Player scouting

Player Scouting

Default data tool: PuckAPI (puckapi-tool). Use search_players to find a player by name (2 credits), get_player_stats for player bio data (5 credits). For goalie stats, use get_goalie_stats -- that tool is handled by the goalie-analysis skill. For user's own player CSV, skip the tool and work with the file directly.

You are an expert at finding, reading, and contextualizing skater performance data. Your goal is to answer player stat questions accurately, compute per-game rates, compare players, and evaluate prospects via NHLe translation -- then route to deeper skills when needed.

When to Use

• "How is [player] playing this season?"
• "What are [player]'s points per game?"
• "Show me [team]'s top scorers"
• "Compare [player A] and [player B]"
• "Is [AHL/KHL/CHL player] ready for the NHL?"
• "Who are the best penalty killers on [team]?"
• "I need stats for my fantasy lineup"
• "How has [player] trended over the last 3 seasons?"

When NOT to Use

• Goalie save percentage, GAA, shutouts -- see goalie-analysis
• Team-level stats (GF/G, PP%, team rankings) -- see team-analysis
• Building WAR/GAR or composite value metrics -- see war-gar-decomposition
• Predicting a player's prop bet -- see prop-modeling

Commands Available

Command	What It Does	Credits
search_players	Find a player by name; returns player ID, team, position	2
get_player_stats	Player bio data; goalie stats for goalies	5

Commands That Do NOT Exist

Not Available	Use Instead
get_player_advanced_stats	Use get_player_stats and compute CF%, xGF%, PDO manually
get_player_game_log	Not available; use get_game_detail for individual game data
get_player_injuries	Not available in this tool
get_player_contract	Not available in this tool
get_goalie_stats	Available but belongs to goalie-analysis -- route there
get_prospect_rankings	Not available; use NHLe translation (below) for prospect eval
get_player_prop_odds	Not available; use odds-explorer for lines

Season Resolution

• October through December: current calendar year is the season start (2025-26 season)
• January through September: previous calendar year is the season start (2025-26 season, referenced as 2025)
• "This season" = season currently in progress or most recently completed
• "Last season" = one full season prior
• "Career stats" = all regular season games; request explicitly if user wants playoffs
• Partial seasons (trades, injuries) require noting GP context alongside counting stats

Initial Assessment

Before querying, understand:

1. Which player? Get exact name spelling -- names like "Matthews" or "McDavid" resolve cleanly; common surnames need team context.
2. What question? Season performance, multi-year trend, comparison, prospect evaluation, or roster snapshot?
3. Counting stats or rates? Always compute per-game rates when GP varies. A 40-point player in 50 GP outperforms a 45-point player in 82 GP.

How It Works

Step 1: Find the player

Use search_players with the player's name. If multiple results return, disambiguate by team or position. Note the player ID for subsequent calls.

Common disambiguation patterns:

• Two players with same surname: include first name and team ("Sebastian Aho, Carolina" vs. "Sebastian Aho, NY Islanders")
• Retired vs. active: confirm with user if the name is ambiguous
• Name change / traded player: search_players returns current team; note trade date if relevant

Step 2: Pull stats

Use get_player_stats with the player ID and season. For multi-season comparison, make one call per season.

Step 3: Compute per-game rates

Never present raw counting stats without context. Always compute:

Goals/GP    = G / GP
Assists/GP  = A / GP
Points/GP   = PTS / GP
SOG/GP      = Shots / GP (shooting context)
Sh%         = G / Shots * 100

For power play and penalty kill splits, note TOI context if available.

Step 4: NHLe Translation (prospect evaluation)

When evaluating players from non-NHL leagues, apply NHL equivalency factors to normalize their production.

NHLe Formula:

NHLe Points/GP = (League Points/GP) * (NHLe Factor)
NHLe Points (full season) = NHLe Points/GP * 82

NHLe Factors by league:

League	NHLe Factor	Notes
AHL	0.38	Primary development league; strongest proxy
SHL (Sweden)	0.60	High quality; European top leagues translate well
KHL (Russia)	0.55	Varies by era; post-2022 KHL may be weaker
Liiga (Finland)	0.45	Strong development; slightly below SHL
NLA (Switzerland)	0.40	Mid-tier European
CHL (OHL/WHL/QMJHL)	0.25	Junior; age adjustment required
NCAA	0.30	Age and competition adjustment required
ECHL	0.15	Low conversion rate

Age adjustment for junior leagues (CHL/NCAA): Under-18 prospects: multiply NHLe by 0.75 (penalize for age relative to competition) 18-year-olds: no adjustment 20+ in CHL: add 0.05 (older player dominating a younger league is less meaningful)

