Expert shares hockey data analytics concepts with MTSU students, faculty, administrators

Micah McCurdy, a Canadian university adjunct math professor, explains the decrease in the Nashville Predators 5-on-5 offensive production during the 2022-23 NHL season to Middle Tennessee State University students, faculty and administrators attending his Wednesday, June 28, talk in a Kirksey Old Main classroom. Primarily in a networking role with friends, fans and media, McCurdy was in Nashville, Tenn., June 28-29 for the 2023 NHL Entry Draft in Bridgestone Arena. (MTSU photo by J. Intintoli)

When NHL fan and MTSU math professor Chris Stephens learned mathematics whiz-turned-hockey-analytics- expert Micah McCurdy was coming to Nashville, Tennessee, for this year’s two-day entry draft of top prospects and other related events, he couldn’t resist inviting him to the Middle Tennessee State University campus.

McCurdy accepted the Department of Mathematical Sciences’ chair’s offer and spoke to more than 20 MTSU students, faculty and administrators (Provost Mark Byrnes and College of Basic and Applied Sciences Dean Greg Van Patten) on Wednesday, June 28, in a Kirksey Old Main classroom.

Middle Tennessee State University Department of Mathematical Sciences professor Mary Martin, left, and Provost Mark Byrnes, right, visit with Canadian college adjunct math professor Micah McCurdy, creator and owner of hockeyviz.com, who has turned a sports data analytics hobby into a money-making proposition. McCurdy spoke to about 20 MTSU students, faculty and administrators in Kirksey Old Main on Wednesday, June 28. (MTSU photo by J. Intintoli)

A Saint Mary’s University adjunct professor who grew up in hockey-crazed Canada, McCurdy has never played the sport or learned to ice skate. It (NHL data analytics) “started as a hobby about a decade ago, but I’ve been doing it professionally for about seven or eight years.”

Information about him indicates his “graphs, charts and articles show what happened, suggest what will happen (and) show us how we should think about hockey.”

McCurdy created and owns the website, www.hockeyviz.com, “which I run myself,” he said. “Part of it is free, so that people know what they are getting, but part of it you can only get through subscription.” He charges $5 to $10 per month to several hundred customers. He primarily networked with colleagues, media (ESPN and The Athletic) and others while the draft took place in Bridgestone Arena.

Canadian university adjunct math professor Micah McCurdy, right, covers lots of ground regarding his work as an NHL data analytics expert during a visit to the Middle Tennessee State University campus on Wednesday, June 28. McCurdy was in town networking with fans, friends and media during the NHL Entry Draft, held June 28-29 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. (MTSU photo by J. Intintoli)

“I’ve done some consulting work for teams, but they’re secretive by nature and so they don’t want me talking about it too much,” McCurdy said. “I’m not doing any of those jobs now, but I do supplement my income a little bit from time to time with that. So, primarily, the focus (of my work) is to the public — journalists and fans mostly.”

During the lecture, McCurdy presented visuals of Nashville Predators offensive, defensive and goalie data models. He can quickly bring up the past — like retired goaltender Pekka Rinne — and show how his work ethic made him an all-star.

First-year MTSU graduate student Will Jones, 21, of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, earned his bachelor’s in mathematics in fall 2022.A powerlifter, Jones said McCurdy’s talk inspired him to consider “how to model what I do as a powerlifter, increasing my strength over time and how to get better.” He is performing summer research with Stephens.

A potential MTSU program?

Sports data analytics has mushroomed. Historical documentation reaches back to 1861 in baseball, but grew exponentially in 2002 with author Michael Lewis’ best-selling book, “Moneyball,” and the film adaptation starring Brad Pitt in 2011.

Stephens said he has “received many questions from students about careers in sports analytics in the past two to three years, especially at preview days, and my understanding is that there is no sports analytics academic program in the Southeast U.S. I am hoping Micah can provide some thoughts about the feasibility of such a program here in the math department at MTSU.”

McCurdy offers this perspective: “As sports teams and leagues professionalize further, the opportunities for interdisciplinary work in sports analytics will grow and the universities that are able to navigate the complexities of the many different interests will be the ones who can best make programs to suit.

“MTSU might be very well positioned, both geographically with so many different high-level teams from many different sports in close proximity, as well as institutionally with links to mathematics, journalism and broadcasting.”

— Randy Weiler (Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu)