Wood,+K

Kyle Wood

**__Brain Storming__**
Number of Goals Scored By an NHL Captain vs. Captain's Age (2009-2010 Season)* Number of Stanley Cup Wins vs. Number of Season Game Wins ( 1999-2009 Seasons) Minutes Played vs. Goals Scored For Top 10 Scorers (2005-2009 Seasons)



**__Question__**
Does the age of an NHL captain determine the amount of goals they will get? Will there be a strong correlation between the ages of a team’s captain to how many goals he will score?

__**Background Information**__ "The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 6 are located in Canada and 24 in the United States. Headquartered in New York City, the NHL is widely considered to be the premiere professional ice hockey league in the world and one of the major professional sports leagues of the United States and Canada . The Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America, is awarded annually to the league playoff champion at the end of each season.

The league was organized on November 22, 1917 in Montreal, Canada after the suspension of operations of its predecessor organization, the National Hockey Association , which had been founded in 1909. It started with four teams and, through a series of expansions, contractions, and relocations, the league is now composed of 30 active franchises. After a "lockout" that led to the cancellation of the entire 2004–05 season, the league resumed play under a new collective bargaining agreement that included a salary cap. In 2009, the NHL enjoyed record highs in terms of sponsorships, crowds and television audiences.

The NHL draws many highly skilled players from all over the world and currently has players from about 20 different countries. Although Canadians have historically constituted the majority of the players in the NHL, over the past four plus decades the percentages of American and European trained players have increased both because of the NHL's continued expansion from six to thirty clubs since 1967, and the increased availability of highly skilled European players, especially from former Eastern Bloc countries."

__**Hypothesis**__
I believe that there will be a strong to moderate correlation between the younger NHL captains and the amount of goals they will score. The younger and more agile the captain is, the more goals he will score.

__**Bias**__
Measurement Bias - I retrieved my information from a secondary source (Wikipedia) that is known to sometimes have unreliable data. I believe the information I retrieved is reliable although because my source cites primary, reliable sources as to where they retrieved their information. Also some of the players were injured during the season and recorded low amounts of goals scored due to being out.

__**Independant Variable (X)**__
NHL Captain's Age

**__Dependant Variable (Y)__**
Number of Goals Scored By NHL Captains

**__Time Period__**
The captains are from the 2010-2011 NHL season. The goals scored are from the 2009-2010 NHL season due to the fact that the 2010-2011 season is still in progress.

__**Captains (2010-2011 Season)**__

 * **__Team__** || **__Captain__** ||
 * Anaheim Ducks || Ryan Getzlaf ||
 * Atlanta Thrashers || //vacant// ||
 * Boston Bruins || Zdeno Chara ||
 * Buffalo Sabres || Craig Rivet ||
 * Calgary Flames || Jarome Iginla ||
 * Carolina Hurricanes || Eric Staal ||
 * Chicago Blackhawks || Jonathan Toews ||
 * Colorado Avalanche || Adam Foote ||
 * Columbus Blue Jackets || Rick Nash ||
 * Dallas Stars || Brenden Morrow ||
 * Detroit Red Wings || Nicklas Lidstrom ||
 * Edmonton Oilers || Shawn Horcoff ||
 * Florida Panthers || Bryan McCabe ||
 * Los Angeles Kings || Dustin Brown ||
 * Minnesota Wild || Mikko Koivu ||
 * Montreal Canadiens || Brian Gionta ||
 * Nashville Predators || Shea Weber ||
 * New Jersey Devils || Jamie Langenbrunner ||
 * New York Islanders || Doug Weight ||
 * New York Rangers || Chris Drury ||
 * Ottawa Senators || Daniel Alfredsson ||
 * Philadelphia Flyers || Mike Richards ||
 * Phoenix Coyotes || Shane Doan ||
 * Pittsburgh Penguins || Sidney Crosby ||
 * San Jose Sharks || Joe Thornton ||
 * St. Louis Blues || Eric Brewer ||
 * Tampa Bay Lightning || Vincent Lecavalier ||
 * Toronto Maple Leafs || Dion Phaneuf ||
 * Vancouver Canucks || Henrik Sedin ||
 * Washington Capitals || Alexander Ovechkin ||

