Holy ShiftChart – an awesome hockey data visualization
I love discovering stuff like ShiftChart. Hockey, being a dynamic and constantly changing game, can be hard to follow – even for the most experienced and well-versed fan. Tools like ShiftChart make the game more accessible. A perfect rationale for a data visualization.
When you replay a game with the visualization the first thing that jumps off the screen are the groupings and pairings of players and how the shifts change over time. I’m guessing that is the primary purpose of the visualization, and it delivers.
Given the amount of data present here, its going to take some time to dig into all of the different facets of the visualization and how they can inform the hockey fan. Also, I’d love to learn more about the underpinning technology driving ShiftChart.
Maybe it’s just my computer, but I can’t see a visualization when I click the ShiftChart link. If you really want to see a great hockey visualization, check out this one: http://www.lucruminc.com/cincinnati-cyclones-data-visualization