Confirmed with Link: Oilers announce hockey operations promotion & additions

[McDNicks17]

RELEASE: Oilers announce hockey operations promotion & additions | Edmonton Oilers

Zack Kassian rejoins the organization as a pro scout while Warren Rychel is promoted to Director of Pro Scouting among other appointments

www.nhl.com

Warren Rychel – Director, Pro Scouting
Zack Kassian – Pro Scout
Aaron Nagy – Amateur Scout
Erik Elenz – Video & Analytics Coaching Coordinator
Dominik Zrim – Director, Hockey Strategy
David Evanochko – Lead Solutions Architect


Some interesting adds there.

"Zrim begins his first season with the Oilers as Director of Hockey Strategy after previously working with the Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks. A co-founder of the popular website CapFriendly, Zrim brings more than 20 years of experience as a systems analyst and project delivery with companies such as TMX, Ubisoft and BCE."

"Evanochko will serve as Lead Solutions Architect with the club's data and analytics group, guiding the technical strategy and development of data-driven solutions to support decision-making across hockey operations. He was formerly the Vice President of Software Development at Conexus Credit Union."

Click to read more...

 

[Bryanbryoil]

This is where IMO we haven't invested enough in the past. There is no cap to hockey ops. Hopefully these guys all add something positive to our management group.

 

[Heavy Dee]

This is a big investment.

 

[Lay Z Boy GM]

This is a big investment.

Right? These guys must be getting paid, they’re not random bloggers, they have some impressive resumes.

Also love having Zack in the org.. did he really play here 7 years? That doesn’t sound right, that’s over half of his career. He really is an Oiler. Find some future linemates for Connor, Kas

Edit: actually Zacks a pro scout. So find us some 4th liners? Either way, love to have him involved, Edmonton loves Zack Kassian

 

[Oilslick941611]

This is where IMO we haven't invested enough in the past. There is no cap to hockey ops. Hopefully these guys all add something positive to our management group.

no cap to hockey ops has been flying around the last week in oilers media. its catching fire!

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

Click to expand...

Lots of interesting hires here. Rychel was a no-brainer with his deep, multi-faceted experience. A fantastic and natural in-house promotion. Nagy's hiring is intriguing again tilting into the strong feeder Ontario hockey market but duality of hockey executive and agency background.

Poaching a strong information based organization for their minor league video & analytics guy is intriguing. Solid academic foundation and good experience. The Zrim hire is really interesting to me with his background skills and hockey organizational experience. Another big tilt toward becoming a modern Information based organization. And Evanochko a direct Parkatti hire through the consulting work he did with Regina's Connexus Credit Union. A clear sign of how Parkatti's role, knowledge and influence is respected within the organization.

We'll seeing a huge seismic shift beginning to manifest on Jackson's early vision articulated on day one.

 

[Lay Z Boy GM]

no cap to hockey ops has been flying around the last week in oilers media. its catching fire!

Bout time! Fans have been saying this for a decade or more lol

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

A better fit here than NFL thread...

A VERY good presentation of a modern Analytics department including its identity
- theoretical vs applied research
- humility, communication, collaboration
- critical importance of trust

Park shifted his career path in actuarial science to drive information-based decision making support within football. Regarded as future prospective NFL GM.



Seguing to the Oilers organizational transformation, one can hear the information based analytical strategic thinking mindset through all level of the organizations through interviews from Jackson, Bowman, Knoblauch, and Pracey. Watching the Young Stars tournament one intermission feature showed the Oilers group at the NHL Draft. Embedded within the heart of its scouting team was their Senior Director, Data & Analytics, Michael Parkatti.

This is the maturation of information based decision making in pro sports and Park gives an amazing testament to the humility (vs. arrogance) and team centred approach to work within these sport cultures. Worth a listen imo!

 

[iCanada]

Wait, so the capitals bought cap friendly, and we got cap Friendly's cap guy?



Love it.

Given the Chicago connection, I wonder how much credit Bowman deserves there.

