Today’s NHL, like most sports, is becoming increasingly obsessed with numbers. And it’s for a good reason: numbers are fantastic. They give us concrete validation for what we notice and allow us to dive deep into performance analysis. Metrics such as “Shots For %” and “Points Per 60 Minutes” offer us a lens to judge players with whether the goals and assists are there or not. They allow us to analyze players over sample sizes and create meaningful discussion on a player’s impact beneath the surface.

But like you, I’m a hockey fan. And as hockey fans we all watch the games, we all have players we like, players we notice, and, numbers or no numbers, we tend to like certain players for certain things and dislike certain players for other things. You notice sometimes a calm play behind the net by a player and think “hey, I like that guy.”

So let’s throw away the numbers for today, and use the good old fashioned eye test. Continue reading