The Toronto Maple Leafs are delving deeper into the world of advanced statistics.
Darryl Metcalf, founder of the popular hockey stats website extraskater.com, is set to head up a new analytics department for the Leafs. Hockey bloggers Cam Charron and Rob Pettapiece will join Metcalf as part of the team.
The news was first reported by Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo! Sports and since confirmed by Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston and Damien Cox.
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The Leafs have yet to make an official announcement, but it is the latest move team president Brendan Shanahan has made that indicates a significant shift in the franchise’s philosophy when it comes to advanced stats and using various hockey metrics to evaluate talent.
In July, 28-year-old Kyle Dubas was hired as an assistant general manager to Dave Nonis. Dubas spent three seasons as GM of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in the Ontario Hockey League and was known for his progressive approach to the game.
On Tuesday, the Leafs continued their off-season restructuring by hiring Brandon Pridham as an assistant to Nonis. Pridham is expected to help with salary cap analysis and contract negotiations among other things.
