RALEIGH — Last season, the NHL unveiled NHL EDGE, the league’s attempt to offer fans puck and player tracking information designed to give an in-depth look at the speed and skill of hockey. The technology has been in place in every NHL arena since 2021, but it wasn’t presented to the public other than in broadcasts until last season.
Infrared cameras above the rink track sensors in pucks and player jerseys. The data collected reveals skating and shot speeds, skating distance and more. When the league launched the public site, it made available the statistics starting with the 2021-22 season.
I’ve admittedly been a little slow to really look into this data, which makes this article possible. Without perusing the Carolina Hurricanes’ NHL EDGE data, I’m going to guess which players rank best this season in four categories, then reveal who the actual top player is while also finding who is at the bottom of the list.
The statistics were compiled through last Friday’s games.
Top skating speed
Forwards
My guess: Martin Necas
NHL EDGE: Necas, 24.49 mph
Slowest top skating speed: Jackson Blake, 21.08
Picking the Hurricanes’ fastest skater was a slam dunk, and it isn’t even the player on the team who has won an All-Star Weekend Fastest Skater competition. Necas not only has the Hurricanes’ highest top speed on the team by more than 1 mph, but his top speed of 24.49 mph is the fastest recorded in the NHL this season, besting the 24.26 of Edmonton’s Mattias Janmark.
Janmark’s teammate Connor McDavid is widely considered the game’s fastest skater, but his top speed of 23.85 mph ranks seventh on the season. The league average top speed among forwards is 21.98 mph, a number topped by nine of Carolina’s 12 most-used forwards. Andrei Svechnikov, the aforementioned All-Star winner, has maxed out at 22.64 mph.
Surprisingly, the rookie came in last, with Blake’s top-end speed checking in at 21.08 mph.
Defense
My guess: Jaccob Slavin
NHL EDGE: Slavin, 24.19 mph
Slowest top skating speed: Shayne Gostisbehere, 20.72 mph
I cheated a bit on this one because I saw somewhere that Slavin had eclipsed 24 mph. I knew that was really good, but I didn’t know that it was the fastest speed burst of any defenseman in the league this season and the fourth-best top speed of any player. The next fastest defenseman is Toronto’s Jake McCabe at 23.67 mph.
Gostisbehere came in with a team-low 20.72-mph burst, under the league average of 21.36 mph for defensemen.
Top shot speed
Forwards
My guess: Martin Necas
NHL EDGE: Necas, 94.62 mph
Slowest top shot speed: Blake, 74.44 mph
If you’ve seen Necas wind up for a one-timer from the left circle on the power play, you probably guessed this one, too. Three other Hurricanes’ forwards eclipsed a top shot speed of 90 mph: Jack Roslovic (91.48), Jack Drury (90.70) and Sebastian Aho (90.54).
Blake again shows up at the bottom at 74.44 mph. The league average of top shooting speeds for forwards is 83.01 mph, which eight of 12 Carolina forwards eclipsed. Buffalo’s Tage Thompson is the only forward to eclipse 100 mph this season with his league-best 104.69-mph blast.
Defense
My guess: Dmitry Orlov
NHL EDGE: Orlov, 98.44 mph
Slowest top shot speed: Sean Walker, 88.20 mph
Shortly after Orlov winds up for a slap shot during a home game, I take my eyes off the ice and look to the scoreboard, where the speed is reported. His shot is booming, so I’m not surprised I guessed correctly.
Walker’s 88.20 mph was barely edged by Jalen Chatfield’s 88.22 mph, and both were just a touch under the league average of 88.51 mph. Four defensemen have topped 100 mph, led by Utah’s Michael Kesselring with a 103.77 shot. Orlov — who eclipsed 101 mph in two of the previous three seasons — was 0.15 mph from being in the top 10.
20-mph speed bursts
Forwards
My guess: Martin Necas
NHL EDGE: Necas, 159
Fewest speed bursts over 20 mph: Blake and Drury, 15
I’m 4 for 4 — three cheers for the eye test! Necas has broken 20 mph 159 times this season, an average of nearly 5.5 times per game. Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon is first with an astonishing 256, and McDavid is second with 163. The league’s forwards are averaging 33.5, a total 10 of the Hurricanes’ 12 forwards have exceeded.
Drury joins Blake with the fewest 20-mph speed bursts among Carolina forwards with 15.
Defense
My guess: Jalen Chatfield
NHL EDGE: Walker, 32
Fewest speed bursts over 20 mph: Gostisbehere, 7
Walker nipped Chatfield by one for the most by Carolina defensemen with 32, while Gostisbehere’s total was one fewer than Orlov’s eight. The average for defense is 12.6, which Slavin exceeded with 21, though Brent Burns came up short with 11.
While Slavin is not in the top 10 in this category, he is tied for the third-most 22-mph bursts among defensemen with four.
Offensive zone time
Forwards
My guess: Jordan Martinook
NHL EDGE: Aho, 50%
Least offensive zone time: Jesperi Kotkaniemi, 44.2%
First, a note: These statistics are compiled at even-strength play. Aho’s 50% is the best in the league among forwards, and Carolina holds eight of the top nine spots in the league. My guess, Martinook, is third in the league at 48.5%, one-tenth behind Seth Jarvis. Even Kotkaniemi’s team-low 44.2% is much better than the league average of 41.3%.
Defense
My guess: Jalen Chatfield
NHL EDGE: Gostisbehere, 50.3%
Least offensive zone time: Slavin, 46.4%
Gostisbere, Walker (50.1) and Chatfield (47.5) are the top three in the league, and Orlov, Burns and Slavin are all in the top 10. The league average for defensemen is the same as the forwards at 41.3%
