This week I am joined by my good friend Dan to talk about the Minnesota Wild’s season, including rookie standouts and potential offseason contract scenarios. We look ahead to the NHL Playoffs and discuss whether the Wild have a snowball’s chance in hell to upset the Chicago Blackhawks. We also make our predictions for all first-round matchups.
All killer, no filler today! The first round of the fantasy playoffs are in the books, and this is the time of year when heroes are made and some players become goats (coughCareyPrice). This week I give a rundown of the best and worst of the last week and look ahead to the next round.
Today we take a look at some strategies to win your fantasy hockey playoffs. I am joined by Mike Schmidt as we look at skaters and goalies to target if you need help and some guys to stay away from.
This week, I look at the NHL’s top 20 scorers and their Power Play production and zone starts. Which players get the most offensive-zone work and which are asked to play a 200-foot game?
In this week’s show, I talk about the Ryan O’Reilly situation and why I’d wait a little while to pick him up. Then I suggest a skater who is owned in less than 50% of leagues, and finally, I run down the list of top 10 goalies and how many Quality Starts they have put up this year. The numbers may surprise you!
^^The podcast is embedded in this page. Click the play button above to begin streaming, or click here to download an .mp3 file.
Today I interview one of my favorite hockey researchers, Rob Vollman of Hockey Prospectus and Hockey Abstract. Rob has developed a number of great tools and stats that have become a major part of the hockey analytics community.
“A good hockey stat first of all has to be useful.”
“The real achievement is to take something that’s complex and make it simple.”
LINKS:
Rob’s personal page where he puts all his work. This site is a wealth of information–everything from Quality Starts to “Oz Coke charts” (AKA player usage charts) to historical comparisons. Your one-stop-shop for Vollman’s writing.
Another great site with a ton of great hockey writing from a bunch of today’s smartest minds.
>>E-mail me your fantasy hockey questions at hashtaghockey [at] gmail [dot] com, and follow me on Twitter, @Hashtag_Hockey
^^Podcast is embedded in this post. Click here to download the .mp3 file.
Can’t wait to get on iTunes so I don’t have to embed the files! I’m this close too, there appears to be a problem on the iTunes side…waiting to hear back from their tech support >_>
A player spotlight podcast today, with a twist: I did a top-10 list of forwards and defensemen by CorsiOn (min 10 GP). Talked a bit about how underlying stats like Corsi don’t always illuminate how well a player might do for fantasy, and gave lots of examples. For reference he’s the list.
Defense
Forwards
Hey! If you like the Hashtag Hockey podcast, check out the NHL Numbers podcast! They’re not on iTunes yet either so in the meantime check out their pod here.
Join me next week when I will have a special guest, fancy stat innovator extraordinaire, Rob Vollman!
In the mean time, send me any show ideas or fantasy hockey questions at hashtaghockey [at] gmail [dot] com and make sure to follow me on Twitter, @Hashtag_Hockey
^^The podcast is embedded in this post. Click the play button above to begin streaming, or click here to download the .mp3 file.
I’m still working on figuring out how to get the podcast on iTunes, so please bear with me as I get the technical details figured out.
Today, I look around the league and suggest a couple of Anaheim Ducks and New Jersey Devils to pick up, plus a stat toolbox on PDO and a feature on how to make effective trades. Enjoy!
Make sure to follow me on Twitter, @Hashtag_Hockey or e-mail me at hashtaghockey [at] gmail [dot] com.
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^^^Podcast embedded in this post. Click the play button above to stream the podcast or download the Hashtag Hockey Episode 3 mp3
I recorded today’s podcast at a lower audio quality so apologies in advance if it’s tougher to hear…I’m still getting this figured out.
Today I gave a quick stat workshop where I covered on-ice shooting percent/save percent, offensive zone start percent, and a general description of corsi-based stats.
Links:
Your one-stop shop for advanced stats, including all the stats mentioned in today’s podcast.
Behind the net FAQ: 10-part advanced stats tutorial
A great series of articles explaining the advanced stats that I use in my writing and podcasts.
A description of the stats written by me
Thanks for checking out the podcast, you can e-mail me at hashtaghockey [at] gmail [dot] com, and make sure to follow me on Twitter, @Hashtag_Hockey
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***The podcast is embedded in this post. Hashtag Hockey Podcast Episode 2 Final
Episode 2 of the Hashtag Hockey Podcast is officially up! Today I take a look around the league and talk about who’s off to a hot start, a cold start, and the most surprising player in the new 2013 NHL season. Then, in my feature segment, I talk about how to play fantasy hockey like a poker player, and finally, I talk about shooting percentage…why you should care and how it can make you a better fantasy hockey player.
LINKS:
^^Good statistical database, including shooting percentage and year-to-year comparisons
Armchair hockey.net: On Shooting Percentages
Arctic Ice Hockey: Luck vs Shot Quality in Shooting Percentage
Quanthockey.com: NHL Average Shot Percentage from 1967-68 to 2012-13
^^Awesome charts! League Average Sh% for forwards and defense over time. Love these graphs!
Click here for last week’s show, and don’t forget to follow me on Twitter, @Hashtag_Hockey
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