My player tracking system tracks each puck-possession event over the course of a hockey game. This provides me with the necessary data to perform these calculations.
An offensive touch is described as any play made while a player is in possession of the puck. Events used in this calculation include; passes, dekes, pass-receptions, dump-ins, dump-outs, and shots on net. A player's successful offensive-touch percentage is calculated by dividing the number of successful offensive-touches by the total amount of offensive-touches.
Example:
successful o-touch % = (successful o-touches)/(successful o-touches+unsuccessful o-touches)
A defensive touch is described as any play made while not in possession of the puck whereby the main goal is to remove possession from the other team. Events used in this calculation include; stick checks, body checks, blocked passes, and blocked shots. Successful defensive-touch percentage is calculated by dividing the number of successful defensive-touches by the total amount of defensive-touches.
Example:
successful d-touch % = (successful d-touches)/(successful d-touches+unsuccessful d-touches)
The bubble-graphs included here show each player's offensive and defensive-touch percentage, as well as the total number of events they engaged in.
Expressed simply;
- The higher the bubble is the more successful the player was when in possession of the puck (offensive-touches).
- The further to the right the bubble is, the more successful that player was at removing puck-possession from the opposition (defensive-touches).
- The bigger the bubble is, the more events they engaged in per-minute of ice-time
OVERALL EVEN-STRENGTH OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE TOUCH PERCENTAGES
Events used in this graph include offensive and defensive-touches that took place in the offensive-zone, the neutral-zone, and the defensive-zone.
As we can see by the size of their bubbles, Max Pacioretty and Brendan Gallagher engaged in the most events per-minute of ice-time among Montreal wingers.
Colby Armstrong produced the highest offensive-touch success-rate; a full five percentage-points better than any other winger. Armstrong had solid possession numbers in both the offensive and defensive-zones, but his high defensive-zone start percentage helped limit him offensively.
Alex Galchenyuk and Rene Bourque had the lowest offensive-touch percentages among Habs wingers. Galchenyuk's numbers were hurt by his work in the defensive-zone, while Bourque's were hurt by his work in the offensive-zone. Bourque was more likely to give up possession in the offensive-zone than any other Montreal forward.
Brandon Prust's bubble shows us just how far ahead of other Montreal wingers Prust was defensively. His defensive-touch percentage was carried by his work in the both the offensive and defensive-zones, as shown in a later graphs. Expressed simply, Prust forces turnovers.
Travis Moen had the lowest defensive-touch success-rate. Moen's low rate was the product of his play in the offensive-zone; specifically an inability to get his stick on opposition pass-attempts.
OFFENSIVE-ZONE EVEN-STRENGTH OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE TOUCH PERCENTAGES
Events included in this graph are all offensive and defensive-touches that took place in the offensive-zone.
Gallagher and Prust could be described as the Habs best forecheckers. This is made evident by their impressive defensive-touch percentages in the offensive-zone. At the other end of the spectrum, Michael Ryder was the Habs least-successful forechecker, as his defensive-touch success-rate in the offensive-zone was a full 10-percentage points below Gallagher and Prust.
Armstrong had the top offensive-touch success-rate in the o-zone, but the size of his bubble does a great job communicating the fact that his offensive-zone events were limited. Bourque had the lowest offensive-touch percentage.
DEFENSIVE-ZONE EVEN-STRENGTH OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE TOUCH PERCENTAGES
Events included in this graph are all offensive and defensive-touches that took place in the defensive-zone.
This graph does a great job of expressing Prust and Gionta's solid play in the defensive-zone. It combined with the preceding graph provides a solid view of the important defensive player Gionta has become. Complimenting his d-touch percentage, Gionta also produced the third-highest offensive-touch success-rate in the defensive-zone.
Armstong once again produced the best offensive-touch percentage, while Prust had the lowest offensive-touch success-rate among Montreal wingers. Ryder had a solid offensive-touch percentage, but only Galchenyuk had a lower defensive-touch success-rate in the defensive-zone than number 73.
Bourque engaged in the fewest defensive-zone events per-minute played.
