NHL Edge puck and player tracking data is bringing NHL fans inside the game with insights and breakdowns of their favorite teams and players. The information has possible applications for Ontario sports betting customers too.
This tracking system uses infrared technology and up to 20 cameras installed in every rink in the NHL to capture data from tracking technology that has been embedded in every NHL game puck and player jersey. This gives fans and bettors access to the same data that NHL coaches and general managers can consult.
With the NHL Edge data now live and available to the public for the first time (it had previously been for internal use only), OntarioBets.com wanted to take a deep dive into the site to see how it could be used to assist bettors at Ontario sportsbook apps when they wager on NHL games, particularly on individual player props such as player-to-score bets.
Data Points Included In NHL Edge Stats
The data currently available via edge.nhl.com includes information on shot speed, shot location, skating speed, skating distance and the time the puck spends in each zone. Users can look at a player's individual numbers, compare them to other players around the league, or they can look at teams as a whole and compare them to other teams.
One of the most useful data points for wagering is shot location. Fans and bettors can see if a player is more likely to take shots from high-danger areas where they’re more likely to score, or if the bulk of their shots come from areas where opposing goaltenders are most likely to stop them.
Let’s look at this from a Toronto sports betting angle, using Toronto Maple Leafs superstar forward Auston Matthews as a prime example. Through 10 games entering Friday, Matthews has eight goals on 45 shots for a shooting percentage of 17.8%, well above league average. NHL Edge stats reveal that about half of his shots come from the highest danger areas of the ice, while only three have come from long range (defined on the site’s charts as beyond the faceoff circles).
Matthews isn’t the only Toronto star who’s dangerous from in close; he and teammate John Tavares are tied for the league lead with 22 high-danger shots. See OntarioBets.com 2023-24 NHL MVP odds to follow the race for the Hart Trophy, which Matthews won in 2022. All of this means that a prop bet on Matthews to score a goal is a reasonable wager every single game.
Best Uses For NHL Edge Information
The skating speed and distance numbers are extremely interesting for evaluating players. But for individual player prop betting they aren’t overly helpful. More actionable is the zone time info. To go back to Matthews, we can use his zone time numbers to determine where the puck is for the majority of the time he is on the ice.
Through 10 games this season, the puck has been in the offensive zone for 44.3% of the time when Matthews is on the ice, slightly ahead of the league average of 41.5% for forwards. With the amount of ice time Matthews generally receives, this information tells us that we can expect him to be in the offensive zone for at least eight minutes a night, more than enough time for him to find the back of the net. That’s one more reason to track the Maple Leafs and their 2023-24 Stanley Cup odds with OntarioBets.com.
All of the tracking data, now available for everyday fans and bettors, is extremely interesting. But folks using Ontario sportsbooks will need to decide for themselves exactly which pieces of info will help them profit on their favorite players and teams.
