Puheen Ice Hockey Tour next time on Friday 4.11. from 6 p.m. NHL match Columbus–Colorado to be played in Tampere. From the SM league, matches HPK–SaiPa, JYP–Ilves, Kärpät–KalPa, Pelicans–KooKoo, Sport–Tappara, TPS–HIFK.
– They are not true at all. I have also read recently that they should be updated afterwards, but they are not updated, at least they haven’t been updated in a month, Pelicans head coach Tommi Niemelä it rained in mid-October In an interview with MTV (you switch to another service).
Niemelä’s criticism was aimed at SM league statistics, especially the number of shots and saves. Ice hockey is one of those sports where various statistics are of great importance.
They offer important information to spectators, coaches, club managers, players, as well as, for example, bettors.
For goalkeepers, save statistics are a big part of the CV, as Niemelä stated. In his opinion, the statistics in the Pelicans match had a difference of up to ten saves compared to the reality.
– In terms of the goalkeepers, I’m really sorry. They compete for places in other leagues and the NHL. If you consider that a goalkeeper plays 40 games in a season and ten saves in a game go unmarked, then it is 400 saves less at the end of the season, Niemelä continued to MTV.
During the early season, many other SM league coaches have given their no-confidence vote regarding the statistics, including HIFK Ville Peltonen and Jukurien Olli Jokinen.
Earlier this week, the head coach of the Lions also took a strong stance on the topic Jukka Jalonen.
– There are currently clear errors with the automation statistics, already with the number of shots. It’s a cold fact, and they’re pretty big mistakes, Jalonen stated to Ilta-Sanom (you will switch to another service).
According to Leijonaluotsi, it’s about statistics that simply cannot have errors.
Editor of Etelä-Suomen Sanomat Mikael Hoikkala previously posted a thread on Twitter about the ambiguities in the statistics. Jukurie’s goalkeeper, who was part of Leijoni’s Olympic and World Cup gold teams, commented on the topic Frans Tuohimaa.
– Players’ bonuses are distributed based on these statistics. Bets are made on these statistics. Based on the data obtained from these, Finnish ice hockey is “developed”. In addition, a statistical comparison between, for example, Liiga and SHL is completely impossible. It can’t be like this!
According to the SM league, the problem has been communication
For several seasons now, the majority of SM league statistics have come from Wisehockey, which specializes in sports analytics. However, a change was made for this season, so that the shot and save statistics also come through the automation system. Statistics people sitting in halls no longer count bets and saves by hand.
Director of Digital Business of the SM League Jukka Sundquist admits to Urheilu that there have been challenges in interpretable situations.
– As far as they are concerned, certain situations have either gone wrong or have been interpreted in a way that divides opinions, somewhat depending on the point of view and the situation. The situation is serious in the sense that these comments and situations have occurred, Sundquist responds to the criticism.
According to Sundquist, there are two root causes of the problem.
– The first is communication, i.e. more discussion is needed between the SM league, Wisehockey and the clubs.
– The second is the definitions of statistics. When talking about the statistics of the international federation, they are the basis. But there may be differences of interpretation in certain sections of the definitions.
According to Sundquist, however, the matter culminates in situations open to interpretation and how they are wanted to be marked in the statistics.
Wisehockey produces 50 statistics for each player in the match and hundreds of team statistics.
In MTV’s story, an example was brought up, how in the match between HIFK and Kärppie, HIFK Otto Paajanen a shot in a situation where he did not touch the puck was marked in the statistics.
Even based on that example, there have been clear errors in the statistics. However, according to the SM league and Wisehockey, the biggest reason lies in differences in interpretation. Wisehockey Product Director Mika Hulki said to Ilta-Sanom (you will switch to another service)that the International Hockey Federation has received strict interpretations of how to define a goal shot.
For example, shots that miss the goal are no longer marked as saves, even if the goalie knocks the puck over. When doing statistics by hand, sometimes the solution might be different. The same is true in situations where the goalie scoops the puck under without having been preceded by an actual shot.
When you get rid of obvious mistakes and fix the algorithms, the advantage of automatic calculation is comparability – the job is no longer dependent on the bookkeeping of different people.
– I collect video clips of unclear situations and then we have discussions about how each situation should be defined, Hulkki stated to Ilta-Sanom.
Wisehockey receives a lot of praise from the SM league
According to Sundquist, the SM league and Wisehockey have worked together to ensure that the definitions and communication towards the clubs has reached the level it should.
Most recently, the league’s representatives, the service provider and the clubs sat down to discuss the issue on Wednesday.
What kind of taste was left?
– Very good. We went through what the definitions are, in which situations there is room for interpretation and how we take them forward.
– We need a constant dialogue about statistics with the league, clubs and technical implementers so that we know how to develop in the direction that this series wants.
In Wisehockey’s head, we think about possible situations that are open to interpretation and how to handle them. According to Sundquist, Wisehockey has already made changes to its algorithms.
However, Sundquist emphasizes that the SM league is very satisfied with receiving the data from Wisehockey.
– We have a crown jewel here, as long as we harness it to do the things we want together as a community.
Although there has been a lot of public feedback, according to Sundquist, a better understanding has already been reached with the clubs. According to him, the feedback has been “absolutely constructive”.
Sundquist points out that statistics are important for the entire league community, i.e. also for the spectators.
– We are pushing it furiously forward to harness the modern system we have in place for the purpose of making the best possible experience for fans, players, clubs and everyone in the community.
Can you give a schedule, in which time frame things will be clear for everyone, i.e. when the matter will be balanced?
– Maybe it’s good to understand that the goal of statistics is always one hundred percent truth. The goal is never quite reached. It’s not like everyone is always right. Things may happen in the game that need to be fixed, or there may be a problem with the technology.
– The fact that we are in a situation where we basically want: I hope we get there really soon. I think we are already very, very close to there with the discussions and measures taken now.
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