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The New Jersey Devils have hired Tyler Dellow as VP of Analytics.

My understanding is the Devils have been looking to add to their staff for a while. This hiring is hardly surprising, especially now. The Devils will want as many hands on deck as possible to work through the boatload of data they'll have when player tracking soon becomes available.

Craig Custance of The Athletic recently suggested as much in an article about the upcoming data revolution.

But the biggest impact may ultimately come in how individual teams use this data. Many franchises are already formulating plans to capitalize on the mountain of data that’s about to arrive in their front offices.

It’s believed that the Toronto Maple Leafs, New Jersey Devils, Tampa Bay Lightning, Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers are among the franchises either adding to their analytics staffs or considering it. That’s likely just the tip of the iceberg.

Dellow, most recently of The Athletic, has been one of hockey analytics' most prominent voices for as long as I can remember.

He is a sharp mind who asks a lot of questions and knows how to comb through the data to get answers, even if the findings don't end up overly important.

I think half the battle is coming up with different ways to put the data at hand to use – everyone knows the basics – and Dellow doesn't seem to be short on ideas. That's a good thing.

He also has prior NHL experience with the Edmonton Oilers. That will give him an idea of what to expect, and what he could do differently this time around.

It's no secret I'm a big believer in analytics so it's just nice to see the Devils are serious about investing in that area. They need every edge they can get, and they have a better chance of finding some with a good analytics staff at their disposal.

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