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A success metric for individual player encounters in Ice Hockey videos

Abstract

Player scouting is a critical component of hockey, enabling teams to identify standout players, devise strategies, and assess performance. However, traditional scouting methods are resource-intensive, requiring substantial time and travel expenses for organizations. An approach to performance assessment has been video footage analysis; however, in the context of ice hockey, challenges arise primarily due to the fast-paced nature of the sport and the limited field of view in broadcast footage.This makes it difficult to consistently track all players on the ice simultaneously. A solid performance metric that would make the most out of the information at hand is thus required. We present a 1v1 Success Metric Pipeline, an autonomous system designed to analyze video footage and calculate a success metric to evaluate defensive plays. By automating the tracking and evaluation process, this tool not only streamlines scouting but also provides coaches with valuable insights for player performance, which may come into play during line matching and other strategic decision-making during games. Results show that the ISM metric properly reflects the danger level of a one on one encounter and that despite the sample size being small, the model achieves low root mean square error.
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