Interview: Canes' video scout talks analytics

[tarheelhockey]

This was posted on the Canes' official website: http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=722250

Darren Yorke has been the Canes' video scout and hockey ops assistant for the past 5 years. He's worked his way up the ladder with no playing experience.

“The general public is probably most familiar with possession analytics, which help paint a picture about a player in terms of how often they’re gaining the offensive zone and driving possession,†Yorke explained. “There are other metrics and analytics we use to help paint a total picture on a player.â€

...

“In my world and in passing this information along to Ronnie [Francis], we take a look at quantitative and qualitative data,†Yorke said. “You get an unbiased view, especially from a quantitative perspective. Numbers don’t lie.â€

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“The main purpose of using quantitative data is to try to get an unbiased view on some things that your eyes don’t necessarily catch,†Yorke said. “We want to use everything. Combined with traditional scouting and video scouting, analytics can give you as much information as possible to find the best plyers.â€

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[schuckers]

Ughh

In beginning to understand the scope of analytics and their usefulness, it’s important to first consider the definition. A statistic, for instance, is goals scored. An analytic is goals scored per 60 minutes. Where statistics are the tip of the numerical iceberg, the analytics loom beneath the surface.

A statistic is just one measure. With an analytic, you’re furthering a statistic,†Yorke said. “An analytic can help you further analyze one metric.

Anybody who says this cannot be taken seriously.

 

[Bear of Bad News]

It may be more of an audience thing - trying to explain things at the right level (and perhaps not succeeding).