Hockey is undergoing a silent revolution. It’s the sunset period of general managers such as Lou Lamoriello who are reliant on the “eye-test” and “intangibles.” It is now the rise of Kyle Dubas-types who are reliant on the most advanced of statistics. Welcome to “moneyball” hockey, which includes NHL shot maps and social media.

Just as hockey revolutionizes itself, so does the coverage of the sport. In the last decade hockey media has also seen an increased interest in advanced statistics. This has run the gamut of coverage — from blogs to mainstream outlets to more recently, social media accounts. Advanced statistics latest endeavor into social media and its presence within the hockey community will drastically change how this information is presented.

This change may involve the increased use of data visualizations such as NHL shot maps. Shot maps, though, are not typically the first thought that comes to mind when thinking of advanced statistics. This title belongs to the illustrious Corsi and Fenwick.

Corsi, in its most simple form, is not too complex. It takes the amount of total shots taken (whether they hit the net, miss, or get blocked) and subtracts the same type of shots taken by the opponent. A higher Corsi would clue to a more positive on-ice impact. Though, Corsi can be further applied to situations such as the mouthful, “Relative Corsi per 60 minutes at Even Strength.” Corsi loses its simplistic charm here.

Fenwick, despite being a completely different statistics, is nearly identical in structure to Corsi. Though, there is one major difference. While Corsi takes into account blocked shots, Fenwick does not.

But, what about the aforementioned NHL shot maps? 

Shot maps specifically take the Fenwick definition of shot attempts (those that either hit the net or miss) and create a visualization of how this statistics variates from different locations on the ice. If a team is to create high production in the slot, that area may have an intense color. Typically, this color would be red. In the flipside, a low production in an area would have a color of blue.

One large creator of these shot maps is HockeyViz.com. Their maps have a wide range of capabilities. They can delve into a team’s efficacy on the powerplay, that same team’s ability to reduce scoring in the defensive zone and an individual’s ability to create offensive production.

These two major advanced statistics, while great predictors of future success or failure, come to a major issue when applied in today’s media landscape. They aren’t very flashy. Today, social media is king. When it comes to getting your name out, social media outreach is a given.

Even personalities such as Elliotte Friedman and Bob McKenzie have dedicated significant time to their social media presence despite being on large television networks. Social media is now a requirement of even the most elite of jobs.

Today’s terrain of social media is a battleground of pundits fighting for yours eyes and clicks. Boring is not an option. 280 characters are at your disposal, so make it count. 

The pitfalls of traditional advanced statistics in the modern media landscape then becomes easily apparent. They are not compact-ible, eye-catching, or easily digestible. This is why, I believe, that visualized statistics such as shot maps, are the future of hockey coverage. 

Shot maps tick the three boxes — compactability, eye-catching, and easily digestible — mentioned earlier for efficacy in social media.

The shot map is inherently “compactible” due to being an image. On Twitter, an image such as a shot map would only be counted as 23 characters, leaving 117 characters of analysis at your disposal. Though other forms of statistics can be visualized, it is an integral aspect of the shot map.

One other major strength of the shot map is its ability to catch your eye. Red and blue bubbles fill the graphic with a background of semi-transparent offensive or defensive zone. When going through a social media site, color is what is going to stop your scroll dead in its tracks.

Finally, the digestibility of the maps make them have the edge they do over other pieces of advanced statistics. The vast majority of these maps, especially the ones that come from HockeyViz, come with an explainer on how to read the maps properly.

It provides details such as how the shade of color correlates to the deviation from the norm, what exactly the map is measuring, and who created them. They come with their own instructions.

Currently, do shot maps and other such data visualizations dominating the share of posts on social media discussing advanced statistics? No. Though some, such as Carey Haber (@Habermetrics on Twitter) have made data visualization their bread and butter.

Haber, who is a self-proclaimed “data-lover” and “Isles-nerd,” posted data visulations of the Islanders and opponents unblocked shots during this previous playoffs. Included with this, were quips from Haber on the Isles’ play. His presence in the Twitter community through his use of visualized advanced statistics has garnered Haber around 3,700 followers. 

While I do not think data visualizations currently dominate social media, their advantages in the current internet landscape poise them to become a force to be reckoned with in the near future.

John Smark