HQ Hockey, Quantified
Player valuation for hockey front offices

Win the chance battle and you win games.

You already have the data. HQ turns it into decisions you can defend.

Book a 30-minute walkthrough See the evidence
NHL · SHL · HockeyAllsvenskan · NCAA · OHL · WHL · QMJHL · USHL Runs on the event data you already have
SAMPLE PLAYER 61 GP
Mike Ross
LW · 24 · NHL · $4.2M cap hit, 2 years left (UFA)
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Creates chances
Top 5% of NHL forwards on V/60, the value they add every 60 minutes
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Takes them away
Above-average defence, net of linemates
V/60#9 / 21244.8 DefenceSolid WorthUnder market
Behind the 44.8
2nd 14:14Seam pass to the slot, one-timer goal+2.2 1st 06:05Takes the puck back in their end+0.2 3rd 11:47Loses the puck on a carry-in−0.3

Teams signed three players who did neither for every one HQ would have flagged.

Since 2021, the players HQ would have flagged at signing were on the Stanley Cup winner in 9% of their seasons. The points list: 5%. Only one team in 32 wins it.

Sample data. In HQ, every number opens the plays behind it.
The market

$17.0B

committed to NHL skater contracts since July 2021.

How much of it bought chances?

$3.44B
$3.58B
$2.32B
$4.07B
$3.61B
21–2222–2323–2424–2525–26
Chance creators who defendEveryone else
Total value of the contracts signed each July to June. Entry-level deals and goalies left out. A player counts as a chance creator who defends by HQ's read of the season before they signed.

Winning takes players who create chances and players who take them away.

Finding one who does either helps. Finding one who does both is where the money is.

The market doesn't pay for that, so they come for less than they're worth.

insights

Over the last seven NHL seasons, a team's share of the chances at 5v5 tracked its points percentage more closely than its share of the shots did, every season.

Not another dashboard. Outcomes.

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Find the chance generators who defend before the market does.

The Marketplace finds them in every league. The Event Explorer shows you how they play.

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Know what a player is worth before you sign them.

The Development Tracker lays every draft class side by side: where each player started, and how far they've come.

money_off

Avoid the multi-million dollar mistake.

On deals signed 2021–2025, $931M went to players who, at signing, neither created chances nor took them away. They came in below average.

Audit the deal before you sign it: Compare puts the player beside the alternatives, with every number traced to the plays.

groups

Get more from the roster you already have.

Line View: who drives play together, and who gives it back.

How HQ reads a player

Three questions, answered with receipts by HQ

01

Do they create chances?

V/60 is the value a player adds every 60 minutes. HQ prices every play, including the pass that sets up the shot, so you see the creation that never shows up as a point.

V/6044.8#9 / 212 F
02

Do they take them away?

HQ reads defence net of linemates: does the ice stay tilted their way when they're on it? A player who creates chances and gives them all back isn't helping.

DefenceSolidnet of linemates
03

What are they worth?

Worth sets that profile against what the market pays for it: under, at or over their cap hit for a pro, against their draft class for a junior. Finding the bargains is one use. Knowing who's worth paying full price for is another.

Value Delta+$1.4Mvs cap hitUnder
Explain, then decide. HQ describes what the data shows, in plain hockey words. Each player is read against their own position in their own league. The call stays with your hockey people.
Receipts

Every number has receipts

Open any V/60 and see the possessions behind it: who started it, who moved it, who finished it, and what each touch was worth, good or bad. Your scouts can check our work against the tape.

