James Holzhauer is a genius. He won 32 games of Jeopardy amassing $2,462,216 worth of prize money. He completely changed the way the game is played with a new strategy of selecting clues as well as betting big on Daily Doubles.
Jeopardy James is also big Golden Knights fan. After moving from Naperville, Illinois, Holzhauer came to Vegas to become a professional sports gambler. Now, he believes he could be of assistance to the Golden Knights front office.
They have access to so much more data than I do. Honestly, my hockey betting models aren’t super sophisticated, but I really think if they brought me on board I could do something for them, I just don’t know what yet. -James Holzhauer
Many baseball executives have said they believe Holzhauer could succeed in the world of baseball analytics, but we’re thinking hockey might be a better option.
The world of hockey analytics is still fairly new and there’s about to be an explosion of data coming to the teams as the NHL introduced puck/player tracking. Holzhauer would be the perfect person to add to the Golden Knights organization to sort through the data and find usable pieces to help make the team better.
I asked Holzhauer how he would solve the Golden Knights cap situation. He passed on the question saying he doesn’t have enough info to know how to help.
I really like the roster they have but hockey is such a random sport you never know what’s going to happen. -Holzhauer
Maybe I’m crazy, or maybe I’m a genius, but if you ask me, the real genius should be around the Golden Knights when the new data is released. If anyone can figure out what to do with it, it’s him, and it might be the next secret weapon for a team that seems to turn everything they touch to gold.
Vic
Excessive focus on analytics may lead to Gallant looking for a cab someday.
Brooks
I dont think Gallant is going anywhere anytime soon, especially since the knights went to the Stanley cup finals in their 1st year.
Vgk4life
Get rid of some random bone headed plays offensively and defensively AND save money! Trade Shea Theodore.
Brooks
I’m a bit confused, if Holtzhauer wants to be a sports better, why would he work for the GK’s, he cant bet then.
Ken Boehlke
He’s a fan of the team. If he gets paid a salary (after winning $2+ million on a game show) he could probably give up sports betting for a little while.
Willy Andara
He’s not really a sports bettor, he’s an arbitrager. He doesn’t bet opinions, he bets numbers. So for him sports betting is really a job, not a calling, so could see him give it up as long as he’s employed doing something else.
I really like his comment about hockey being random because it is so true. Rarely is the Stanley Cup champ the best team on paper or analytically. Its the team that got breaks when they needed them, including staying healthy. Sports betting and poker, as he does them, are very similar. He has an edge over time, but you have to be prepared for bad breaks and short periods of things going against you. I think in talent and analytically the Knights had an edge over the Sharks, but it wasn’t so big an edge that they were certain to win over just one playoff series.
If hockey is not approached as such a team, good or bad, can make bad decisions. We see this each year when fans and even some teams try to “learn” what they can from a champion. Maybe its helpful to spot some emerging ideas to consider, but ultimately a seven-game series is a small sample size and believing the results give you certain strategic answers is a sure way to make mistakes.