Finland’s professional hockey league, Liiga, is implementing a full player and puck tracking system for the 2019-20 season. Liiga partnered with Finnish provider Wisehockey on a pilot program in one arena last year and will begin a new five-season agreement.
Wisehockey, a division of Tampere-based Bitwise, is powered by Quuppa’s sensor hardware and its own cloud analytics. Liiga franchise Tappara was a testing partner this past season. Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League also has tested the Wisehockey system at the KHL All-Star Game and in a few subsequent regular season games.
“Digitalization of Liiga is a unique achievement, and its value will be recognized on the international market,” Wisehockey CEO Tomi Mikkonen said in a statement, adding: “During the last season, the real‑time data we gathered was used in completely new ways not just on arenas but also in television and betting services. Together with Liiga we are looking for more innovative collaboration and new partnerships.”
Finnish broadcaster Veikkaus has carried some of the real-time analytics, which will also be available to teams for tactical purposes during and after games. One recently introduced metric is game momentum, an AI-produced composite based on scoring, faceoffs, penalties, possession, and more.
Tältä näyttää HPK:n avausmaali Kärppiä vastaan älykiekkostreamissä.#VeikkausTV #Veikkaus #älykiekko pic.twitter.com/2nHcmBIAzk
— VeikkausTV (@VeikkausTV) April 25, 2019
The NHL’s tracking system will also use sensors to record player and puck movement. Its chosen provider is Jogmo, a spinoff from Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute research. The NHL, however, will also add an optical component. That vendor has not yet been chosen, but Sportlogiq is the leading contender currently in active testing. Sportlogiq has already been tabbed as the official advanced data partner in Sweden’s hockey league.
SportTechie Takeaway
Powerful tracking systems are rapidly becoming the standard, not the exception, in professional sports, but the Liiga-Wisehockey partnership is still ahead of the curve for hockey. The sport’s speed and the challenge of players and boards blocking camera views have made using optical tracking difficult, making sensors the preferred choice for positional data. Wisehockey testing partner Tappara recently competed in Liiga’s bronze-medal game, with Veikkaus streaming the data in real-time.