__**Goals Scored & Age (2009-2010 Season**__)

 * **__Captain__** || **__Goals Scored__** || **__Age__** ||
 * Ryan Getzlaf || 19 || 24 ||
 * //vacant// ||  ||   ||
 * Zdeno Chara || 19 || 32 ||
 * Craig Rivet || 1 || 35 ||
 * Jarome Iginla || 32 || 32 ||
 * Eric Staal || 29 || 25 ||
 * Jonathan Toews || 25 || 21 ||
 * Adam Foote || 0 || 38 ||
 * Rick Nash || 33 || 25 ||
 * Brenden Morrow || 20 || 30 ||
 * Nicklas Lidstrom || 9 || 39 ||
 * Shawn Horcoff || 13 || 31 ||
 * Bryan McCabe || 8 || 34 ||
 * Dustin Brown || 24 || 25 ||
 * Mikko Koivu || 22 || 26 ||
 * Brian Gionta || 28 || 30 ||
 * Shea Weber || 16 || 24 ||
 * Jamie Langenbrunner || 19 || 34 ||
 * Doug Weight || 1 || 38 ||
 * Chris Drury || 14 || 33 ||
 * Daniel Alfredsson || 20 || 36 ||
 * Mike Richards || 31 || 24 ||
 * Shane Doan || 18 || 33 ||
 * Sidney Crosby || 51 || 22 ||
 * Joe Thornton || 20 || 30 ||
 * Eric Brewer || 8 || 30 ||
 * Vincent Lecavalier || 24 || 29 ||
 * Dion Phaneuf || 12 || 24 ||
 * Henrik Sedin || 29 || 29 ||
 * Alexander Ovechkin || 50 || 24 ||

__**Calculations**__
Mean Captain's Age: 29 Goals Scored:20

Median Captain's Age:30 Goals Scored:20

Mode Captain's Age:24 Goals Scored:19

Range Captain's Age: 39-21=18 Goals Scored: 51-0=51

Standard Deviation

= __750__ 30 = square root(25) = 5
 * X || Mean || Deviation || Deviation^2 ||
 * 24 || 29 || -5 || 25 ||
 * 32 || 29 || 3 || 9 ||
 * 35 || 29 || 6 || 36 ||
 * 32 || 29 || 3 || 9 ||
 * 25 || 29 || -4 || 16 ||
 * 21 || 29 || -8 || 64 ||
 * 38 || 29 || 9 || 81 ||
 * 25 || 29 || -4 || 16 ||
 * 30 || 29 || 1 || 1 ||
 * 39 || 29 || 10 || 100 ||
 * 31 || 29 || 2 || 4 ||
 * 34 || 29 || 5 || 25 ||
 * 25 || 29 || -4 || 16 ||
 * 26 || 29 || -3 || 9 ||
 * 30 || 29 || 1 || 1 ||
 * 24 || 29 || -5 || 25 ||
 * 34 || 29 || 5 || 25 ||
 * 38 || 29 || 9 || 81 ||
 * 33 || 29 || 4 || 16 ||
 * 36 || 29 || 7 || 49 ||
 * 24 || 29 || -5 || 25 ||
 * 33 || 29 || 4 || 16 ||
 * 22 || 29 || -7 || 49 ||
 * 30 || 29 || 1 || 1 ||
 * 30 || 29 || 1 || 1 ||
 * 29 || 29 || 0 || 0 ||
 * 24 || 29 || -5 || 25 ||
 * 29 || 29 || 0 || 0 ||
 * 24 || 29 || -5 || 25 ||
 * ||  ||   || **750** ||

