Recently, we’ve looked at a couple of different ways the Sabres could use data to improve areas of performance in the offensive zone for both the forwards and backs. Teams spend a lot of time in the offensive zone trying to create offense, but it’s not even the best place to do that.



In fact, the most effective way to create offense is in transition. For anyone out there who has coached at the 14u level for USA Hockey, you’ve likely completed the online courses on development, systems and a variety of other topics. The one that stood out to me was Mike Sullivan, coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins, giving a talk on creating offense in transition.



I went back and looked at our data over the last three years. In it, we can look at how teams generated plays off the rush (passes upon controlled entries) and measure how dangerous these chances are and what teams excel at them. If you want to have a detailed history of some of the analysis in this area,...