Real-time big data brings competitive advantage in KHL – Coach legend Bob Hartley: “Wisehockey helps us in our daily work”

For the third full season in a row, the Wisehockey real-time sports analytics platform helps many KHL clubs to deepen their data-driven knowledge and to lead their actions based on reliable data. Bob Hartley, the head coach of Omsk Avangard, describes how big data helps his team in their daily work. Wisehockey provides statistics that are not available anywhere else, fully automatically without manual effort.

The ongoing season is the KHL’s third full season with the Wisehockey real-time analytics platform. From the very beginning, the KHL has been using real-time data in a visible way daily in TV, arenas, betting, and other digital channels such as the official KHL mobile app and websites.

In addition, many KHL’s top teams have been able to deepen their data-driven knowledge and lead their actions based on big data analysis. A real-time Wisehockey webportal with visualized statistics is available to all KHL clubs 24/7. The webportal allows viewing visualized data from played games and ongoing matches.

One of these progressive teams is Omsk Avangard, the 2020-21 Gagarin Cup winner. The team has adopted Wisehockey as one key element in team and player development.

Omsk Avangard’s Canadian head coach Bob Hartley is a coach with decades of experience in professional hockey and a Stanley Cup and Gagarin Cup winner. His career includes the NHL in Colorado, Atlanta, and Calgary, the KHL in Omsk, and national teams of Latvia.

Hartley says that Avangard benefits from real-time data because it provides unique, advanced tools for the team. Moreover, the fully automated Wisehockey platform requires no manual work to produce visualized statistics.

“Wisehockey produces a lot of information that is not available via other systems. Everything is available in real time without any manual effort, which naturally helps us in our daily work. The platform offers many very advanced tools such as real-time xG, shotmaps with all previous puck and player movements, profound offense analysis, and player profiling, just to mention a few,” Hartley says.

Wisehockey data can be used in many ways and in different contexts, Hartley points out.

“There are multiple options to use smart puck data. On top of various fan engagement activities, teams get a full set of analytics in real time. The data is available with visuals immediately during the game, including automated video-clipping from thousands of events.”

The possibilities of real-time data and API for sports clubs and organizations are unique.

“In longer-term analysis, the Wisehockey API offers us a mass of high-quality, ready-made data. It also gives us an opportunity to dig deeper into our game philosophy. I haven’t seen so many opportunities with one solution before in my career,” Hartley concludes.

Sports clubs and organizations benefit from consistent and comparable statistics for player and team development. The Wisehockey platform enables this on a unique scale. With thousands of tracked games a year, the potential for deeper-level game and player analysis is larger than ever with modern AI and machine learning tools.