So they have 26 staff, 4 of which are involved in analytics.
As for that long list of data trackers, I suspect that they are just random fans that do some TOI info and not actually full time staff. If you have alternative information then please share.
just wondering how this makes the point any less valid? the analytics department may only have one or two true "employees" but it doesn't make the data collected by the small army of "random fans" any less legitimate.
anyway, many teams have at least one or two people recording non-boxscore stats. windsor has been recording on-ice corsi for at least three years (and probably a lot more). some teams may only record faceoffs or time on ice. others may go much, MUCH deeper into what is tracked.
hamilton had domenic galamini working with them (not sure he still does). kitchener has mike zsolt. niagara's assistant gm does some tracking work. oshawa, flint, and others are invested in various different analytics/tracking services. there are a lot of different ways to go about it.
as for the "best" analytics program, it is all subjective. you could have the best, brightest minds giving you great, useful data and a coaching staff that refuses to use it, or an analytics staff that chooses to track stats that ultimately don't matter or aren't really coachable metrics. what works for some may not work for others.