Inside The Sabres' Pre-Draft Analytics Process

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Headlines:

• "NHL Teams' Draft Strategies Revealed" (Sports Illustrated) • The Buffalo Sabres' advanced draft analytics revealed, featuring metrics like Corsi, xGOAL, and relative faceoff win percentage. (Inside Sabres' Draft Analytics Process) • "NBA Teams Increasingly Rely on Data-Driven Decision Making" (Forbes) • The LA Lakers' front office uses data analytics to optimize player evaluations and trades. • "Major League Baseball Teams Focus on Advanced Scouting" (MLB. com) • The Chicago Cubs use advanced statistics to identify undervalued players. • "Soccer Teams Use Data Analytics to Gain Competitive Advantage" (The Guardian) • Manchester City uses data science to improve its set piece strategy. • "NFL Teams Adopt Data-Driven Approach to Free Agency" (ESPN) • The Kansas City Chiefs use advanced analytics to sign top free agents. • "The Role of Data Analytics in the NBA Lottery" (NBA. com) • Teams use simulations to predict ping-pong balls and optimize draft picks. • "Toronto Maple Leafs' Analytics Department Revealed" (TSN) • The Toronto Maple Leafs' analytics department provides real-time data during games. • "NY Yankees Use Data Analytics to Develop Young Talent" (Wall Street Journal) • The Yankees' analytics team helps develop internal talent and identify undervalued prospects. • "Fantasy Sports and the Craft of Data Analysis" (FantasyPros) • Data analysis is key to making informed fantasy sports decisions. These articles provide insights into the growing popularity and importance of data analytics in various professional sports leagues, from the NFL to the NBA, "MLB," "and soccer."

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Sam Ventura, Domenic Galamini Jr., and Matt Barlowe explain how the organization uses statistics to inform decision making leading up to the draft.

Sam Ventura and his hockey analytics staff estimated there was less than a 10-percent chance that Zach Benson would still be on the board when the Buffalo Sabres made their selection with the 13th-overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.

So, when the Sabres' vice president of hockey strategy and research watched as Benson fell to 13, it made the months of work that he, data scientist Domenic Galamini Jr., and data engineer Matt Barlowe had done leading up to the draft more than worth it.

The analytics group, in addition to the rest of the hockey department, was excited about the pick, and the 18-year-old subsequently earned a 23-man roster spot following a productive training camp.

Benson went on to record 30 points (11+19) in 71 games in his first NHL season, finishing ninth among rookie forwards in points, ahead of fellow 2023 first-round picks Leo Carlsson (second overall) and Adam Fantilli (third overall).

With the 2024 NHL Draft a week away, Ventura, Galamini Jr., and Barlowe are once again in the final stages of their draft process as the Sabres prepare to make eight picks.

As the Sabres' hockey department continues to meet to finalize its list of prospects, Sabres.com spoke with the analytics team to learn more about the data science part of the draft process.

Ventura began his career during the 2015-16 season as a team consultant for the Pittsburgh Penguins, a role he held during the club's back-to-back Stanley Cup championships. He was promoted to director of hockey operations and research for Pittsburgh in 2017, then joined the Sabres ahead of the 2021-22 season.

Along his journey, Ventura has noticed just how much data science in hockey – particularly in prospect evaluation – has grown.