Analytics has become a key component of every successful hockey operations office.
Aiden Fox is the Director of Analytics with the Vancouver Canucks and has been working with the organization since 2016. Fox first became interested in the analytical side of the game after the Canucks lost in the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals and realized that analytics could be used as a storytelling device to better understand what occurs on the ice.
“The communication of this data, the stats, how it's presented, how it's displayed, how it's communicated,” Fox said. “That kind of connected with some of my background on what I was doing on the business side of the Canucks,”
Much of what the analytics department does is centered around collecting key data points on players and teams, to ensure that the hockey operations department is able to make data-driven decisions.
“We do data analysis, and we try to supply the information that can make their jobs easier and help them get answers and solutions quicker or in ways they haven't thought of, and we are kind of here as a service to them,” Fox said.
Another significant part that Fox and the analytics department assist is in tech development. This involves making sure that various back-end and front-end components are readily available with any data that the Hockey Operations, coaching staff, or performance staff could need at any time.
“We make the infrastructure, the back-end stuff, and also front-end touch points applications, interfaces so that those bits of information are accessible, and people can get those answers as they need,” Fox said.
Fox and the analytics department are consistently working towards major milestone events that cyclically occur each season. This includes the NHL draft, training camp, and free agency. It is important to remain up to date with the latest metrics and data, especially in the current NHL environment that is seeing most clubs ramping up their emphasis on analytics and seeing how to efficiently integrate it into their hockey decisions.
“Answering questions to people about team performances, trends, tactics, systems, players; We have to be available to answer,” Fox said. “Personally, I might spend a few hours in meetings whether that’s with management, or other parts of the hockey operations group, or answering questions to my team.”
Collecting data on players across all levels is one of the most important parts of the analytics department, and why technology has continued to grow and be utilized within the hockey world. Fox highlights the importance of using data to find players that will actively bring value to the team and provide guidance to select which players could do that best.
“The most excitement we have as a group, [and] probably with the scouts too, is when everything lines up, and we have agreement on a player and the opportunity that they could come and play for our team and what they would bring,” Fox said.
As the Canucks approach the upcoming NHL draft, with multiple picks across multiple rounds, the analytics department will provide the Hockey Operations team with the best information to help bring the right players into the organization.
Listen to this and much more as Fox joins Chris Faber on the latest episode of the Canucks Insider Podcast.
