About Icelytics@icelyticscards
Who I am
Icelytics is a passion project born from a lifelong interest in hockey. Growing up in Montreal helped fuel that interest—even if, as a kid, I somehow became a Pittsburgh Penguins fan.
The numbers don't play favourites, though. Icelytics is built around objective data and analysis, regardless of the logo on the jersey.
My background is in economics, and I'm a member of the North American Association of Sports Economists. Icelytics brings it all together: hockey, data, economics, and a curiosity about what the numbers can tell us about the game.
What is the ICE score?
ICE (Individual Contributor Estimate) is a 0–100 overall impact index. Higher is better. It aggregates offense, defense, special teams, and physicality/discipline into one summary measure so you can compare skaters across teams on the same scale.
Scores are relative within a season's peer distribution. A value near 50 is approximately league median / average for that season's cohort; values well above 50 indicate stronger estimated contribution relative to peers. Role-aware baselines help keep forwards and defensemen on more comparable footing.
How to think about ICE
ICE is a proprietary composite model. Conceptually, it treats contribution as a multivariate signal: many on-ice inputs are combined, then mapped onto a common percentile scale so magnitudes are interpretable across players.
Role-adjusted baselines reduce confounding from usage and position (for example zone starts and deployment). In econometric terms, that is closer to comparing residualized / adjusted contribution relative to expected performance for a similar role — not raw totals that mix talent with opportunity.
Because ICE is cohort-relative, interpret scores within season first. Cross-season changes can reflect shifts in the peer distribution, role, and sample — not only absolute ability.
Category scores
Each category is also expressed on a 0–100 relative scale and can be read as a partial contribution to overall ICE. On the card back, these categories act like a decomposition: where the overall ICE signal is coming from.
- Offense — finishing, playmaking, and shot generation / possession (offensive production and process), plus power play.
- Defense — goal suppression, shot suppression, and disruption (defensive outcomes and preventive play), plus penalty kill.
- Physicality — discipline, contact, and toughness.
Need a one-line definition for every column and chip? See the glossary.
Contact
Questions, feedback, or partnership ideas? Reach out on X at @icelyticscards.