Former Florida Panthers assistant GM Sunny Mehta said Matthew Tkachuk was the player who most often picked his brain about analytics during his time with the organization.
Analytics don't receive as much hatred or disgust from hockey fans as they once did. While some still believe watching the game is the only way to judge a player, using stats remains important for coaches, management, and players.
Former Florida Panthers assistant GM and current New Jersey Devils GM Sunny Mehta joined the Spittin' Chichlets podcast and was asked a question about Mikhail Yegorov, a Devils prospect who recently launched a new platform that takes an analytical approach to goaltending evaluation, putting his own numbers under the microscope.
For Mehta, known for basing many of his managerial decisions on analytics, it must have been music to his ears. Upon answering questions about Yegorov, Mehta veered off to discuss his personal experience with NHL players and their admiration for analytics.
"My experience has been that there are defintely some players who maybe don't care and don't want to know, but that has not been the norm to me," Metha started. "I just find that more and more with this generation of players, a lot of these guys grew up playing video games. A lot of these guys grew up with numbers and stats, and looking at their stats. Looking at stats on the internet and numbers on the internet. My experience is that players have always been extremely interested in 'what are you looking at, how are you kind of gauging what my performance is.'"
Although the Panthers play a physical style, something not traditionally blended well with analytics, they play a unique structure that requires certain skill sets. Analytics tell the organization who is capable of succeeding in their system, and players care to know how they are performing.
Mehta went on to mention that Matthew Tkachuk was the player who picked his brain most frequently about what his stats were and what they were telling him.
"The person who was by far used to pick my brain the most in Florida was Chucky (Matthew Tkachuk)," Mehta continued. "He would constantly be like, almost philosophical discussions about 'hey, when you're looking at stuff in the numbers, what are you looking at when you're looking at this on the ice? What do you consider when you're talking about scoring chance creation?' We'd get into all these different sort of nuances."
Some may be surprised by Tkachuk's interest in analytics, but looking deeper, it makes sense. Tkachuk doesn't possess blistering speed that helps him create open ice. His game is built on understanding where to be. His hockey IQ, his understanding of where the play is going to be, is what makes Tkachuk a great player.
Analytics can help Tkachuk determine whether what he is doing is working and identify weaknesses in his opponents that he can exploit.
The 28-year-old has recorded two seasons over 100 points and is up to 670 points in 673 career games. Additionally, according to naturalstattrick.com, Tkachuk has posted a Corsi For percentage and expected goals for percentage above 50 percent in every season of his career.
His playstyle might not be the flashiest, but he has consistently proven effective in all aspects of the game.
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