Byfield’s big-man speed, Sanheim’s shot, and other standout stats from NHL Edge player tracking

Credit: Quinton Byfield (© Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports)

Something that felt theoretical just a few years ago is now a reality for hockey fans and media members alike. On Monday, the NHL officially made its puck and player tracking data available to the public with NHL Edge, a new stats portal. Even if NHL teams previously had access to the information, your average hockey nut can now find out who has the fastest in-game skating speed or shot, the longest distance travelled and so on.

Maybe you’re eager to dive into the sandbox and unearth some interesting stats – but you’re too busy or you find the massive data set overwhelming. If so, I’m here to help.

If the entire NHL Edge site feels like one big TL;DR for you, I’ll pull out some of the most interesting stats found on NHL Edge for this season. All with the caveat that the sample sizes are small so far. Maybe we revisit these numbers a few more times later in the year.

Travis Sanheim leads the NHL in max shot power, 100+ mph shots and 90+ mph shots

Any way you slice it, Sanheim is the NHL’s heaviest shooter so far this season. On top of ripping a 101.49 mph shot, he has already fired nine pucks at 90 mph or more in game situations. Yet he has never topped seven goals in a season. What gives? He doesn’t grade out as an inaccurate shooter; among active defensemen with at least 100 games, he sits in the 67^th percentile in career shooting percentage. Sanheim just needs to shoot more. He averages just 1.54 shots per game for his career. This season so far: 2.20. The goals will come if he maintains that prolific output.

The sixth-best max speed this season belongs to…Quinton Byfield

Whoa. He can move. Not bad for 6-foot-5 and 220 pounds. There’s a reason scouts used to throw out Eric Lindros as a physical comparable leading up to Byfield’s draft year of 2020. It’s hard not to think of him as a massive bust so far, but keep in mind that he’s still just 21 and really only got his first truly sustained NHL action last season. That speed statistic is a reminder of the physical tools he brings to the table. Sometimes big forwards take time to grow into their bodies. The screamingly obvious recent example is Tage Thompson. Byfield remains on L.A’s top line with Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe. A breakout season remains within reach.

Roope Hintz skates a league-high 11.26 miles per game

Last year, Hintz headlined my All-Underrated team, and this statistic is just another testament to how impactful he is. He’s everywhere, he skates like the wind, and he does it at 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds. He travels almost half a mile more per game than the second-busiest skater in the league – and Hintz’s distance is almost equally distributed in all three zones. Since the start of the 2020-21 season, Dallas has outscored opponents 153-96 with Hintz on the ice at 5-on-5.

Jonas Johansson faces more high-quality shots than anyone

You don’t need a fancy new stat portal to understand that Jonas Johansson has been blitzed by opposing shooters in relief of Andrei Vasilevskiy so far this season. But it’s alarming to see Johansson leading the NHL in high-danger and mid-range shots faced while sitting second in long-range shots faced, too. That’s partially a reflection of volume, as Johansson’s five starts so far rank fifth in the league, but even on a per-60 basis, he ranks among the league leaders in 5-on-5 shots against per 60. The important takeaway here: the Tampa Bay Lightning are not themselves early on. Rather than galvanizing with tighter defensive play in front of a backup goaltender with a poor track record, they appear to have regressed. With seven teams in the Atlantic Division fashioning themselves playoff contenders, the Bolts might be in a dogfight all season.

The Colorado Avalanche lap the field in skating

The Avs lead all teams in bursts of 22 mph more and bursts of 20 mph or more. Even if they’ve seen their depth weakened in recent seasons with the departure of Stanley Cup core members such as Nazem Kadri and J.T. Compher, what the Avs get from their D-corps explains their 5-0-0 start. When you have Cale Makar, Devon Toews, Bowen Byram, Samuel Girard and more carrying the puck into the zone, not to mention the mad dasher Nathan MacKinnon up front, you can overwhelm your opponents. The Avs may be more top-heavy than they’d like in terms of roster construction, but they’re a strong Stanley Cup contender thanks to their scintillating speed.

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