Doug Wilson on the Sharks' use of analytics

[Blades of Glory]

Considering that advanced metrics and analytics have suddenly become a major talking point in a sport that generally has been in the Dark Ages when it came to this subject, I thought this might be a good read. Sharks fans tend to be quite analytically-inclined, and have been for a while. That is probably a byproduct of following an organization that has been clearly and openly dedicated to the concept of puck possession and the use of Corsi as a prominent tool for evaluating players. The whole "advanced" metrics conversation has seemed to have dominated the entire offseason, and it's about time, honestly. While the majority of the NHL looks like it just discovered that there is actually a better way of evaluating players than using +/- and the equally horrendous giveaway stat, I think it's important to point out that there are a handful of teams that have been using analytics for a while now. The Sharks and Red Wings were two of the very first teams to begin using them, and it's not a surprise that they are so intricately tied together. Here is what Doug Wilson said from back in September 2011:

http://www.fearthefin.com/2011/9/20...s-sharks-general-manager-doug-wilson-part-two

On a related note, one of the Sharks' top scouts just recently admitted in an interview that the team actually has people that manually track shot differentials and metrics in Canada's major-junior leagues because they use Corsi as part of evaluating potential draft picks. I was floored when I read that. I always knew the Sharks were analytically-inclined, but they did a pretty good job of keeping their secrets quiet considering that 2/3 of the league seems to have just discovered Corsi yesterday. I thought there was a really interesting tidbit about how the Sharks knew exactly what type of player the Red Wings wanted in this year's draft (the exact same type of player that San Jose wanted) and knew they would have to move in front of Detroit in the first round to get that player. There really aren't many secrets between the two organizations. They have used the same methods, with almost identical results, for a long time now. Both teams have been so good since the 2005 lockout and have managed to do so without so much as once finishing low enough in the standings to generate a top-15 pick. They put an emphasis on possession and their Fenwick rankings since 2008 show it.

http://www.fearthefin.com/2013/7/31...r-players-brian-gross-mirco-mueller-analytics

BTW, Fear the Fin is probably the best "advanced" metrics resources out there. It is a Sharks blog, but almost everything is tied in with analytics. Even game recaps. If you want to learn about this stuff, spend some time looking through the archives.

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[Kershaw]

It should be of no surprise that NHL teams are utilizing shot differential totals, it is the best metric to evaluate team success in the long haul in my opinion. Dean Lombardi also spoke of using it, Jarmo Kekalainen and Doug Armstrong also relied on it.

When Lombardi took over as general manager, he talked about the influence that Michael Lewis' bestselling book Moneyball had on him and how it would relate to his work with the Kings. Moneyball had a huge impact on baseball and was a lightning rod for heated discussion (that still exists) as Lewis highlighted Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane and his quest to find undervalued commodities in baseball who could help his team compete against significantly richer teams.

"I was thinking about a lot of this stuff even before Moneyball came out," Lombardi said back in 2006, via Surly and Scribe. "It requires almost a cultural change, to get your staff thinking a certain way, and that's what we're working toward.

“We've put a lot of time and thought into this, and now we're going to see if it works. This is one of those things where we're going to end up going down paths that don't work. But we're going to find the right one, and we're not going to get frustrated along the way.”

It seems that the Kings did, in fact, find the right path.

For one, nearly every player whom the Kings have acquired since 2008 has posted strong individual possession numbers and has a history of being used against tough competition.

Players like Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, Dustin Penner, Justin Williams, Jarret Stoll, Brad Richardson, Ryan Smyth, Jeff Halpern, Alexei Ponikarovsky and Simon Gagne. Some of those players spent more time than others with the Kings and played varying roles, but they all excelled in the same areas before the Kings acquiring them.

http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/blog/e...eles-kings-corsid-their-way-to-the-nhls-elite

But the difference is that they have stuff way more advanced than the corsi ratings from behindthenet and other websites.

 

[struckbyaparkedcar]

Interesting the Kings thought Regehr's difficult deployments were worth his putrid possession figures in that case.

 

[Kershaw]

Interesting the Kings thought Regehr's difficult deployments were worth his putrid possession figures in that case.

Pretty puzzling indeed, but I guess teams still emphasize a lot on character guys. Regehr played a lot under Daryl Sutter in Calgary and I'm sure he had a lot of say in this acquisition. He played much better in LA though.

 

[Blades of Glory]

It should be of no surprise that NHL teams are utilizing shot differential totals, it is the best metric to evaluate team success in the long haul in my opinion. Dean Lombardi also spoke of using it, Jarmo Kekalainen and Doug Armstrong also relied on it.



http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/blog/e...eles-kings-corsid-their-way-to-the-nhls-elite

But the difference is that they have stuff way more advanced than the corsi ratings from behindthenet and other websites.

The Sharks also use metrics way more advanced than corsi, but Doug Wilson declined to go into details in that regard. I do wonder what they use, however. I'm not surprised that the Kings are also well ahead of the curve when it comes to advanced analytics. Dean Lombardi, after all, hired Doug Wilson to be the Sharks' Director of Pro Development in 1997, and I'm sure the Sharks' dedication towards analytics has a lot to do with Lombardi's tenure here.