Rob Vollman joins Lowetide Allan Mitchell with a quick reminder about what Player Usage Charts are all about, before diving into a discussion about how great Taylor Hall is, especially in contrast to the rest of the team. Unfortunately the analytics weren't as kind to the second line of Sam Gagner and Nail Yakupov, and the rest of the team.

 

Moving on past the Oilers, the next discussion was what the analytics say about who is going to go deep this post-season, especially as it relates to possession statistics.  After highlighting the good teams, this line of discussion almost inevitably leads to a harsh criticism of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

 

March 27, 2013 

 

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Rob Vollman's first appearance on NHL Network radio is with Elliott Friedman and Kelly Hrudey, the latter of whom explains how they met, and how he went from skeptic to believer after just a one-hour coffee.  Friedman then summarizes Player Usage Charts, which is now available in an interactive, automated fashion on Vollman's web site, thanks to visualization expert Robb Tufts.

 

After that the discussion focuses on to what extent NHL front offices are using some of the newer, non-traditional hockey statistics, like Corsi.  Vollman is then asked specifically about Jay Bouwmeester, and how these statistics highlight his solid play (before his audio gets scratchy).

 

 

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Rob Vollman joins Willy Daunic on 102.5 The Game Nashville Predators February 18th 2013 to discuss Ryan O'Reilly, Nashville's struggles with puck possession, the split up of Shea Weber and Ryan Suter, and the great start for Colin Wilson.

 

Hockey Prospectus Radio

 

 

Rob Vollman joins hosts Matthew Coller and Timo Seppa on the 21st episode of Hockey Prospectus radio.  This first part opens with a joke before Rob introduces potentially the next big hockey metric: Player Usage Charts, available in the Hockey Prospectus 2012-13 book for the first time.  They have a great Q&A about what these charts are and how they work, and even use them to add clarity to last year's Calder trophy race and today's most underrated defensemen.
 
Then the panel discusses the team essays in the Hockey Prospectus 2012-13 book, starting with which teams might be this year's "Anaheim Ducks" - teams we predicted were due for a tumble once their luck fizzled.  On the flip side, they also take a look at the Los Angeles Kings and what they needed to do to be Stanley Cup champions.  Matthew Coller closes out the segment with a question on what impact a shortened season might have on the final standings.
 

AM 1260 Edmonton Sports

 

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Allan Mitchell (aka Lowetide) had a fantastic show, including a final segment discussing Player Usage Charts and what they say about the Edmonton Oilers featuring Rob Vollman. They look at how it shed light on the Calder Trophy race between Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Gabriel Landeskog, how it highlighted the tough minutes played by players like Horcoff, and the impact the play of Ladislav Smid and Jeff Petry might have had on the trade that sent Tom Gilbert away for Nick Schultz. Lots of other great discussion, like the potential of how Paajarvi can be used in the future. 

 

 

Rob Vollman joins Matthew Coller and Timo Seppa Hockey Prospectus Radio to discuss the Los Angeles Kings vs New Jersey Devils Stanley Cup Finals. Rob Vollman explains how Los Angeles made the Stanley Cup Finals despite not being a high-scoring team, and they also discuss the changes to the team since coach Darryl Sutter took over, and what makes Jonathan Quick so special - his consistency. This first part then concludes with some discussion about their special teams, Dustin Penner - why he's been successful and why his success might continue, some of L.A.'s mistakes over the years and how this will ultimately prove to be a great series.
 
This appearance continues with Timo Seppa discussing how he's come around on players  like Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown, and solicits Rob Vollman's analytical take on  them, who explains why Kopitar should have been a Selke finalist, and whether he will be a future Hart finalist. He and Timo Seppa may argue about Dustin Brown's embellishment but agree on his fine defensive and special teams play, and how he's actually the type of player that made New Jersey Devils successful back in their day.
 
The segment concludes with his prediction, Los Angeles Kings in seven games, and what would have to happen for the New Jersey Devils to win instead, and why that's not as likely an outcome. 

 

 

 

Robert Vollman joins Graeme Nichols and Graham Creech on the 6th Sens Podcast April 2, 2012 to talk about the NHL playoffs.

 

Robert Vollman provides some good news - the Senators are not heavy underdogs against the NY Rangers. Even if all of Ottawa's offense is coming from four players that the Rangers have the ability to shut down, they do have a slight edge in puck possession. The discussion includes an exploration of line matching, goaltending, the physical game, the type of unheralded players that might catch fire and what to expect from Erik Karlsson.
 
