What is Heatmap?

A visual map showing where on the rink a player takes shots, receives passes, or spends time.

What this tells us

When you look at a heatmap, you're seeing the geography of a player's game. Red and orange zones show where he's most active — maybe he camps in the slot for scoring chances, or works the boards on the wing. Heatmaps let you spot patterns the raw numbers hide: a defenseman might have high shot volume, but the heatmap shows you if those shots cluster from the point or drift to the perimeter. They answer "where does this player actually play?"

Limitations

A heatmap shows density but not quality or outcome. A player could have a dense cluster of shots in a low-danger area, or a sparse cluster in high-danger areas — the heatmap alone won't tell you which. Time spent in a zone doesn't always mean productive time (a forward could be backchecking in the defensive end). Heatmaps also obscure context: zone starts, quality of opposition, and score state all shape where a player operates, but the map just shows the result.

Example

A top-line center's passing heatmap might light up the slot and high slot — he's threading plays to his wingers in scoring areas. A shutdown defenseman's defensive-zone heatmap will show heavy activity near his own net. A rookie might have a sparse, scattered heatmap; a veteran anchor will show dense, purposeful clustering.