Thirty years ago, I was a mod at hf boards. Louise (Ice Dragoon) was a better one, she had a way about her that allowed everyone freedom to say their piece while also understanding boundaries. That ability represents a high degree of intelligence. I’m still working on it. Please read this.

During that time, the math boys rolled into town on hf, with their leather jackets, funky stats and supreme confidence. It was a clash of style and substance, and didn’t last long. The calculator gang headed for the blogs, and I with them. What ensued over a brief period of years was nothing less than a math revolution that has helped guide the sport of hockey for the past 20+ years.

This blog was one of the stopping points for conversation, although the heavy lifting and innovation took place on other blogs. For me, it was an education in how math could impact how we watch and evaluate the game. When all the folks who now work for NHL teams and various media were asking questions and then answering them in real time, I was trying to catch up while casting aside decades of bias about how best to win hockey. I’m still working on it.

Fast forward to current days, and the Edmonton Oilers have put analytics mastermind Michael Parkatti into the position of vice-president of analytics and technology. Parkatti has been with the club since 2023, and I have no doubt he has been doing good work for the organization. I met Michael several times (this was 15 years ago) and found him to be brilliant, humble, kind and articulate.

Reading his prose and following his social media, he seemed to enjoy driving to small communities in order to take photos of eggs, boots, sausages, ducks and perogies. However, in talking to him, Parkatti struck me as a person with enormous curiosity who was naturally wired for problem solving.

I don’t know what the new gig for Parkatti entails, but it does suggest the analytics department is rising in the Oilers’ offices. I think we can see his touch on some of the procurement by the organization of the past couple of years, and hope to see more.

The analytics community in the North American hockey industry (32 NHL teams, teams in other leagues, various media including sites like Puck IQ) can’t be more than 2,000 souls deep at this time. It’s a small community. The Oilers were in the analytics business less than a decade after it started when hiring Tyler Dellow years ago, but it was a false start due to management changeover. This has the feel of something more promising, and credit to Stan Bowman for overseeing this advance in an important area.

More needs to be done. Bowman and Parkatti must have a great working relationship, and that’s something to build on. I can’t identify the specific recommendations that allowed a working chemistry to form between the two men, but let’s say it’s one of Vasily Podkolzin, Ty Emberson, Damien Carfagna or Tommy Lafreniere. The great thing about the collective success enjoyed in these moves is what may come next.

I’m not sure Bowman has completely let go of the ‘gut feel’ acquisitions at the top end of the roster. The Oilers may have evidence we don’t see publicly, but the acquisition of Tristan Jarry (as an example) didn’t have the feel of a move checked off in the affirmative by all departments.

Overall, this is a great day for Oilers fans. Small victories are big steps, in the words of the great philosopher Lorraine Segato. However, Oilers fans should look for signs of further progress. I’m uncertain Bowman trusts analytics on the bigger deals, and those deals are the ones that hurt most when going awry.

Fans should also look for additional analytics hires. Hell, I could give the team a list of qualified folks from the back pages of this very blog. When Dennis King was hired by the Carolina Hurricanes, he became the third member of that organization that I was familiar from the early days.

I talked to Dellow, King and Eric Tulsky on Lowdown episodes of the past and now they’re all employed by the same NHL team. All wicked smart, all having done the hard work of transporting from public to industry experts. All have great futures in an important area of the game. The Oilers should be adding people to the analytics department in order to increase the chances of success. It’s too late to stop now.

On the Lowdown today, Steve Lansky will be our guest at 1pm to talk Oilers and Stanley Cup Final, plus John Hodge from 3down Nation at 1:20 to discuss Elks and CFL season. Noon to 2pm, Sports 1440 and You Tube.