Then Vollman takes a look at the Norris race between Erik Karlsson and Alex Pietrangelo, and the Calder race between Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Gabriel Landeskog, which leads to a great discussion on the different types of defensive statistics and how hard it is to make compelling statistical arguments about a player's defensive play.
 
Robert Vollman's appearance wraps up with some miscellaneous discussions about the Calgary Flames' Jarome Iginla and Miikka Kiprusoff, whether you need to have a big name in nets, and the year-end articles he's got coming up.

 

 

Robert Vollman joins Matthew Coller and Timo Seppa for episode 13 on Hockey Prospectus radio.
 
Initially they discuss Alexander Radulov and KHL-to-NHL league translations, and whether that makes Nashville the best team in the West. They discuss Nashville's style, and the effect of not being a puck possession team.
 
Next they move on the Toronto Maple Leafs, and what went wrong, including their lack of value players, according to GVT.
 
This starts with a discussion of Ilya Bryzgalov and the risk of long-term contracts. While talking about the Philadelphia Flyers, Robert Vollman describes the three types of playoff teams and what kind of goaltending they need, which led to a discussion of the Ottawa Senators, Buffalo Sabres and Washington Capitals.
 
Next up Robert Vollman answers a question about his take on Mike Smith and Brian Ellliott, which flows into a discussion about the difficulty in statistically measuring goalie performance. For example, goalie consistency, which is explained using Henrik Lundqvist and Quality Starts, and what all that might mean for the post-season. The session is wrapped up with a classic Chris Chelios joke.

 

NHLNumbers Trade Deadline
February 27, 2012

 

Robert Vollman joins the NHL Numbers Podcast team of Kent Wilson, producter Justin Azevedo and famed pundit Jonathan Willis for the NHL Trade Deadline. They talk about the Jeff Carter deal, goalies, some of the lesser moves, and finally the biggest tade deadline deals in history.
 

102.5 The Game
February 24, 2012

 

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Robert Vollman checks in with Willy Daunic on 102.5 The Game Nashville February 24, 2012, moments before a shoot-out loss to the St. Louis Blues. They discuss his accurate forecasting of Nashville's acquisition of Hal Gill, whether Ales Hemsky might be the next piece, the possibility of Jeff Carter heading to Los Angeles (which happened a few hours later) and what some of the playoff bubble teams, like Los Angeles, Calgary, Toronto and Washington ought to be doing.

 

102.5 The Game
February 2, 2012

 

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Robert Vollman joins Willy Daunic on Nashville 102.5 The Game February 2nd, 2012 as the Predators get set to play the Philadelphia Flyers. They discuss upcoming trade deadline possibilities for the Predators, Flyers and the teams in the Central Division, and recap the play-off picture in the West.

 

102.5 The Game
January 19, 2012

Robert Vollman also takes a moment to comment on their latest acquistion Brandon Yip, why he's an interesting statistical case, and why he might not have a tremendous impact in a Preds uniform

 

102.5 The Game
December 30, 2011

Then it's a quick look around the league including a bit more detail as to how Robert Vollman knew the Minnesota Wild would fall back into the back so quickly, and who might be next - both to fall and to rise. Speaking of rising, why Vollman feels that St. Louis might have done just as well had they kept Davis Payne.

 

102.5 The Game
December 10, 2011

As always, Robert Vollman also goes around the league looking at which teams might also soon be in for either a drop, like potentially the Minnesota Wild, or a big improvement. 

 

NHL Numbers Podcast, Epis.3
November 2011

 

 

 

102.5 The Game
November 8, 2011

 

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Hosts Willy Daunic and Tom Callahan welcomed favoured guest Robert "Buzzkill" Vollman back to the Nashville Predators pre-game show to answer questions on a variety of topics, including Pekka Rinne's new contract and Ken Hitchcock's hiring as head coach of the St. Louis Blues. 

 

Other topics included the impact of Nashville getting outshot, the early struggles of the divisional rivals in Columbus, and a quick review of the other surprise starts around the Western Conference.

 

 

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Robert Vollman joins 104.5 The Zone during the 2011 off-season to discuss Shea Weber's potential value in the open market, comparing his advanced statistics to similar players.

Vollman also answered questions about how his contract might influence the futures of teammates Ryan Suter and Pekka Rinne. Ultimately the 26-year-old Predator signed a one year deal for $7,500,000 - far more than Vollman calculated.

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