In the previous post, I discussed how to create the non-play number portion of a hockey card.  In this article, we move on to the actual play numbers.  Unlike the familiar baseball card, this is somewhat straight forward and transparent.  And like the previous post, this is not perfect, there will be some deviance as not all of the parameters are known.

Before we can go placing numbers on the card, we need to calculate a few things.  All of the stats you will need were listed in the previous post.

• You will need to figure out the penalty numbers.  How to do that is listed in this post.
• Next is the number of 9’s (power play-only shots) needed.  This is calculated by the percentage of goals that are power play goals:  1-25%=one 9, 26-34%=two 9s, 35-49%=three 9s, 50-59%=four 9s, 60-74%=five 9s, 75-80%=six 9s, 81-89%=eight 9s, 90-99%=nine 9s, 100%=ten 9s.
• Determine the number of 30s desired to award penalty killers.  These are based on reputation, a good method would be to sprinkle anywhere between 0 and 4 extra 30s among the team depending on the overall effectiveness of the team’s penalty kill unit.  Forwards mostly get the extra 30s, defensemen getting them are rare.
• Determine the shots on goal taken per 60 minutes, otherwise known as S/60M.
• You will also need the number of games played and the Assist rating.

To assign the player numbers, go through each roll one row at a time, stopping once you have a number to assign:

• First, check the Pen# column.  In the number of penalties needed is equal to or greater than the number needed, assign a penalty number.  The lowest penalty number goes on dice roll 36, then 56, and so on in the order of Pen#.
• Second, check the %PP column.  If the number of 9s needed is equal to or greater than the number needed, assign a 9 here.
• Then check the PK Rep column.  If the number of 30s needed is equal to or greater than the number needed, assign a 30 here.
• Check the S/60M columns.  If the S/60M value is greater than the number for the row, assign that play number.  Example: If a player’s S/60M is 2.35, you would assign a 3 for dice roll 11, as it is greater than the number indicated in the 3 column but less than the 2 column.
• Check the Assist Rating columns.  If a players Assist Rating is greater than the number for the row, assign that play number.  Example: If a player’s Assist Rating was 42 and you were checking for Dice Roll 26, you would assign a 14, as it is greater than the number for the 14 column but less than the number than the 12 column.
• If a play number is still not assigned, use the play number in the Other column.
• Some results have a letter in parentheses [e.g. ‘(a)’].  This indicates a note at the bottom of chart may be applied here.

1. Check the assists before the shots
2. 1-40 Games Played=45, 41-53 GP=44, 54-65 GP=43, 66-75 GP=42, 76-81 GP=41 (adjust accordingly for seasons other than 82 games)
3. If 2nd penalty number is 36 or greater, skip the penalty step, shift the 2nd number to 65 (and all subsequent ones as well one slot) and assign 2, 3, 4, 13 or 26
4. Assign an 11 if the S/60M is between 1.00 and 2.89
5. Assign an 29 if the S/60M=0

A few things I noticed while trying to compile the grid:

• Some of the lower and upper ranges may not be accurate as there are not a lot of examples of high and low shot ratings or high and low assist ratings.
• The number 17 is not assigned.
• There is some consideration to cards with many penalties getting their shot ratings downgraded.  Since they were so rare I didn’t explore further.  Also, no player may get more than 15 penalty numbers.  If they deserve more than 15, more of the 36-39s are converted to 40s.
• There is no consideration that cards with higher shot frequencies have more non-shot rolls because of passes.

This should give you all of the information you need to make the skater card.  In the final article of the series, we move onto the goalie card.  Don’t fret, it’s easier.  Trust me.