Everyone knows about goals, assists, points, shots, hits and blocks, but that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Welcome to my Edmonton Oilers' Fan Guide to Analytics! This is a series where I will look at all the on-ice metrics that exist outside of the mainstream boxscore statistics. I'll apply the metrics covered to a current Oilers' player and tell you what it means.

Everyone knows when a goal is scored or a big open-ice hit is thrown. Most people catch assists, at least the ones that lead to highlight-reel goals. But there is more to a hockey game than the points on the scoreboard. Enter the world of analytics. 

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In this introductory installment of my guide to analytics, I will be going over Corsi and Fenwick. Most hockey fans have at least heard of these two metrics. If you haven't, you've come to the right place. Something to note, I will not be going over the history of where the metrics came from, just what they mean in analysis of on-ice performance.

Corsi is shot attempts. It includes shots on goal, misses and blocks. It's typically expressed as a percentage. Corsi for percentage (CF%) is calculated as a ratio of the shots on goal, missed shots, and blocked shots for versus the shots on goal, missed shots and blocked shots against. 

The number typically ranges from 45% to 55%. If a player's CF% is 50%, it means that when that player is on the ice the shot attempts for their team and the opposition is even. If it's above 55% then that player is really good at helping generate shot attempts for their team. This could be a result of generating a lot of shot attempts in the offensive zone, or preventing shot attempts in the defensive zone. 

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If the number is below 45%, that is not a good sign. When that player is on the ice their team does not have as many shot attempts, while the opposition then has more shot attempts. As a general rule, teams that generate more shot attempts score more goals. There is more to it, but that's a good starting point.

Fenwick on the other hand is similar to Corsi. The only difference with Fenwick is it does not include blocked shots. If a defender blocks a lot of shots, but isn't very great otherwise the two numbers could be very different. Their CF% would be higher than their Fenwick For percentage (FF%). If both numbers are relatively close then that probably isn't the case.

This table gives an overview of some Corsi and Fenwick related statistics. In this table I only included Oilers defencemen who had played at least 20 games in the 2022-23 season. Outside of games played (GP) and points (P) the analytics in this table are Dangerous Fenwick For percentage (DFF%), relative Dangerous Fenwick For percentage (relDFF%), CF% (already covered) and relative CF%. Each of these eight defenders have have a CF% higher than 45%. Two have a CF% higher than 55%- Evan Bouchard and Philip Broberg. 

That is all that I will cover in this intro. Keep your eyes open for the next installment.