Dr. Dan and Jesse are joined by Dr. Tim Swartz for the first interview in DPV history! Dr. Swartz is a Professor of Statistics & Actuarial Science at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, BC, Canada, well published in scientific journals with over 60 papers in sports analytics and literally “wrote the book” on sports analytics, as an editor for the Handbook of Statistical Methods and Analyses in Sport. His students now work for major sports franchises such as the LA Rams and the Seattle Kraken and many private sports analytic companies.

He recently published his newest book, Pickleball Moneyball: Optimize Your Game With Analytics: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0DL84L6R2, while his previous book, Insights from Sports Analytics https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0FH6GW49C is a great introduction for anyone looking to get into the field of sports analytics. Leave us a comment and tell us your favourite part of the interview for a chance to win a signed copy of Dr. Swartz's new book! Like this conversation? Let us know on Instagram @Deep.Pucking.Value or send us an email at deep.pucking.value@gmail.com

Dr. Dan and Jesse explore Dan's first attempt at analysis: a Principal Component Analysis based on the previous five years of NHL data from Moneypuck, sorted by their home league's scoring settings. Turns out, McDavid and MacKinnon are great! But so are Zack Werenski, Mackenzie Weegar, and Tom Wilson. The guys talk about the effectiveness of PCA as a Fantasy hockey tool, surprising revelations from the data, and lament Jesse's continued inability to trade Alex Ovechkin. Follow along with Dan's PCA here: https://wuitchik.github.io/Deep_pucking_value/ep02/ep02.html Let us know what you think on Instagram @Deep.Pucking.Value or send us an email at deep.pucking.value@gmail.com

Jesse and Dr. Dan lay out their standings predictions for the 2025-2026 NHL season, to prove to you exactly how smart/dumb they are. They lay bare their biases and vibes-based methodology to show you how their brains work, what their blind spots are, and what teams they (not so) secretly root for and against. Agree? Disagree? Let us know on Instagram @Deep.Pucking.Value