Day: April 3, 2019

The Devils have hired a new analytics guru. His name is Tyler Dellow and he comes with some serious credentials.

Although his day job was as a lawyer, practicing civil litigation in Toronto (he earned his law degree in 2006 from the University of Toronto), Dellow founded mc79hockey.com, which the press release put out on the subject by the Devils mentions “was one of the first analytics-based blogs for hockey.” While working on the site, “(h)e pioneered work in advanced stats, including research that is prevalent today.”

Following this work, he also spent time as a staff writer at The Athletic – where he focused “on analytics in the hockey community.” He was also “a featured speaker at numerous sports analytics conferences including the M.I.T. Sloan Sports Analytics Conference.”

In August 2014, the Edmonton Oilers came calling and Dellow “was hired as an Analytics Consultant” for the team. He served in Edmonton until 2016.

Now with the Devils, “he will lead a department that will work across all hockey operations departments to collaboratively enhance the planning and execution of focused initiatives.”

Ray Shero said that “(s)ince day one, (owners) Josh Harris and David Blitzer have supported us by investing in the staff and resources it takes to build a team, the right way. We have used those resources to recruit talented people who can increase our organization’s expertise in every aspect of the game. Bringing Tyler on board is just another example of our commitment to progressively building in a manner that can help the franchise achieve sustained success.”

Dellow said that he is “extremely excited for this opportunity to join Ray and work with a great group of people with different backgrounds and perspectives of the game. Being able to collaborate with the entire organization, including HBSE, was a reason that attracted me here. I look forward to building a team that can help other parts of the organization prepare and make decisions on what’s best for the Devils. I appreciate The Athletic for bringing me aboard during their initial stages, which allowed me to continue working in the analytics field and served as a bridge to being able to take this job today.”

This hire shows the Devils’ ownership and management’s dedication to getting better and developing the team. Although some fans may have mixed feelings about analytics, the fact is that the game is trending that way and the Devils need to keep up. Hiring one of the best in the field should only be a good thing in the long run.

Following Northeastern University’s exit from the NCAA tournament last weekend, the Devils have announced that Jeremy Davies has signed “a two-year, entry-level contract starting with the 2019-20 season” according to the press release put out by the team. According to the press release, “Davies was New Jersey’s ninth selection (seventh round), 192nd overall, in the 2016 NHL Draft.”

Devils General Manager Ray Shero had the following to say about Davies: “We are very excited to sign Jeremy. He is a very smart puck-moving defenseman who can transition his team to offense in all three zones. His vision, skill, competitiveness, character and leadership helped Northeastern become one of the top echelon schools in the country during his time there. We also want to thank Jim Madigan and his staff at Northeastern for Jeremy’s development these past three years.”

The press release mentions Davies’ career highlights during his time at Northeastern as the 22-year-old, left-shooting d-man had a good career packed into three years (2016-19) with the Huskies. He was named to the Hockey East First All-Star Team this past season as well as the All-Tournament Team for Hockey East. He was also a finalist in his junior year for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award, which goes to the top player in college hockey.

The press release gave his stats from his junior year as eight goals and 28 assists for 36 points, which was a career high for him. This also ranked him second among all defensemen in Hockey East in scoring “and seventh among all skaters.” He ranked fourth in Hockey East in assists, “second in power play points (4g-17a-21pts),” and sixth in blocked shots with 58.

In his sophomore year, he was also named to the Hockey East First All-Star Team as well as the NCAA East All-American Team. The press release notes that he was also of Team Canada’s Spengler Cup winning team that year (he is a native of Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec). His NCAA career total reads: 111 games played, 22 goals and 72 assists for 94 points – which, the release notes, is good for .85 points per game.

Prior to his collegiate career, he played two seasons in the USHL for the Bloomington Thunder and Waterloo Black Hawks where he notched 17 goals and 56 assists for a total of 73 points in 114 games. The press release notes that he “led all USHL defensemen in assists (36) and points (49), while being named to the USHL First All-Star Team” in the 2015-16 season.