The Pittsburgh Penguins signed one of the best free agents on the market on Wednesday. It wasn't a player, it wasn't a coach, and it wasn't somebody for the medical staff. They hired one of the brightest analytical hockey minds that was available, Pittsburgh's own Sam Ventura.
Sam Ventura is the co-founder of what I consider the top hockey data website at the current moment, War On Ice.
Jason Mackey wrote some details about the hire in the Pittsburgh Tribune and I will share those
BREAKING: The Penguins have hired @stat_sam of @war_on_ice as a consultant responsible for analytics. Story: http://t.co/9tPFpbVou3
— Jason Mackey (@Mackey_Trib) July 22, 2015
“My hope is that over time we can build an analytics team,… Karmanos told Trib Total Media.“In order to do that correctly, ideally you would have full-time positions on staff. That's the goal. I think (hiring) Sam was a huge step in that direction.…
The concept of building a team rather than just ending with one hire is encouraging. Hires like this don't count against the salary cap. The more resources the better.
@travisyost but the savings when they don't hire an Engelland this time around will be well worth that $0
— Corsi Jones (@vowswithinhb) July 22, 2015Sam had this to say about his hire:
“I guess you could say I sort of have two dream jobs right now,… Ventura said. “My real job is really what I've wanted to do for a long time, and that's to be a professor, teach and do research that's impactful in ways outside of the sporting world.“Growing up in Pittsburgh and being a Penguins fan, I couldn't be happier to help out in whatever ways I can help out now.…
Karmanos had this to say about Sam' future with the team:
“Given his skill set and how he handles himself, I think there's a very real possibility that he could be a full-time employee with the Penguins in the future.…
I would be surprised if that did not happen.
This is an earlier passage from July that Jason Mackey wrote in an earlier Sam Ventura article:
One thing that separates those at war-on-ice from Metcalf or Dellow is they want their work to live on long after they take the next, expected step of working for an NHL team. Both realize it's possible, but war-on-ice isn't going anywhere, Thomas insisted.“When people take down their work, as an academic, that bothers me,… Thomas said. “They shared it to all … and I know it's their right to take it back … but if it's also being shaped by the community — user posts, discussions that came about because of it — that bothers me when that is no longer accessible.
“We're taking all the measures now, with the sharing of data publicly, that we're going to keep that ethos that someone else can pick up where we left off, as long as they want to pay the bills.…
Unlike the terrific Extra Skater website which is now defunct the hiring of Sam Ventura and/or A.C. Thomas will not shut down the valuable resource that is War On Ice. This is great news for hockey fans regardless of the differing levels of interest in hockey statistics.
Hiring @stat_sam is orders of magnitude more impressive to me than trading for Kessel.
— Andy Smith (@thatandysmith) July 22, 2015
I agree with that sentiment . It doesn't take an expert to realize that Phil Kessel is pretty great. It does take one to understand middle range roster moves. Pittsburgh has not done well at the middle to low range moves and it has been a hurdle Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin haven't been able to overcome on their own. No Stanley Cup contenders ask as much of their star players as the Penguins do of Crosby and Malkin. Folks like Sam Ventura can help the evaluation process as well as maximize salary cap value of future signings.
Having somebody like Sam Ventura in the organization guarantees there will be at least one voice who won't be supporting the acquisition of players like Rob Scuderi, Tanner Glass, Craig Adams, Taylor Pyatt, Zach Sill, Max Lapierre etc...
However, he is just one voice. His voice is only as important as the people who are in charge perceive it to be. This hiring won't do any good if the powers that be don't heed his recommendations.
The hiring of Sam Ventura has been received positively throughout the analytics community. It is clear that he is one of the most respected members of that community.
Big time congrats to @stat_sam. If you like @war_on_ice, you like his work. https://t.co/K5usKl0Cn4
— Hon. mc79hockey (@mc79hockey) July 22, 2015
— Micah Blake McCurdy (@IneffectiveMath) July 22, 2015
As smart as @stat_sam is, thing I liked most about him was how accessible he was to provide feedback and assistance. Just a solid guy.
— Ryan Stimson (@RK_Stimp) July 22, 2015
Than when a student's excellent work gets recognized and they get rewarded with their dream opportunity.
— A.C. Thomas (@acthomasca) July 22, 2015
In my limited interactions with Sam Ventura he has been extremely kind, knowledgeable, and invites conversation. When you combine his wealth of statistical expertise with his ability to communicate those ideas it is pretty obvious the Pittsburgh Penguins have hit an absolute home run.
Long term this could be one of the best free agent signings of the year.
Congratulations Sam and good luck!
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