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A Gaussian Mixture Model Approach for Characterizing Playing Styles of Ice Hockey Players
Linköping University.
Linköping Hockey Club, Sweden.
Linköping University, Department of Computer and Information Science, Database and information techniques. Linköping University, Faculty of Science & Engineering. (IDA/ADIT)ORCID iD: 0000-0003-1367-1594
Linköping University, Department of Computer and Information Science, Database and information techniques. Linköping University, Faculty of Science & Engineering. (IDA/ADIT)ORCID iD: 0000-0002-9084-0470
2025 (English)In: Proceedings of the Linköping Hockey Analytics Conference LINHAC 2025 Research Track and Community Notes / [ed] Tim Brecht, Niklas Carlsson, Mikael Vernblom, Patrick Lambrix, Linköping, Sweden: Linköping University Electronic Press, 2025, p. 15-27Conference paper, Published paper (Refereed)
Abstract [en]

Player categorization based on playing style is a highly important task in professional ice hockey, aiding scouting, player development, and strategic decision-making. Traditional methods often rely on simple metrics like goals or assists, which fail to capture the full complexity of a player’s style and contributions. Motivated by the increasing availability of detailed event data and advances in machine learning based modeling techniques, this paper explores a richer, data-driven approach to player categorization. We build on recent work in player vector representations and apply Gaussian Mixture Models (GMMs) to cluster forwards and defenders based on event data from five seasons of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). Our contributions are threefold: (1) we construct detailed player vectors that summarize a wide range of offensive and defensive skills, (2) we apply GMMs to identify soft clusters of players, allowing for nuanced overlapping playing styles, and (3) we analyze the resulting clusters to interpret distinct player profiles and provide concrete examples. Our results offer a more flexible and realistic view of player roles, reflecting the continuous and multi-dimensional nature of playing styles. The approach helps enhance talent evaluation and roster building, and offers an efficient framework for future analyses across leagues and seasons.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Linköping, Sweden: Linköping University Electronic Press, 2025. p. 15-27
Series
Linköping Electronic Conference Proceedings, ISSN 1650-3686, E-ISSN 1650-3740 ; 214
Keywords [en]
sports analytics; hockey analytics
National Category
Computer Sciences Artificial Intelligence
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-215929DOI: 10.3384/ecp214002OAI: oai:DiVA.org:liu-215929DiVA, id: diva2:1980985
Conference
Linköping Hockey Analytics Conference LINHAC 2025
Available from: 2025-07-03 Created: 2025-07-03 Last updated: 2025-07-03

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CiteExportLink to record
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Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
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  • vancouver
  • oxford
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
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  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
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  • asciidoc
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