The NHL takes it one step further in data, analytics, pack and player tracking.

The league has reached an agreement with Amazon Web Services to put all video and data in the cloud. From coaches, executives, players to fans, the hope is to take advantage of new camera angles, artificial intelligence and machine learning to provide an integrated look for the game.

It’s not yet here to be able to search and sort the speeds, shot speeds, etc. of all players, but this is the starting point.

“Before you start building, like a new augmented reality app that allows fans to get real-time statistics in the arena, or get tracking feedback for pucks and players while sitting and watching the game, for example. “Many infrastructures need to be installed,” said Dave Hansky, Executive Vice President of Business Development and Innovation at NHL. “The amount we can do is tremendous.”

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Amazon Web Services CEO Andy Jassy announced their deal on the NBC Sports Network late Wednesday. “State-of-the-art technology and services will provide capabilities that provide analytics and insights that emphasize the speed and skill of the game,” Betman said.

The NFL, Formula One, Bundesliga Soccer and Six Nations Rugby are already using Amazon Web Services with their individual teams. Beyond the NFL’s “Next Gen Stats,” the Seattle Seahawks used it to study practice habits.

“Coaching staff may be able to actually help improve the team simply by learning where players can be efficient and where they have the opportunity to make better adjustments,” AWS said. Matt Garman, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, said.

Later this season, fans searching for statistics on the NHL website will get the corresponding video clips and vice versa. The league expects at least the playoffs to install a new 4K camera on the central scoreboard of each arena, adding different angles.

With all the data that pack and player tracking can provide, the video will allow Amazon’s AI to take a closer look at goal-ending, face-off, and stick positioning, paving the way for new statistics and analytics. ..

“This is just the beginning of where this is going,” Lehanski said. “It melts your mind on many occasions sitting in front of us.”

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