Dr. Dan & Jesse are back to chat about the biggest trade this season: Sam Bennett for a 2nd and a 4th! Plus, more trade action from their league and of course a breakdown of the Quinn Hughes deal where the guys reveal their (unfortunate) Canucks fandom. The trade serves as a jumping-off point to talk about how analytics might evaluate competitive cycles and other fantasy hockey moves, and other topics we hope to cover in future episodes. We also review hard-launching the podcast onto Reddit, review some comments, feedback, and topic suggestions from Redditors (including a quick overview of the Zero-G strategy), and reveal the existence of the DeepPuckingValue subreddit (https://www.reddit.com/r/DeepPuckingValue) Plus, Jesse reveals his Machiavellian trade process, and Marine Biology Corner returns for a Not-Safe-For-Work edition about ... Sea Snail Orgies??? Follow along at https://www.instagram.com/deep.pucking.value/ and https://www.reddit.com/r/DeepPuckingValue!

Dr. Dan and Jesse finally start work on building their predictive fantasy hockey model with a high-level brainstorm about what their model will do, what data it will consider, and whether phrenology will make an appearance (probably not!). Plus, an update on Crosby-watch, the value of AI & LLMs in constructing a fantasy hockey team, and more! Follow along on Instagram @Deep.Pucking.Value or send us an email at deep.pucking.value@gmail.com

Jesse and Dr. Dan are joined by Michael Schuckers, Professor of Data Science and Sports Analytics at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Professor Emeritus at St. Lawrence University and co-founder of Statistical Sports Consulting for a conversation about his extensive publication history, Sham Sarron, aging curves, the need for public access to the NHL's Player Tracking Data, the Pittsburgh Penguins, and more.

Jesse and Dr. Dan reconvene and chat about Jesse's trio to Japan; early surprises and disappointments in NHL Fantasy; an update on CrosbyWatch; When is it time to panic?

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

Dr. Dan Wuitchik and Jesse Wentzloff pull back the curtain on their home league and run through the results of this year's fantasy draft, breaking down the wide range of strategies used by themselves and their competitors: Auto-Draft; Chat GPT; Dom & Shayna from the Athletic's model; blatant homerism; and more! Let us know what you think @Deep.Pucking.Value on Instagram.