Rob Vollman's Hockey Abstract

Statistical analysis is coming to hockey in a wave very similar to the one that hit baseball years ago. To prepare the baseball world for the boom in statistics, they needed a guide book that could act as a foundation, and that was Bill James' Baseball Abstract. Hockey, too, needs that guide book: a Hockey Abstract that can show how the sport can be viewed through that same type of objective lens that James brought to baseball. At last, it is here. Hockey Abstract is not a textbook, but a guide for how to use analytics to study hockey. Ten questions are answered in a fun and informative way, including who is the best player, goalie or coach, which team will finish first next year, and which was the most lopsided trade in history. Each answer is built on the common foundation of certain key statistics and concepts that are explained in almost as many pages and chapters at the back. Whether you use it as a reference for leading edge research and hard-to-find statistical data, including Vollman's famous Player Usage Charts, or whether you read it for his passionate and engaging story-telling, Hockey Abstract belongs on every serious hockey's fan's bookshelf.