POSSESSION 214 · 2ND PERIOD · 5V5 Goal
14:22D. BrandtWins the faceoff backshown 14:19A. OkaforOutlet pass up the wall+0.15 14:16M. RossCarries in over the blue line, keeps it+0.25 14:14M. RossSeam pass to the slot+2.2 14:13T. RuizOne-timer from the slot, goal+2.6
Sample possession. A chance is credited for being made, not for going in; the goal adds the finish on top.
LINE VIEW · FORWARDS Sample roster
LWCRW
L1
91M. Ross
$4.2MLW
2 yrs (UFA)
V/6044.8SolidUnder
19T. Ruiz
$9.1MC
5 yrs (UFA)
V/6041.5SolidAt
27M. Lind
$950KRW
1 yr (RFA)
V/6038.0WeakUnder
L2
14A. Okafor
$3.2MLW
2 yrs (UFA)
V/6030.4SolidAt
22D. Brandt
$4.0MC
1 yr (UFA)
V/6022.7WeakOver
Your lines, the way a coach reads them: V/60, the defence read and Worth on every chip.
TWO ENTRIES, TWO PRICES Sample plays, priced from HQ's price list

The same play pays or costs, depending on what it led to.

The entry that works Set up a chance
M. RossCarries over the red line+0.05 M. RossControlled entry+0.10 M. RossThe entry led to a play+0.10 M. RossSeam pass into the slot+0.30 M. RossSet up a one-timer that goes in 1 time in 7+1.60
Ross +2.15, whether or not it goes in
The defender who let the entry in−0.15
The entry that doesn't Lost at the line
D. BrandtCarries over the red line+0.05 D. BrandtLoses the puck on the carry-in−0.30
Brandt −0.25, the possession is gone
The defender who stopped the entry+0.15 … and ended their possession+0.05
Good plays pay and bad plays cost, and the defender on the other side of the play is priced too. A set-up is paid for the chance it made, so a great pass isn't erased by a goalie's save.
The evidence

Tested on the money teams already spent

The same chances for 38% less money.

On deals signed 2021–2025, the players HQ would have flagged at signing (they created chances and took them away) delivered a goal's worth of chances for every $4.0M. The players the market paid for points: one for every $6.4M.

What a goal's worth of chances cost By what the player did the season before signing. Lower is better.
HQ's list (chance creators who defend)
98 contracts
$4.0M
The points list
244 contracts
$6.4M
Did neither
323 contracts
Lost a goal's worth for every $3.8M paid
Chances here are each player's own chance differential: the chances they drove for their team minus the ones they gave up, weighted by how likely each is to go in, with their linemates' and opponents' share taken out. Measured against the average NHL forward or defender that season, in the same minutes, at 5v5. 923 contracts signed 2021–2025, graded on the seasons they've played. Tested on past seasons.
A second test: 628 player moves Did the players HQ flagged help their new team? A move only counts if all four hold:
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Chance share
Their team won the chances with them on the ice.
HQ's flagged 76% · all moves 36%
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Chance creation
Their team made more chances with them on the ice than without.
HQ's flagged 82% · all moves 34%
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5v5 goals
Their team outscored the other team at 5-on-5 with them on the ice, compared with when they were on the bench.
HQ's flagged 64% · all moves 38%
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Their own game
Forwards made chances themselves, above the average at their position; defenders kept the chances against down.
HQ's flagged 75% · all moves 35%
All four held for 27 of the 55 moves HQ flagged (49%). For the average move: 12%.Tested on past seasons.

Built for the people who make the calls

GMs Who to sign, who to trade for, and what to pay.
Scouts Every number traced to the plays, so you can check it against the tape.
Coaches Your lines read the way you'd draw them: who drives play, who gives it back.
Owners Where the cap dollars go, and what they buy.

Three steps to your first decision

HQ can be online in your organization within 48 hours.

  1. STEP 1database

    Bring your data

    Event data, positional tracking, and the other feeds your organization already licenses.

  2. STEP 2tune

    Make HQ yours

    Scoring profiles price the plays the way your system values them. Change a profile, and every number re-prices.

  3. STEP 3task_alt

    Make the decisions

    Who to sign, who to trade for, and what to pay, with every number traced to the plays behind it.

See it on players you know

Thirty minutes. We'll walk you through HQ using players from your own league, and show you how we tested it.

Book a 30-minute walkthrough contact@hqhockey.com
Runs on the event data your organization already has Online within 48 hours One founding partner per league