This week on The IX Sports Podcast Hockey Edition, host Maya Smith is joined by Emmy-winning Seattle Kraken and Seattle Torrent broadcaster Alison Lukan to discuss the importance of analytics in women’s hockey.
Before jumping into that, Smith recapped several pieces of injury news from the past two weeks, including the fact that, according to reporting from The Hockey News, Corinne Schroeder departed PWHL San Jose training camp in a wheelchair wearing a boot. Tune in to the episode to hear more on the latest injury and roster updates.
Then, Smith jumped into her interview with Lukan. She is a broadcaster with the Seattle Kraken and the Seattle Torrent, PWHL commentator, and an Emmy Award-winning broadcaster. She also co-hosts the podcast Too Many Men.
Smith noted that much of Lukan’s work at the Athletic and since is analytics-based.
“I feel like we’re kind of finally seeing analytics take a forefront for men’s sports more, especially in hockey. Like I feel like people are finally realizing that analytics actually helps you to win championships. So I’m curious, kind of like what drew you to that so early on in this like journey,” Smith asked.
Lukan said that, as a woman in a male-dominated industry, she was often perceived as less knowledgeable than her male colleagues. Analytics became a way to push back against that.
“So it became a very reliable way for me to make points that couldn’t be disputed, and I just so happened to be aligning that with when the public analytics revolution really was happening on the men’s professional side,” Lukan explained.
Smith remarked that there are more resources for tracking analytics in the men’s game than the women’s currently. Lukan said she uses resources from The Ice Garden, and as a broadcaster, she also has the ability to request some statistics from the PWHL.
To learn more about Lukan’s journey from writing to broadcasting and the way analytics is shaping the future of hockey, tune in to this week’s episode!
Make sure to subscribe to The IX Sports Podcast for in-depth coverage of women’s soccer, hockey and basketball; and tune in each weekday morning for a quick overview of the biggest headlines on Women’s Sports Daily, like WNBA news and PWHL expansion updates.
