunities to understand and engage with the game and the players, and therefore, it’s important for us to use our data to deliver as many insights as possible.”
Rachel Thornton, vice president, orldwide marketing at AWS, added: “We announced our partnership with the NHL earlier this year and already it’s bearing fruit with these advanced statistics for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Hockey moves quickly, and hockey fans are hungry for greater insights into the game. Together, AWS and the NHL are providing audiences around the world the real-time context they need to better appreciate the tension and skill behind every play.”
AWS was named the official cloud, artificial intelligence, and machine learning infrastructure provider of the NHL back in February, and also helps to automate and improve game video processing and content delivery for the league.
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