Can A Robot Find Your Streamers?

Mark Barbour (@18sktrs, patreon.com/18skaters)

What Is This?

I’m trying something new here: using a bot to identify “streamers” for fantasy hockey. What you’ll find below are robo-picked skaters who play on 2 or more “off days” over the next week, and who are on a roster in less than 60% of Yahoo leagues.

Is This A Good Idea?

I hope this is a good idea. I can see a few benefits to using a bot to hunt for streamers: (1) it shrinks the pool of potential streamers, leaving us with the easier task of picking our streamers from a small number of candidates; (2) it eliminates personal bias – the bot looks at the data, not the vibes; and (3) it catches everything – the bot will not miss a skater getting extra time-on-ice, or a skater generating increased scoring chances.

There’s an important caveat to that last point though, and it’s the bot’s biggest weakness: the bot is not smart when it comes to changes that are expected to occur in the future. The bot simply pulls historical data from Natural Stat Trick and uses it to project future skater performance. The bot knows nothing else. It’s oblivious to tweets about new line combinations and news about roster changes, and this type of information can be important when making a short-term decision about a streamer.

Does that mean the bot’s suggestions are worthless? Of course not. Just be aware of the issue when reviewing the bot’s suggestions. In reality, “future changes” are always a problem when streaming skaters. If you add a skater on Monday there’s always the possibility that you’ll get bad news about the skater before he plays later in the week.

I plan to start releasing these streaming suggestions on a daily basis. If that sounds interesting then you should consider following me on Twitter @18sktrs. That’s where I’ll post updates about this project.

OK, let’s look at the upcoming schedule and see who made the 18_SKATERS_BOT’s list of potential streamers.

The NHL Schedule

There are 5 off days in the 8-day period that starts today. An “off day” is a day on which there are 16 or fewer teams playing (i.e., it is capped at half the teams in the NHL).

18_SKATERS_BOT’s Streamers

Here are the robo-recommended streamers for the current 8-day period. The skaters are ranked based on their Score which essentially means they’re ranked according to who is most likely to record points (goal or assist) in a game. You can scroll down to the next table if you want to target a skater from a specific team.

Streamers Ranked By Score

Skater	Position	Team	Roster %	Off Days	Score
Viktor Arvidsson	LW,RW	LA	30	2	3.1
Brandon Hagel	LW,RW	TB	56	2	2.0
Dillon Dube	LW,RW	CGY	15	2	1.5
Logan Couture	C	SJ	49	2	1.2
Michael Rasmussen	C,LW	DET	9	2	1.2
Nick Schmaltz	C,RW	ARI	21	2	1.1
Calle Jarnkrok	C,LW,RW	TOR	19	2	1.0
Kevin Hayes	C	PHI	24	3	0.9
Alexander Barabanov	LW,RW	SJ	5	2	0.9
James van Riemsdyk	LW,RW	PHI	7	3	0.8
Mason McTavish	C,LW	ANA	16	4	0.7
Mikael Granlund	C,RW	NSH	11	3	0.7
Jonathan Toews	C	CHI	13	2	0.6
Phillip Danault	C	LA	32	2	0.6
Frank Vatrano	LW,RW	ANA	7	4	0.5
Adam Lowry	C	WPG	11	2	0.3
Dylan Strome	C,RW	WSH	26	3	0.3
Morgan Frost	C,LW	PHI	3	3	0.3
Mikael Backlund	C	CGY	15	2	0.2
Kevin Labanc	LW,RW	SJ	2	2	-0.1
Alex Iafallo	LW	LA	8	2	-0.1
Andrew Mangiapane	LW,RW	CGY	28	2	-0.2
Gabriel Vilardi	LW,RW	LA	27	2	-0.2
Lucas Raymond	RW	DET	43	2	-0.3
Adam Henrique	C,LW	ANA	10	4	-0.3
Jonatan Berggren	LW,RW	DET	1	2	-0.3
Adam Ruzicka	C,LW	CGY	4	2	-0.4
Rasmus Sandin	D	TOR	28	2	-0.5
Marcus Johansson	LW,RW	WSH	4	3	-0.5
Nino Niederreiter	LW	NSH	14	3	-0.6
Max Domi	C,LW,RW	CHI	24	2	-0.6
Taylor Raddysh	LW,RW	CHI	1	2	-0.6
Sean Durzi	D	LA	40	2	-0.7
Seth Jones	D	CHI	53	2	-0.9
Cam Fowler	D	ANA	13	4	-0.9
Nico Sturm	C,LW	SJ	1	2	-0.9
Anton Lundell	C	FLA	25	2	-1.0
Ryan Johansen	C	NSH	16	3	-1.1
Eetu Luostarinen	C,LW	FLA	3	2	-1.1
Kevin Shattenkirk	D	ANA	4	4	-1.1
Ryan Strome	C	ANA	8	4	-1.3
Neal Pionk	D	WPG	51	2	-1.4
Tyler Johnson	LW,RW	CHI	1	2	-1.4
Oskar Sundqvist	C,RW	DET	0	2	-1.6

