What if understanding hockey could also help students understand data?
That is the idea behind a new educational initiative unveiled by the National Hockey League (NHL), SAP and HEC Montréal, which are launching a free learning game powered by real professional hockey data.
Called The Hockey Analyst, the platform is designed to help students build analytical skills increasingly sought after in today’s job market, using hockey as the learning environment.
Developed by the ERPsim Lab team at HEC Montréal under the direction of Professor Pierre–Majorique Léger, the game is intended for higher-education instructors worldwide. It offers an interactive learning experience focused on data interpretation, visualization, decision-making and critical thinking.
“This is really about using the passion of young students with something they really care about. They really love hockey,” Léger said.
“It’s the playoff, everyone is excited, the Habs are in the playoff. So with the NHL, that was the right timing to announce the game,” he added.
The initiative builds on an established collaboration between SAP and the NHL, with both organizations working alongside HEC Montréal’s research team and NHL analytics staff to ensure the game reflects real-world professional data environments.
Organizers say the project is grounded in the idea that sport can make complex analytical concepts more accessible by connecting them to something students already engage with.
“When the question feels meaningful, learners lean in, stay focused and keep pushing forward,” said Léger. “This develops professional judgment, confidence in analytics, and the ability to communicate strategy and decisions clearly. These skills translate directly into real careers.”
He said the concept also reflects how students already interact with hockey outside the classroom.
“Often in schoolyards, the students will debate hockey statistics, right? And they will use advanced statistics that they will eventually learn in university, right? So it’s very intriguing that sometimes they will say, ‘Why do I learn all this math?’ Well, in this case, the math they already use. And we use their passion for the stats with hockey to bring that into the classroom so that they can really engage with some very important topics in mathematics and geometry and trigonometry and descriptive statistics and probability.”
SAP, which has partnered with the NHL for more than a decade, helped enable the integration of professional hockey data and analytics tools into the platform.
The game is built using real NHL game data, which includes nearly 1.5 million data points per game, such as shot attempts, passes and puck touches.
Students use SAP Analytics Cloud to analyze this information, work with visualizations and explore decision-making scenarios based on real game situations.
“We’re using the exact same dashboard that general managers and coaches use in the real world to make those decisions. A big part of this is data visualization… it’s all about data literacy — being able to read visual data and extract insights and make decisions,” Léger said.
Brant Berglund, senior director of coaching and general manager applications at the NHL, said the sport provides a natural entry point for developing analytical thinking.
“Hockey is fast, dynamic, and full of rich data — a perfect environment for teaching critical thinking,” he said. “By opening up its data to universities in the context of Business Builders, the NHL hopes to inspire a new generation of analysts, leaders and innovators.”
Inside the game, students take on roles such as coach or general manager, where they must interpret performance data and make strategic decisions under constraints.
They are asked to evaluate what separates top performers, how shot angles influence scoring, and which shot types produce the highest conversion rates.
Léger said the approach is designed to move students beyond theory and into applied decision-making.
“Innovating in data analytics means going beyond traditional teaching methods,” he said. “Here, real sports data enrich the learning experience by adding context, complexity and constraints. Students learn to judge what truly matters, justify their decisions, and manage trade-offs.”
The game is part of Business Builders, a free online learning platform developed by ERPsim Lab for post-secondary educators. It is currently used by more than 1,250 instructors and 25,000 students across 600 institutions in 85 countries.
SAP is providing access to SAP Analytics Cloud at no cost as part of the initiative.
The platform is available in multiple versions for different education levels, with support materials designed to help instructors integrate it easily into their courses. Educators can sign up to access the game.
Léger said accessibility was central to the design.
“We’ve made different versions so you can plug and play,” he said. “It’s very easy to learn for instructors, and we provide user guides so they can quickly use the software.”
Dr. Katharina Schaefer, global head of academic partnerships at SAP, said practical experience is now essential for students preparing to enter the workforce.
“Access to business software and real data is essential for preparing students for the future,” she said. “With free learning platforms like Business Builders, we empower educators to bring enterprise-grade analytics into the classroom and help students develop the skills that are increasingly in demand across industries. In a world where data and AI define the competitive advantage, today’s learners need more than conceptual understanding; they need practical experience with real software and real data to build confidence and readiness for work life.”
The initiative brings sport, education and industry tools into a single learning environment, where students move from observing data to acting on it.
For its creators, the goal extends beyond teaching analytics — it is about changing how students engage with it, through curiosity, competition and a familiar cultural lens.
As Léger puts it, it is where passion for hockey becomes a pathway to future skills.