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

But what will we do with all our copies of The Guide And Record Book?

 

[iCanada]

But what will we do with all our copies of The Guide And Record Book?

Don't worry, Holland stole them on his way out and is taking them with him to Utah.

 

[Jumptheshark]

Wait, so the capitals bought cap friendly, and we got cap Friendly's cap guy?



Love it.

Given the Chicago connection, I wonder how much credit Bowman deserves there.

I have looked a little deeper on the guy. It sounds like he suffers from "Big Table" envy. Like a certain former oiler guy who I think is in new jersey or with the leafs (the lawyer guy).. The guy the oilers hired spent a year with the sharks and the hawks and from a few of the comments on line suggests that he thought he was being hired to be the the GMs and head of hockey operations main advisor. While analytics plays a key part in certain parts of how to be a build a team, analytics in hockey is nowhere near at the level it is in baseball--but the hockey analytics guys will tell you other wise.

 

[Reginald Dunlop]

I have looked a little deeper on the guy. It sounds like he suffers from "Big Table" envy. Like a certain former oiler guy who I think is in new jersey or with the leafs (the lawyer guy).. The guy the oilers hired spent a year with the sharks and the hawks and from a few of the comments on line suggests that he thought he was being hired to be the the GMs and head of hockey operations main advisor. While analytics plays a key part in certain parts of how to be a build a team, analytics in hockey is nowhere near at the level it is in baseball--but the hockey analytics guys will tell you other wise.

The lawyer youre thinking of is Tyler Dellow, new AGM with the Canes under Tulsky.

 

[Jumptheshark]

The lawyer youre thinking of is Tyler Dellow, new AGM with the Canes under Tulsky.

wasnt he in Jersey for awhile?

 

[Reginald Dunlop]

wasnt he in Jersey for awhile?

Yes, after brief time with the Oilers he was in NJ for quite a few years before his promotion this summer.

 

[FlameChampion]

Some interesting hires,

Not sure about Rychel for the director of pro scouting though. Not sure I love promoting someone when the pro scouting has been pretty poor on this team.

But like all these hires and jobs, its really tough to tell how well they are doing from an outsider.

 

[McDNicks17]

Some interesting hires,

Not sure about Rychel for the director of pro scouting though. Not sure I love promoting someone when the pro scouting has been pretty poor on this team.

But like all these hires and jobs, its really tough to tell how well they are doing from an outsider.

To be fair, Rychel has only been with the Oilers for the last two seasons and it's been pretty decent then.

Holland has never been the type to roll the dice on pro scouting finds too. It'll be interesting to see if we see a few more risks taken on unproven guys like Podkolzin now that they aren't just adding players purely based on experience and the record book.

 

[alphahelix]

While analytics plays a key part in certain parts of how to be a build a team, analytics in hockey is nowhere near at the level it is in baseball--but the hockey analytics guys will tell you other

Oilers were way ahead of the 8ball on this decades ago but then cut it all out. For certain, the entire point of developing this component of your management team is to get the inside track and become the group of geniuses that takes it to the level that it is in baseball, and beyond if possible. As they say, no cap for management. Katz /Holland were foolish not to exercise their cash advantage in this area for so long. The investment doesn’t necessarily pay off, but at the very least you’ll know exactly what other teams are seeing in the data and it should help you adjust your negotiations in both trades and signings in favourable ways, and prevent you from getting taken advantage of.

If they crack the code and we win some cups on their backs, thats a bonus. Its hard to be too far out front of the crowd anymore (unlike when they first had Parkatti/dellow etc in intern roles), but now its a prerequisite to understand the lay of the land as some competing management teams are fundamentally built around it.

