Challenge
Nothing generates more passion than sports. And in Canada, hockey is king. But like all sports, explanations are rarely grounded in fact. Fans invoke magical concepts like heart, grit, leadership, and momentum to explain their team’s success or failure. Some take it further. They theorize that measurable things such as size or hits or shot differential explain playoff success. Separating the signal from the myths is not easy to do. But even harder is convincing someone that their long-held belief is false.
Solution
Enter the interactive hockey visualization. It let’s fans find their own truth and backup their claims with numbers. With data spanning more than a decade, the visualization allows a user to compare success (both playoff and regular season) to a dozen variables.
- Are teams that outhit their opponents more successful? (no)
- Does goaltending matter? (yes)
- What about intimidation? Does the most penalized team gain an advantage? (no).
This tool highlights the power of visual exploration to both reveal truth and convince users. If you'd like to develop an exploratory tool get in touch.