It’s Like Soccer on Ice
How hockey found a new fan
All it took was Amazon’s book suggestions, one trip to Toronto, and 20 dollars for hockey to find a new fan: me. Since discovering baseball analytics, I’ve poured all my efforts into trying to do two things: write about baseball and work in baseball. Wait — you’re saying — how did you jump from hockey to baseball? I promise, baseball is part of the equation so bear with me.
Though cliché, my immersion in sports analytics came after reading Moneyball. I stepped into a world where I only knew one thing with certainty: “I want in”. Subscriptions to Baseball Prospectus and Baseball-Reference’s Play Index soon followed; every baseball-related book on Amazon was purchased; and I took every data analytics MOOC class I could find. Eventually, I started doing my own research and posting my results online.
Amazon, of course, didn’t help. One feature my father and I love and despise when checking out from Amazon is the “Customers who bought this item were also interested in this item” bar. Thus, I came upon Hockey Prospectus 2013–2014. My first reaction was “Huh, hockey is ripping off Baseball Prospectus. What are they trying to do with analytics?” And I carried on with my life.
Here’s the problem. I’m inquisitive by nature. If something awakens my curiosity, my mind struggles to not ignore it. I googled Hockey Prospectus and found a site akin to Baseball Prospectus but dedicated to — drum roll — hockey.
As expected, I had no idea what I was reading. Nevertheless, I was intrigued. I opened up their glossary and Wikipedia page, and started reading every article. I was amazed that a sport so much like soccer was so hard-pressed for analytics. Alas, it was not yet meant to be. I forgot about hockey a couple of days later and wandered back to baseball and the 2013 postseason. Hockey would have to wait.
In June 2015, I ended up travelling to Toronto. Rush had announced their R40 tour, which was to be their last tour. Being a huge Rush fan, I flew from Peru and experienced one of the greatest concerts of my life. Yet a concert would not justify a week-long trip to Canada. What to do? Baseball was not out of the question, so I got tickets to see the Blue Jays play the Mets and Orioles. I walked around downtown Toronto, visited the University of Toronto’s Statistics department, and when all was said and done, decided to visit the Hockey Hall of Fame — since there was no hockey in Canada at the moment. Now, any hockey commentator, writer, podcaster, or soapbox preacher will tell you it only takes one trip to a hockey arena to make a fan out of anyone. For me, it was the museum that did it.
The first two things you see when walking into the Hall of Fame are three walls covered in pucks with several different designs, and glass cases with various hockey masks. But, once inside, history becomes alive, as the saying goes. The main gallery displays the last 5 champions’ rings, and a wall with the summarized history of hockey and the NHL from its first conception to 2014 — including current records and the gear used to reach them, and the gear and profile of hockey’s most famous players (the only one I had actually heard of at that point was Wayne Gretzky). I spent probably five minutes in front of each display to learn as much as I could. I then walked through a replica of the Montreal Canadiens 1950s locker room and into a gallery filled with memorabilia. The different trophies and sweaters, colors, and short history for every active NHL team — it was all there.
Through the west wing, you could also find a small cinema, a kid’s area where you could practice shooting or goal tending, a video game area displaying EA’s NHL 16, and a video area where you could watch the greatest hockey plays ever, including the Miracle on Ice and Gretzky breaking the points record. This last part is were I spent most of my time at that moment. Re-watching every historic highlight fascinated and overwhelmed me. Through those replays, I saw the game as a combination of speed and strength; an unpolished ballet with enough excitement to captivate any person who would give the sport five minutes of their time. And that was just 50% of the museum.
The other half was dedicated to international hockey, including the IIHF, Olympics and various attempts at forming a World Cup of Hockey. The history behind international competition was just as fascinating as the domestic competition. The rivalry between the U.S. and Canada or the U.S. and the Soviet Union was one of the main focus of the east wing. But it paled in comparison when you reached the main gallery: the display of every member of the Hall of Fame and the Stanley Cup. Grown men were lining up like kids to take their picture with the Cup and find their favorite players from when they were kids. I’ve never been to Cooperstown but I immediately knew that if I ever get to go, my reaction would be exactly the same.
I was sold.
I bought a couple of hockey sweaters my girlfriend and I, and decided I would start following hockey immediately. The problem was that I didn’t know that the season had just ended the previous day. So I would have to wait until October to actually start watching. I purchased NHL.tv for the season, having luckily found it at 20 dollars instead of the usual 120 and was set for the rest of (the South American) summer.
I started following the Maple Leafs, Ducks, Canucks, Kings, and Dr. Cox’s and Joey Gladstone’s beloved Red Wings. But, as much as I tried, I could not find it in me to attach myself to one team (eventually I attached myself to the Maple Leafs and Canucks). The game was so immaculate. I just decided to watch every game I possibly could, and even sat my newborn daughter with me to enjoy a game or two — it surprisingly soothed her.
Hockey is fast. it’s hard, it’s exciting, and it can sometimes take too long. It’s just like soccer with the exception it’s played on ice (and a soccer match takes a bit under two hours). I love soccer, but hockey supplanted it as my number two sport. Don’t get me wrong, soccer can be just as entertaining as hockey — and as heartbreaking as any other sport . But the speed of the skaters on the ice is both terrifying and awe-inspiring, something which soccer is lacking— unless you’re watching Leo Messi. Furthermore, hockey has allowed me to do something that only baseball has made me do before: question everything I see on screen and try to find out if everything the commentators say is well-founded and true.
After the 2015–16 season ended, I started raiding Amazon again, this time for hockey analytics books. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find many, but those I did find are so far amazing and are offering a base point from where to begin doing research and analysis. I am patiently awaiting for the first puck to drop on the ice so I can start gathering data, doing research, and building my own forecast models. In a time were analytics is just beginning to have a larger role in sports, hockey has found a new fan.