 

[Jumptheshark]

Oilers were way ahead of the 8ball on this decades ago but then cut it all out. For certain, the entire point of developing this component of your management team is to get the inside track and become the group of geniuses that takes it to the level that it is in baseball, and beyond if possible. As they say, no cap for management. Katz /Holland were foolish not to exercise their cash advantage in this area for so long. The investment doesn’t necessarily pay off, but at the very least you’ll know exactly what other teams are seeing in the data and it should help you adjust your negotiations in both trades and signings in favourable ways, and prevent you from getting taken advantage of.

If they crack the code and we win some cups on their backs, thats a bonus. Its hard to be too far out front of the crowd anymore (unlike when they first had Parkatti/dellow etc in intern roles), but now its a prerequisite to understand the lay of the land as some competing management teams are fundamentally built around it.

Not all analytical experts are a like. 99% of the guys into analytics got into via a book that came out about 10 years ago by Rob Vollman. Vollman literally wrote the book on analytics and he will be the first one to tell ya pointing at the chart is not the end but the beginning of explaining analytics.

He was on lowetide a few years ago and talked about the misconception of analytics and certain people trying to sell themselves to teams. They believe they will be in every meeting on every player. He openly says, he sits down and talks to LA GM and once or twice week and the first thing he learned is he needs to bring video to any conversation he has to back up what he is talking about.

He also uses Larry Murphy paradigm to explain how people misunderstand how to use analytics sometimes. Murphy was with the Leafs while he was putting up pts what was previously called advance stats and now analytics were bad. He was more or less used on the powerplay and and against the other teams 3rd line. People said Murphy was 35 and done. Leafs traded to the wings for futures, that is how bad his advance stats were. HE plays 4 more seasons, wins 2 more cups and goes into the hall of fame. Murphy's game did not change, just the type of lines he played on and how he was used. Murphy was not banger, he was a transition D man that could makes passes that other players could not. But his advance stats were bad and leafs dumped him. The problem was not Murphy but how the leafs used him.


The problem with analytics sometimes is the teams admitting they are using the players wrong.

 

[PositiveCashFlow]

This is is quite different than how Barry Fraser used to scout back in the day

 

[AddyTheWrath]

Some interesting hires,

Not sure about Rychel for the director of pro scouting though. Not sure I love promoting someone when the pro scouting has been pretty poor on this team.

But like all these hires and jobs, its really tough to tell how well they are doing from an outsider.

Pro scouting has actually been decent recently. Hyman, Ekholm, Henrique, Arvidsson have all been some pretty good gets

 

[AM]

The problem with analytics sometimes is the teams admitting they are using the players wrong.

Which is why analytics works better in baseball than hockey. Hockey is a team game and you have to work off the other players on your team. It’s like baseball but the players on your team have a say in positioning you at the home plate to bat. Good team mates set you up in the batters box facing the right way. Bad ones make you bat from 5 feet away.

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

Pro scouting has actually been decent recently. Hyman, Ekholm, Henrique, Arvidsson have all been some pretty good gets

Those are all deeply established pedigree NHL players whose value is clear and easily quantifiable. One would need to include in this grouping the disastrous big money and term Jack Campbell. All of these players cost big money and/or pedigree draft and prospect collateral.

The juice in pro scouting is finding latent value through beating the bushes across minor pro, European leagues, and within NHL rosters. Best Oiler example was likely the waiver eligible positional strength swap of Kostin for Samoroukov. Florida (spitting bile) finding Forsling and Montour as waiver claim and a 3rd round pick respectively. Arizona requiring Kesselring as a throw-in for a UFA deadline deal.

A couple decent articles of pro scouting work process and scope, if interested:

(Cites the Kesselring pick up): Coyotes pro scouting staff plays key role at trade deadline

Sitting with the Pro Scouts | Seattle Kraken

Mid-May's Kraken hockey meetings focused on evaluating every player signed to a pro contract by the 31 other NHL franchises. Here’s how the team’s pro scouts work

www.nhl.com

 

[NotASheep]

Long over due.

 

[joestevens29]

This is is quite different than how Barry Fraser used to scout back in the day

Although in all fairness there are more jobs within organizations nowadays that you could do from a beach in Mexico.