Badge Glossary
The original LB-Hockey vision didn’t include badges, but they have quickly grown to be one the site’s most prominent & fun features. With this, it feels necessary to build a glossary to quickly go over what each of them is attempting to capture. If you were looking for the badge credits page that links all the assets used for building the badge visuals, it can be found here.
Skater Badges
Analytics Ace
– Play-drivers with good underlying possession numbers on both the offensive & defensive side
– Use with-or-with-you impacts on teammates & opposition, along with generation and suppression of both chances and in-zone pressure
Breakout Candidate
– Players projected to see a significant jump in production (points) based on their skill level of various offensive metrics and age
Coach’s Dream
– Those who embody the style of a coach’s favourite through responsible consistent play and checking effort
Deployment Defier
– Skaters outperforming difficult deployment
– Measured by looking at SPAR above expected given unfavourable zone starts, quality of teammates, and quality of competition
Dynamic Creator
– Most exciting offensive dynamos in the league whether that’s through attacking off the rush, setting up high-danger chances, or creating them for themselves
Efficient Attacker
– Players who consistently generate offence and produce at a high rate
Elusive Carrier
– Shifty skaters who carry a bulk of zone entries and use their skating prowess to draw penalties
End-to-End Rusher
– Defensive zone retrieval -> breakout -> zone entry -> chance off the entry
– Basically just this ↓
Got That DAWG In ‘Em
– Most clutch individuals in the league
– Measured by a weighted combination of key goal contributions, playoff scoring, and performance in defending late leads
Gritty Grinder
– Remarkable checkers who can wear down the opposition through relentless forechecking, shadowing pressure, & physicality
Net-Front Presence
– Forwards that dominate the slot through screens, tips, and rebounds
– Defensemen that mitigate in-tight chances through boxing out in the slot with physicality and an active defensive stick
Pillar of Support
– Secondary or tertiary pieces on a line who play a strong support game
– This positive impact on their teammates can be through off-puck positioning/routes in the o-zone, good puck management, and consistent defensive tracking
PK Specialist
– Best penalty killers in the league
– By suppressing chances on the man disadvantage, clearing pucks, and preventing the opposition from getting set up in the zone
Possession Snatcher
– Takeaway threats who often turn over pucks through direct stick-lifts, puck battles, or winning races
PP Specialist
– Best powerplay contributors in the league
– By generating chances and converting on the man advantage
Pristine Puck-Mover
– Top puck-movers by leveraging their passing skills all over the ice whether that’s utilizing their teammates on the breakout, upon entering the zone, or finding them for chances in the offensive zone
Puck Police
– Players that ensure their teams retain possessions by stripping the opposition and rarely turning the puck over, all while being disciplined and drawing some penalties in the process
Puzzle Piece
– Skaters who succeed at sporting a playstyle that complements similar-talent-level linemates by leveraging their strengths and covering their weaknesses
– Formerly the “Compatibility” metric in the Teamplay category of the main cards before being replaced with the “Consistency” stat
Scoring Threat
– The league’s top scoring options that leverage their ability to get open for strong chances, create opportunities for themselves with the puck, and pure finishing prowess
Shutdown Stalwart
– The most competent defensive players whether that’s against the cycle in their own zone, while defending the rush, or on the penalty kill
Well-Rounded Worker
– Players with diverse toolkits who are similarly competent in nearly all aspects of the game
Wrecking Ball
– Power forwards and disruptive defensemen that employ their high-paced intensity and physicality to barrel through games with and without the puck
Skater & Goalie Badges
Bang For Your Buck
– Best deals in the league quantified by average surplus provided throughout the rest of their contract
– Measured by modelling our model’s SPAR against $ value
– Excludes entry-level contracts
B E E F
– The only subjective badge in the batch
– Made to highlight a select few personal favourites
Father Time
– Top performing veterans in the league
Most Improved
– Players who have taken the biggest jumps in the most recent season
– Both in terms of impact (SPAR) and production (Points Pace)
Short King
– Top performing (very) short players in the league
Stylistic Unicorn
– Unique play styles that are also successful
– Using similarity distance from “Similar Styles” code
Shot Badges (Skaters & Goalies)
These badges look at performances on specific types of shots. For goalies, it simply looks at GSAx (goals saved above expected) on the selected shot type. Whereas for skaters, the metric is a combination of volume and finishing scores to measure how often they employ these shots and their success when taking them.
One-Tee Wonder
– one-timers
Slapshot Hotshot
– slap shots
Snap Star
– snap shots
Wrister Master
– wrist shots
Goalie Badges
Eyesight’s 20/20
– Excellent puck-tracking and play anticipation
Fitness Fanatic
– Blend of athleticism, endurance, and the ability to lock in early in games
Game Breaker
– Goalies who can often steal you games and perform well when needed most
Ice in Veins
– Strong performers in high-pressure situations like dangerous rushes and scrambles
Rapid Reflexes
– Fast reaction speed on various plays like tips/deflections, quick passes, and breakaways
Rebound Ruler
– Ability to mitigate rebounds by absorbing them before they happen or redirecting them away from prime areas
Steady Tendy
– Consistent goalies that can be relied on to put together respectable performances day-in and day-out, while stopping what they are expected to
Willful Workhorse
– Net-minders integral to their team by eating up a bulk of starts every season and stopping a large volume & quality of shots
WOW Factor
– Goalies who somehow often make the glorious sprawling saves, whether that’s off cross-crease one-timers or last-second rebound robberies