Correlation Coefficient
 * X || Y || X^2 || Y^2 || XY ||
 * 24 || 19 || 576 || 361 || 465 ||
 * 32 || 19 || 1024 || 361 || 608 ||
 * 35 || 1 || 1225 || 1 || 35 ||
 * 32 || 32 || 1024 || 1024 || 1024 ||
 * 25 || 29 || 625 || 841 || 725 ||
 * 21 || 25 || 441 || 625 || 525 ||
 * 38 || 0 || 1444 || 0 || 0 ||
 * 25 || 33 || 625 || 1089 || 825 ||
 * 30 || 20 || 900 || 400 || 600 ||
 * 39 || 9 || 1521 || 81 || 351 ||
 * 31 || 13 || 961 || 169 || 403 ||
 * 34 || 8 || 1156 || 64 || 272 ||
 * 25 || 24 || 625 || 576 || 600 ||
 * 26 || 22 || 676 || 484 || 572 ||
 * 30 || 28 || 900 || 784 || 840 ||
 * 24 || 16 || 576 || 256 || 384 ||
 * 34 || 19 || 1156 || 361 || 646 ||
 * 38 || 1 || 1444 || 1 || 38 ||
 * 33 || 14 || 1089 || 196 || 462 ||
 * 36 || 20 || 1296 || 400 || 720 ||
 * 24 || 31 || 576 || 961 || 744 ||
 * 33 || 18 || 1089 || 324 || 594 ||
 * 22 || 51 || 484 || 2601 || 1122 ||
 * 30 || 20 || 900 || 400 || 600 ||
 * 30 || 8 || 900 || 64 || 240 ||
 * 29 || 24 || 841 || 576 || 696 ||
 * 24 || 12 || 576 || 144 || 288 ||
 * 29 || 29 || 841 || 841 || 841 ||
 * 24 || 50 || 576 || 2500 || 1200 ||

Totals
X=857 Y=595 X^2=26056 Y^2=16485 XY=16420 r= -0.68

The data has a moderate negative correlation.



**__Conclusion__**
My hypothesis was pretty much right in saying that younger NHL captains score more goals. The correlation coefficient was - 0.68. This means that there was a negative, moderate relationship between the age of an NHL captain and the number of goals he scored. Although I can't really trust my findings because NHL captains are more than just goal scorers, they have to control and lead their teams as well meaning that instead of shooting all the time, they would pass to setup a play.

__**Bibliography**__
Adam Foote. (n.d.). In //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. Retrieved October 15, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Foote Alexander Ovechkin. (n.d.). In //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. Retrieved October 15, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Ovechkin Brenden Morrow. (n.d.). In //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. Retrieved October 15, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brenden_Morrow Brian Gionta. (n.d.). In //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. Retrieved October 15, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Gionta Bryan McCabe. (n.d.). In //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. Retrieved October 15, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryan_McCabe Chris Drury. (n.d.). In //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. Retrieved October 15, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Drury Craig Rivet. (n.d.). In //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. Retrieved October 15, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Rivet Daniel Alfredsson. (n.d.). In //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. Retrieved October 15, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Alfredsson Dion Phaneuf. (n.d.). In //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. Retrieved October 15, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dion_Phaneuf Doug Weight. (n.d.). In //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. Retrieved October 15, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Weight Dustin Brown. (n.d.). In //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. Retrieved October 15, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dustin_Brown_%28ice_hockey%29 Eric Brewer. (n.d.). In //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. Retrieved October 15, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Brewer_%28ice_hockey%29 Eric Staal. (n.d.). In //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. Retrieved October 15, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Staal Henrik Sedin. (n.d.). In //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. Retrieved October 15, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henrik_Sedin Jamie Langenbrunner. (n.d.). In //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. Retrieved October 15, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamie_Langenbrunner Jarome Iginla. (n.d.). In //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. Retrieved October 15, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jarome_Iginla Joe Thornton. (n.d.). In //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. Retrieved October 15, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Thornton Jonathan Toews. (n.d.). In //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. Retrieved October 15, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Toews List Of Current NHL Captains And Alternate Captains. (n.d.). In //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. Retrieved October 15, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_NHL_captains_and_alternate_captains Mike Richards. (n.d.). In //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. Retrieved October 15, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Richards Mikko Koivu. (n.d.). In //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. Retrieved October 15, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikko_Koivu National Hockey League. (n.d.). In //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. Retrieved October 15, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Hockey_League Nicklas Lidstrom. (n.d.). In //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. Retrieved October 15, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicklas_Lidstr%C3%B6m Rick Nash. (n.d.). In //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. Retrieved October 15, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Nash Ryan Getzlaf. (n.d.). In //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. Retrieved October 15, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Getzlaf Shane Doan. (n.d.). In //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. Retrieved October 15, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shane_Doan Shawn Horcoff. (n.d.). In //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. Retrieved October 15, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shawn_Horcoff Shea Weber. (n.d.). In //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. Retrieved October 15, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shea_Weber Sidney Crosby. (n.d.). In //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. Retrieved October 15, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Crosby Vincent Lecavalier. (n.d.). In //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. Retrieved October 15, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_Lecavalier Zdeno Chara. (n.d.). In //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. Retrieved October 15, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zdeno_Ch%C3%A1ra