Who's Actually Earning Ice Time?

A Simple Examination of PWHL Time on Ice stats

With a lack of advanced stats, it can be hard to quantify who’s been more quietly important for their team. Time on ice is only the tip of the iceberg in gaining an understanding of contributions outside of points but it’s more data than we’ve had access to in the past. 

Using Tableau, I’ve created two tools to examine player ice time in the PWHL: an Ice Time Distribution Comparison, and a Time on Ice Player Trend. 

The Ice Time Distribution Comparison Tool uses a box plot to examine median ice times for each team's roster, with the option to compare median ice times against another team’s roster. The Ice Time Distribution Comparison gives an idea of who are each team’s core players, how a coach is allocating players, which players teams will try to retain in the off season, and which positions they need to fill. 

The Time on Ice Player Trend tool is a line chart that plots the time on ice for a player, with the x-axis being the game number for the player’s team. Users have the option to compare players. The purpose is to see how deployment may have changed for a player over time and how a coach may be adjusting roles on their roster, as well as examine how players’ time on ice  changes when traded. 

Notes about the data: 

• Does not differentiate between even strength time on ice and special teams. 

• Some PWHL game sheets, especially more recent ones, are not available. Others were, but were listed under the entirely wrong game number. Some data may be missing as a result. 

• All times are as reported by the PWHL, but I have some skepticism about the accuracy of all of them. For example, I don’t know if I believe Alex Carpenter played 45 minutes, but she was listed as such (the game sheet I got the data from now has the time on ice taken off.) 

• I hope to update this once the regular season has finished as well. Unfortunately, I can’t commit to updating after every game. 

• As always, if you spot any errors, please contact me! 

Ice Time Distribution Comparison

A few observations: 

• Minnesota and Toronto have been able to generate a lot of offense without exhausting their top line. While players like Poulin, Tapani, Knight, Carpenter, and Roque have been playing over 20 minutes regularly, both Toronto and Minnesota have kept their top lines under 20 minutes and have seen their offenses consistently produce as a result throughout the grind of the season. 

• Teams aren’t trusting their third pair defenders, especially their sixth defenders. Defense was the weakest position heading into the draft, so this isn’t surprising. Montreal seems to be the best at allocating TOI for defenders, until Lásková’s injury, and the acquisition of Boulier should help in that department. Toronto and Minnesota are the worst offenders of neglected third pairings, and while both quality elite talents, playing Larocque or Stecklein for 35 minutes a game every game is probably not going to be a great idea after this year. I do hope Maude Poulin-Labelle and Dominique Kremer find a fit somewhere this offseason, because both are incredibly talented. 

• Mariah Keopple is the undrafted player with the highest minutes a game, excluding the free agents who signed before the draft. Keopple is playing around 21 minutes a night after coming to Montreal as a free agent invite. Right behind her is Kaleigh Fratkin, playing 18 minutes a night for Boston. 

TOI Trends

A few observations: 

• Sophie Jaques is getting a lot of deserved love in Minnesota. Her turnaround should be proof that someone not immediately excelling in the PWHL is not necessarily from a lack of talent but could be a lack of fit on the team, lack of opportunity, or needing time to adjust. That statement shouldn’t be controversial, but there’s a weird amount of people who see PWHL general managers as the true arbitrators of talent and the players as entirely unaffected by their situation, which is just objectively an insane thing to do.

• Other players who’ve been seeing an increase in ice time: Catherine Daoust, Allie Munroe, Natalie Snodgrass. 

• Players seeing an decrease in ice time: Sidney Morin, Theresa Schafzahl, Jincy Roese, Brittany Howard

• The difference isn’t very significant, but I do find it funny that Natalie Spooner has been actually seeing less ice time during her crazy goal scoring run. Only by two or so minutes, but still funny.