Mark Stuart (What Makes a Good Defenseman)?

[Bear of Bad News]

Interesting blog article that seems like it wants to use the newer metrics, although I'm not entirely sure whether or it did or not.

http://www.arcticicehockey.com/2014/1/29/5335912/winnipeg-jets-mark-stuart

Still a fun read.

Click to read more...

 

[tarheelhockey]

Interesting to see blocked shots and hits characterized as "traditional" stats.

 

[hatterson]

Decent read. I liked his final thoughts section the best. Maybe I should add that to the intro post

Analytics or fancy stats are not that fancy at all. They are basic math to help explain how a team is expected to do...It is hard to change your mind on how you view a position as a whole when one way has been talked about forever. Change is slow and patience is needed with people try to wrap their heads around this entire 180 change in thinking. Whenever someone asks a question, answer them and take the time to explain it to them in basic English until they get comfortable with the language used in discussing the stats. I am fortunate enough to only have positive experiences asking questions about these stats because I am polite and do not attack the validity of said stats. You do not get polite answers if you are rude. It is okay to not understand them but to dismiss them because of that is like dismissing a book by looking at the cover. Give the book a chapter or two before you throw it away or finish it.

 

[Feed Me A Stray Cat]

The reason a lot of people are close-minded to statistics is because it forces them to re-assess their long held beliefs and opinions.

Anyway, interesting read. Mark Stuart is not a good defenseman, and the unfortunately the Devils have their own versions of Stuart in Salvador and Volchenkov.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

How does Mark Stuart compare to Dan Girardi statistically? Seems like a similar style of play.

 

[Averick*]

I find this article especially relevant to much of the discussion in the Avs forum. People are constantly kvetching about how poor our defenders are. And it's true that they're pretty bad. But in spite of this, Colorado is ~12th in goals allowed, which isn't awful. People are also often complaining about MacKinnon and Duchene on defense. But I think that's primarily set pieces. Something that is hidden is how their speed helps on defense. While they may not be great in set pieces, they're really goof at recovering the puck once the opposing offense has it in the corners and along the boards-especially MacKinnon. In these scenarios their speed allows them to win the puck and keep it. Part of its goaltending but it can't only be that given how bad some of their defenders are.

 

[Dr Quincy]

The reason a lot of people are close-minded to statistics is because it forces them to re-assess their long held beliefs and opinions.

Anyway, interesting read. Mark Stuart is not a good defenseman, and the unfortunately the Devils have their own versions of Stuart in Salvador and Volchenkov.

Except in this case, I don't think anything the guy said is challenging any longheld opinions. He's pretty much saying what we already know: Mark Stuart is a 6th D who will start for a team for a couple of years but will always be the guy people are trying to replace. We don't need to delve deeply into advanced stats to know that... maybe they confirm it, but I don't think anyone here would argue any different.

 

[JoelWarlord]

A related Sportsnet article about the Raphael Diaz trade last week:

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/habs-bought-into-a-myth-when-they-dealt-diaz/

 

[Ho Borvat]

The reason a lot of people are close-minded to statistics is because it forces them to re-assess their long held beliefs and opinions.

Anyway, interesting read. Mark Stuart is not a good defenseman, and the unfortunately the Devils have their own versions of Stuart in Salvador and Volchenkov.

The point about "re-thinking your beliefs" is a good one. Often times the best defense is a good offense, and its not the traditional thought process.

Most people don't think of the Sedins as good defensive players, however its very rare you see Henrik and Daniel on the ice without the puck. If Henriks line gets 6/10's of a pie (60% of shot attempts) then the other team only gets 4 slices of pie (40% of shot attempts).

Team B Less pie = Team B less offense = Team A better defense.

But, this doesn't feed into the traditional belief that defense = clearing the crease/blocking shots/laying the body. You obviously want your team to play with edge, but this doesn't necessarily translate into defense.