Interpretation thresholds:

• 0.80+ NHLe points/GP: top-line NHL projection
• 0.60-0.79: second-line projection
• 0.45-0.59: third-line / depth projection
• Below 0.45: fringe NHL / AHL career likely

Important caveats:

• NHLe is a population average -- individual variance is high
• Defensive forwards and physical players are systematically undervalued by point-only NHLe
• Goalie NHLe does not exist in point-based form; see goalie-analysis
• Always note sample size: fewer than 40 games creates wide confidence intervals

Step 5: Build comparison tables

For player vs. player comparisons, create a side-by-side table normalized to per-game rates. Include GP so the reader can assess sample reliability.

Step 6: Roster snapshots

To list a team's top scorers, pull get_player_stats for the full roster or use search_players with team filter. Sort by points, then present top N with per-game rates.

Data Source

PuckAPI (default): Use puckapi-tool endpoints above.

Your own data: If user provides a player stats CSV:

1. Verify required columns: player_name, team, gp, goals, assists, points, season
2. Compute per-game rates if not already present
3. Flag players with fewer than 20 GP -- small sample, caveat results
4. Note: credits are not consumed when working with user's own data

Credit Usage

Operation	Credits	Notes
Player search	2	Name to ID resolution
Single player bio/stats	5	Per player
Three-season comparison	17	1 search (2cr) + 3 stat pulls (5cr each)
Roster snapshot (full team)	~125	25 players x 5 credits; use selectively
Two-player comparison	14	2 searches (2cr each) + 2 stat pulls (5cr each)

Cost note: Roster-wide pulls get expensive fast. If the user wants "top scorers," ask how many before pulling all 23 players.

Anti-patterns

Rationalization	Why It's Wrong	Do This Instead
"He has 30 goals -- that's great"	Context missing: 30 goals in 50 GP is exceptional; 30 in 82 is average	Always present goals/GP alongside raw totals
"The AHL player has great numbers, he's ready"	AHL stats without NHLe translation are not NHL projections	Apply NHLe factor (0.38) before drawing conclusions
"Points are the only thing that matters"	Defensive forwards, physicality, and PK contribution are real and point-invisible	Note role context and ice time when known
"I'll pull the full roster to find the top scorer"	25+ API calls for a question that might need 5	Ask the user how many players they want, or pull a targeted subset
"Same points total = same player quality"	Different positions, roles, and team contexts produce the same totals differently	Normalize by position and note TOI/role when available
"NHLe works the same for all positions"	Defensemen systematically score fewer points; NHLe undervalues them	Note position when applying NHLe; adjust threshold expectations for D

Output Format

Single player season stats

[Player Name] -- [Position] | [Team] | [Season]
GP: [N] | G: [N] | A: [N] | PTS: [N]
Per game: [G/GP] G/GP | [A/GP] A/GP | [PTS/GP] PTS/GP
Shooting: [Sh%]% on [SOG/GP] shots/GP
[Power play split if available]

Multi-season trend

[Player Name] -- Season-by-Season
Season | Team | GP | G | A | PTS | PTS/GP
2022-23 | ...
2023-24 | ...
2024-25 | ...
Trend: [improving / declining / stable -- one-sentence note]

Player comparison table

              [Player A]    [Player B]
Team          [Team]        [Team]
Position      [Pos]         [Pos]
GP            [N]           [N]
Goals         [N]           [N]
Assists       [N]           [N]
Points        [N]           [N]
PTS/GP        [N]           [N]
Sh%           [N]%          [N]%

Prospect NHLe card

[Player Name] -- [League] | [Team] | [Season]
Raw: [GP] GP | [PTS] PTS | [PTS/GP] PTS/GP
NHLe factor: [X] ([League])
NHLe projection: [NHLe PTS/GP] PTS/GP | [NHLe PTS] pts over 82 games
Projection tier: [Top line / 2nd line / 3rd line / Depth]
Sample note: [flag if < 40 GP]

What to Do Next

What You Found	Next Action	Skill
Found a strong player, want goalie on the same team	Check goalie stats separately	goalie-analysis
Want to build a player scoring model	Encode per-game rates as features	feature-engineering
Prospect NHLe looks ready, want team context	Check where they'd fit on the roster	team-analysis
Player stats for prop bet modeling	Model player outcomes vs. posted props	prop-modeling
Want WAR or composite player value	Run full value decomposition	war-gar-decomposition
Found a player, want to preview a game they're in	Full game context with odds	game-preview