NEWARK, NJ — As the Buffalo Sabers took on the New Jersey Devils, their digital avatars mimicked every move in virtual reality.
Attach the VR glasses. Touch a button and you watch the game through the eyes of a skater heading for a shot. Touch it again and your view switches to that of the goalie trying to make the save.
With NHL puck and player tracking technology, it’s real-time and immersive. It’s also delightfully awkward, depending on how the user chooses to view the game. For this one, Sabers and Devils had the blocky character design of Roblox, the globally popular virtual universe.
It is by design. The tracking technology – called NHL Edge – has a multitude of practical applications, from player assessment to training strategy. But the NHL also sees this data as a way to appeal to young fans: those who stare at the screens of their mobile devices, who see data and personalization as ways to fuel their passions for something like hockey.
“How can we create an additional experience for kids at play? What we want to do is take that experience and add things that people have never considered before,” said Dave Lehanski, vice president. Executive of NHL Business Development and Innovation. “There’s the experience in the arena and what we can do to improve that technology. There’s live game presentations everywhere outside the building, like on your streaming app. And then there’s has some really crazy stuff.”
On April 21, the NHL and its technology partners offered a glimpse into the future of fandom when the Sabers visited the Prudential Center. Much of it seemed geared toward tech-savvy Generation Z, which is an audience that NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has long targeted.
Under Bettman, the NHL made its first forays into esports and even created a youth advisory council in 2019 called NHL Power Players. But it’s the puck and player tracking technology that Bettman said could be something that would break through to Gen Z. It was hard not to see that potential on display in New Jersey.
Augmented reality
The Devils and Sabers traded scoring chances in the first period. The scoreboard recorded the number of goals scored and shots on goal, while a timer reminded fans how much time was left before intermission. Beyond that, there wasn’t much background information about the Jumbotron that told the game’s story.
There was a different story told on an iPhone screen, pointed at the game from a luxury box in the center of the ice. Reality can only explain so many things. Augmented reality has painted a more complete picture.
“It takes tracking data from NHL Edge and allows fans to overlay it on the actual game as it unfolds,” Lehanski said.
Point the phone at the ice and the game transforms. Color streaks follow the puck as it moves across the ice. When there is a face-off, the probabilities of success between the two players are displayed. Click on a player and get real-time tracking stats like skating speed and time on the ice, which can be represented as percentages in each area.
“Here you can actually see the speed of the skater, and it tracks in real time,” said Eric Nagy, director of sports partnerships and innovation for Verizon.
Shots and shot attempts are tracked for each player and team. Click on “attack heatmap” and blue spots appear on the ice to represent where a team attempted shots when a specific player was on the ice, which can then be focused on that player’s own chances . A “defensive heat map” can show where a player was on the ice during the opponent’s offensive chances.
Real-time tracking stats are available for every player on the roster, ranging from average ice time to average skating speed. There is also a section for video clips, which are updated during gameplay.
It’s the kind of trivia and data that could keep fans clicking during live action in the arena, while watching an upgraded version of the game.
The AR is created in partnership with Immersiv, Verizon and the NHL. The anticipation is that it will be available in Arenas in the near future for fans to view on their iPhones. But the ultimate goal is to integrate AR into wearable technology like Nreal glasses and other innovations.
“If you’re a season ticket holder and you show up to your suite 41 nights a year, there should be 16 seats, 16 pairs of glasses, put them on if you want, and you can have that experience,” said Lehanski. .
Virtual reality
Watching Sabers forward Kyle Okposo rush a forecheck is enough to thrill you, even if it’s happening inside a virtual reality headset.
Beyond Sports pioneered the real-time digital recreation of NHL games, helping achieve one of the long-term goals of puck and player tracking: the ability to enter a 3D environment and see a game from all angles. It’s something Beyond Sports had already created for professional football games and is perfecting for the NHL with real-time tracking data.
Two examples of VR technology were on display at the Sabres-Devils game. There was the immersive experience for those wearing an Oculus headset, giving the impression of being on the ice or watching from the top of the arena. But there was also a 2D digital recreation of the action, with blocky “Roblox”-like players. The NHL sees the latter as something that could be used as an alternative stream to a live game — something younger fans could watch on Twitch, where the virtual action is augmented with things like nets exploding when a goal is scored.
Lehanski sees the VR experience as an entry point for the NHL into the Metaverse, a network of 3D virtual worlds focused on social interaction.
“Most people look at it and say, ‘It’s virtual reality…I put the glasses on and I can watch the game however I want.’ But that’s not really it,” he said. “What it’s really about is the 2D experience that you saw on screen. Roblox is the example, because it looks like that. But that’s how we introduce the NHL in Roblox, and all those Metaverse opportunities.”
Lehanski envisions something like this: A young gamer is playing Roblox. There is a game where they have to climb a snowy mountain. Once at the top, a virtual stream of the NHL Winter Classic unfolds.
Alternative shows
The common thread running through much of its tech: The NHL wants to create things that showcase hockey in a way that speaks to Gen Z.
So why not an entire show that accomplishes this?
For example, the NFL has successfully aired games on Nickelodeon. While the NHL may not be skating in virtual mud fountains anytime soon, it could eventually try something in that tradition. The problem, as it is: The infrastructure needed to make a broadcast.
The solution, according to NHL partner Vizrt: Cloud-based production of alternate streams for games, which can be created by three people in different locations, none of them onsite.
Using AWS and the cloud, an alternate stream for the Sabers vs. Devils game was created by a producer at the NHL offices at Hudson Yards in New York, one at an Airbnb in Hermosa Beach, California, and one creating game analysis clips inside. of a house in Toronto. The game’s graphics were created via AI, from information in the Cloud.
“We really believe this is the future of production, and we want to show that it’s available today,” said Kevin Bovet of Vizrt. “You can create as many streams as you want. You can even mix and match handheld cameras of fans sitting in premium seats.”
Lehanski said agility could allow the NHL to create a youth-focused broadcast.
“Instead of needing three trucks for a show, let’s get rid of all the infrastructure. We want to produce five shows. We need more creators. There’s a children’s show, a betting show, a statistics show. That’s what we want to do.”
At the final buzzer, the Sabers celebrated a 5-2 win over New Jersey. Young Devils fans wearing Jack Hughes shirts marched through the lobby into the night.
Upstairs, iPhones, tablets and VR headsets were packed, having shown ways to get those fans back in the arena — and ways to get their friends excited about the NHL, too.
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