Line Compatibility Lab
Having already developed various dashboards to examine individual players, the evident next step was to build some that look at the interactions between them. One of the more well-known examples for this are roster/lineup builders, and although the one I am building isn’t out at the time of writing this, tons of progress has been completed towards finishing it. This Line Compatibility Lab however, is a more in-depth look that provides insights on singular lines rather than teams as a whole.
Contributions Radar
Drawing from the Comparison Atlas‘s main feature, this radar chart aims to show which players on the line are contributing to which areas of the game. The same eight skills are used with each circle marking a 25 percentile increase from the previous smaller one within it. The overall shape here is defined by the best player in each category. So for the Jamie Oleksiak & Simon Edvinsson pair below, Faber has the higher scores in passing, suppression, transition defend, & breakout, while Edvinsson is ahead for the other options. The solid white outline connecting all these maximums attempts to illustrate how balanced the potential line or pair is as a result.
Line Stats
Four stat-lines are displayed under the player action shots. The combined cap hit is very simple in that it adds up the average annual value for all skaters on the line. Directly above it, we have the automatic line designation. There are ten different types of lines that can be assigned:
– Checking (wearing down the opposition)
– Shutdown (preventing chances against)
– Scoring (generating chances & scoring goals)
– Balanced (great all-around play)
– Puck-Moving (can exit their own zone and enter the offensive zone with ease)
– Possession (strong underlying numbers at both ends of the ice)
– All-Out Offence (exceptional & diversified offence, at the expense of defense & checking)
– Two-Way Transition (masters of the neutral zone, high transition attack & defend)
– Power (power forward-leaning style with the ability to check and score)
– Finesse (dynamic puck carrying & passing)
Scores for each of these are calculated with a weighted average of the eight radar skills, with the top ranking option being assigned to the line.
The level (1st, 2nd, …) is determined by the SPAR impact provided by the line. Speaking of which, the line impact stat is a combination of all skaters’ 3-year weighted SPAR.
And lastly, there is the expected chemistry SPAR. This is the statistical embodiment of the ideal linemate calculations from the Multi-Year Cards which is transformed into an estimate of the added value this line’s team would get from the interactions of their skills when playing together.
Ideal Linemates
The bottom right hosts the ideal linemates section. Using the expected chemistry between every duo in the league, we can extend this to a third dimension and find every ideal third linemate for every combo of two forwards. So let’s say we have a line of Jason Zucker, Adam Lowry, and Morgan Frost selected. The above screenshot shows each duo’s ideal complement: Lowry & Frost’s is Daniel Strong, Zucker & Frost’s is Nicolas Roy, and Zucker & Lowry’s is Filip Chytil. Evidently the formatting is similar for defensemen, but due to the nature of defensive pairs, only the ideal linemate for each of the two individual players is shown here.
Badges
Finally in the bottom left, we have the line’s collection of badges. This should be fairly self-explanatory in that it unites all present players’ badges. Although six can only ever be displayed at any time in the multi-year cards, some accrue more than that which is taken into account for this display here. Should two players have the same badges, these are combined to form a higher-level version. Taking the card at the top of the page for example, since Robert Thomas & Sebastian Aho both have the silver “possession snatcher” badge, it is upgraded to gold.