The Carolina Hurricanes have hired stats guru (and, as the team highlights, a chemist and expert in nanotechnology) Eric Tlsuky as a Hockey Analyst “to provide data to the hockey operations department.”
Tlusky worked with the team some in a part time capacity last season and the team must have liked what he was able to offer, because he will join the ‘Canes full time this year.
The team highlights his work outside of stats as well as his contributions to advanced stats in hockey:
A Philadelphia native, Tulsky holds a B.A. in chemistry and physics from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in chemistry from UC-Berkeley. He also conducted a two-year, post-doctoral study at the Naval Research Lab in Washington, D.C., and worked in nanotechnology for 12 years. Tulsky’s research has helped enable unique nanotechnology solutions to problems in DNA sequencing, solar energy, displays, and energy storage. He and his wife, Karen Sosa, reside in Chapel Hill with their son, Seth (9).
Tlusky has done fantastic work in advanced statistics through his writing at Broad Street Hockey, Outnumbered, NHL Numbers and elsewhere. Tlusky was also a presenter of a Sloan Sports Analytics Conference paper about zone entries that was an important paper in the ongoing development of advanced stats in hockey.