Part 3: Advanced Metrics
Welcome to Part 3 of our 4-part series covering terms used in hockey and fantasy hockey.
We see a lot of new fans asking questions like ‘What is Corsi?’ and ‘What does ‘Fenwick’ mean. In this post, we’ll cover the basic definition of these and other common advanced metrics in hockey. Longtime Fantasy Hockey vets will be familiar with the terms we cover here, especially those knee-deep in the data.
As always, our lists are not all-encompassing. We’ve left out some obvious terminology in an attempt to stick with terms new and casual fans might find helpful. If you see a term, a stat or acronym missing you think should be included below, let us know in the comments!
For more basic intro to hockey terms and stat definitions, check out our earlier posts, Hockey Terms Every Fan Should know: Part 1 and Hockey Terms Parts 2: General Hockey Statistics.
Advanced Metrics
Terms related to enhanced statistics that are used to measure performance in hockey, namely the NHL, include:
Corsi
Corsi is a measure of both team and individual player performance. (Keep in mind, however, an individual player’s performance is affected by the rest of the players on the ice.) The calculation for Corsi is as follows:
Corsi = (Shorts on Target For + Missed Shots + Blocked Shots Against) – (Shots on Target Against + Missed Shots Against + Blocked Shots For)
Face-Off Win Percentage [F/O%]
The percentage of face-offs a player wins. This stat is sometimes presented as FOW%
On-Ice Save Percentage [SV%]
On-Ice Save Percentage (SV%) is the percentage of shots a goalie saves. (*Note, only shot on net are considered.)
SV% can also apply to an entire team and is credited to whomever is on-ice when the saves are made. This statistic tends to have an impact on the well-known plus/minus stat. Unlike SH%, SV% will vary greatly from season to season.
This stat is also used to calculate PDO. The calculation for SV% is as follows:
On-Ice Save Percentage = Saves / Shots against
PDO [SPSV%]
PDO is a simple calculation—it’s a team statistic that quantifies the efficiency of a team’s shooting and its ability to stop opponents at even strength. (Also, PDO is not actually an acronym for anything… in case you were wondering.) The calculation for PDO is as follows:
PDO = Even strength team shooting % + Even strength team save %
Zone Starts
Zone Starts calculates the number of times a player starts a shift in one of the 3 zones on the ice (the defensive zone, the neutral zone or the offensive zone).
Generally speaking, a coach will want their stronger defensive players to have more defensive zone starts and vice versa for their offensive players. It can also be assumed that a player with a higher defensive zone start percentage will likely have more blocked shots, while players with a higher offensive zone start percentage will have higher Corsi and Fenwick numbers.
The calculations for Zone Starts is as follows:
% Offensive Zone Starts = # of Offensive Zone Starts / (# of Offensive Zone Starts + # of Defensive Zone Starts)
% Defensive Zone Starts = # of Defensive Zone Starts / (# of Offensive Zone Starts + # of Defensive Zone Starts)
Even-Strength Save Percentage [EVSV%]
The percentage of shots a goalie stops from going in his team’s net when both teams are at even-strength (all players on the ice—none in the penalty box). Only shots on goal are considered.
Fenwick
Fenwick is similar to Corsi, but removes blocked shots from its calculation. Some consider Fenwick to be a more accurate measure of performance than Corsi because a team can still be the more dominant force on the ice even when many of their shot attempts are blocked. The calculation for Fenwick is as follows:
Fenwick = (Shorts on Target For + Missed Shots) – (Shots on Target Against + Missed Shots Against)
On-Ice Shooting Percentage [SH%]
On-Ice shooting percentage (SH%) measures the rate at which a team scores with a given player on the ice. This is a statistic that is established over the course of a player’s career and, typically speaking, good players will make those around them better. This stat quantifies that.
This statistic is used to calculate PDO. The calculation SH% is as follows:
On-Ice Shooting Percentage = Goals scored / Shots on goal taken
Points Per 60 Minutes of Ice Time
Points Per 60 Minutes is considered an important statistic as it looks at the scoring rate of players regardless of their ice time. In a way, it puts all players on an even playing field regardless of how much, or how little playing time they see. The calculation for Points Per 60 minutes of ice time is as follows:
Points per 60 Mins = Points / Time on ice x 60
For a more extensive ‘Crash Course’ check out the video below by @petterhasset of @russianmachine (aka RMNB podcast) for a decent breakdown of advanced stats and how they help us better understand player and team performance.
