Fans could benefit as NHL explores new ways to collect dat

The technological world was all abuzz this week over the introduction of new Apple products, as it is every time that company unveils something new. Its a reminder that technology is always advancing in all kinds of ways. Technological advancements may soon make a profound impact on hockey in how it is analyzed and po sibly even in how it is consumed by fans as well. (in French), NHL COO John Collins talked about the leagues pursuit of systems utilized to track players in much greater detail. He spoke of video systems like SportVU, currently utilized in the NBA. It has been well documented that camera tracking has its limitations in a sport as fast as hockey and Collins suggested as much in the interview.But like in all technological advancements, Michael Pineda Jersey if theres a limitation of some kind, the goal is to find a way to fix it. And based on Collins' comments, it sounds like the NHL is eagerly awaiting seeing what someone comes up with. Thats where things could get interesting for hockey.Collins also told that the league is investigating a system that would put a small chip on players that, if succe sful, would provide a swath of data, perhaps even more than anyone would know what to do with. A pilot project will start this year in the NHL and po sibly other developmental leagues to investigate if this chip technology is succe sful. If it is, it could be implemented league-wide as early as the 2015-16 season. Systems like SportVU and a hockey-centric video system called PowerScout are also said to be pursuing larger acceptance in the NHL. PowerScout is even offering its services to NHL teams independently for Some of the data that company l.However, getting a league-wide system would make things rather interesting. For teams, its new data to crunch, but why would this matter to fans?According to Collins, , some of the data collected would be available to the public. "We believe it can bring a lot. Not only for training and coaching applications, but for the fans. It allows us to understand the game better. Also, it should make it easier for fans who never played hockey to understand why these guys are so talented, and what it takes to play the game."If you wanted to know how fast skates in miles per hour or how many puck touches was getting or how much ground was covering in a game, that information may be a mouse-click away for a fan if this gets off the ground. Not every fan will care, but there are probably a lot that will.The NHL currently tracks real-time stats manually, which means there are limitations on the data that it can collect and there has also, as has been discovered over the years, inconsistency among stat collectors from building to building. Thats another motivating factor from Collins.Again, via "We use real time stats, however they are compiled manually. We want to update everything and make the numbers more accurate with the chips. We plan to have these numbers be shared by all the teams, who would be free to analyze them as they'd like in terms of training, coaching and everything else."In this age of the increased exposure of advanced stats, there is definitely a market among hockey fans for this kind of information. In actuality, this data would take advanced stats and put it on a much higher level. There wouldnt be proxy statistics like Corsi and Fenwick, which measure shot attempts as a way of tracking po se sion. There would be actual to-the-second time of po se sion, which players po se s the puck most and how effective they are at generating offense because of it. New data, if these systems work, will also change the way the game is analyzed on TV broadcasts and in the media overall. There will always be room for debate because as everyone always says, the stats dont tell the whole story. However, this could make those debates more informed on both sides, which in turn, keeps the fans more informed as well.Theres still a large debate over the value of advanced statistics and which stats should be used to evaluate players, but seeing this kind of information could put more people on the same page. Theres going to be le s gue s work.As Mirtle wrote for the , the breadth of information that can come from this still needs to be researched heavily to determine its value. That could take years and will create a race within the league by individual teams to find the best way to analyze this data to inform their player personnel decisions. For some fans, all they care about is who won, who lost and who scored. And this doesnt have to change their mindset. Everyone chooses how to consume the game differently, but the po sibilities presented by new technology are endle s.Its refreshing to see a league executive understand that as well. The NHL hasnt included things like Corsi, Fenwick or zone starts in its package of statistics most easily acce sible by fans, despite the fact that these numbers are being culled directly from the event data they are already collecting.Collins' comments show a recognition from the league that the fans are getting more specific in their tastes, and theyre also looking to understand the game more broadly than they already do. Theres still a lot of testing that needs to take place and theres a lot of trial and error ahead, but the game will benefit from the technology growing around it, and it sounds like everyone, including the fans, stand to benefit from it as well. Donny Sands Jersey