Streamers Arranged By Team

Skater	Position	Team	Roster %	Off Days	Score
Mason McTavish	C,LW	ANA	16	4	0.7
Frank Vatrano	LW,RW	ANA	7	4	0.5
Adam Henrique	C,LW	ANA	10	4	-0.3
Cam Fowler	D	ANA	13	4	-0.9
Kevin Shattenkirk	D	ANA	4	4	-1.1
Ryan Strome	C	ANA	8	4	-1.3
Nick Schmaltz	C,RW	ARI	21	2	1.1
Dillon Dube	LW,RW	CGY	15	2	1.5
Mikael Backlund	C	CGY	15	2	0.2
Andrew Mangiapane	LW,RW	CGY	28	2	-0.2
Adam Ruzicka	C,LW	CGY	4	2	-0.4
Jonathan Toews	C	CHI	13	2	0.6
Max Domi	C,LW,RW	CHI	24	2	-0.6
Taylor Raddysh	LW,RW	CHI	1	2	-0.6
Seth Jones	D	CHI	53	2	-0.9
Tyler Johnson	LW,RW	CHI	1	2	-1.4
Michael Rasmussen	C,LW	DET	9	2	1.2
Lucas Raymond	RW	DET	43	2	-0.3
Jonatan Berggren	LW,RW	DET	1	2	-0.3
Oskar Sundqvist	C,RW	DET	0	2	-1.6
Anton Lundell	C	FLA	25	2	-1.0
Eetu Luostarinen	C,LW	FLA	3	2	-1.1
Viktor Arvidsson	LW,RW	LA	30	2	3.1
Phillip Danault	C	LA	32	2	0.6
Alex Iafallo	LW	LA	8	2	-0.1
Gabriel Vilardi	LW,RW	LA	27	2	-0.2
Sean Durzi	D	LA	40	2	-0.7
Mikael Granlund	C,RW	NSH	11	3	0.7
Nino Niederreiter	LW	NSH	14	3	-0.6
Ryan Johansen	C	NSH	16	3	-1.1
Kevin Hayes	C	PHI	24	3	0.9
James van Riemsdyk	LW,RW	PHI	7	3	0.8
Morgan Frost	C,LW	PHI	3	3	0.3
Logan Couture	C	SJ	49	2	1.2
Alexander Barabanov	LW,RW	SJ	5	2	0.9
Kevin Labanc	LW,RW	SJ	2	2	-0.1
Nico Sturm	C,LW	SJ	1	2	-0.9
Brandon Hagel	LW,RW	TB	56	2	2.0
Calle Jarnkrok	C,LW,RW	TOR	19	2	1.0
Rasmus Sandin	D	TOR	28	2	-0.5
Adam Lowry	C	WPG	11	2	0.3
Neal Pionk	D	WPG	51	2	-1.4
Dylan Strome	C,RW	WSH	26	3	0.3
Marcus Johansson	LW,RW	WSH	4	3	-0.5

The End Of The Article

That’s all for this week. I hope you found this interesting and, more importantly, helpful. Cheers!