Sad to hear the passing of Brian King, the man behind the popular PDO metric in hockey. Brian was a very influential person in the Edmonton Oilers fan community and had a huge impact on my work and others. I’ve referenced his PDO stat thousands of times on my blog and other outlets, and it’s a wonderful metric that’ll be referenced for a long, long time.
Brian helped shape how fans view and analyze the game of hockey, especially when it comes to evaluating individual players and the ‘puck luck’ they may or may not have. The PDO metric will continue to be referenced when an objective take of the game is needed, something Brian regularly provided online. Combining his metric with other stats and insights has made the game so much more enjoyable for me, and I’m sure for others as well. I’ll always be thankful to him for that.
I had the pleasure of interacting with Brian regularly over the years. He even took the time to talk Oilers and how he got into hockey and stats on my podcast back in 2022. He talked about coming up with PDO in the summer of 2008 while talking about the Oilers decision-making with other like-minded fans on the Irreverent Oiler Fans blog (which was maintained by Vic Ferrari/Tim Barnes). The backstory of PDO is also in Bob McKenzie’s 2014 book Hockey Confidential – something I was just thrilled to see when I first read it.
So while Brian is gone, he definitely won’t be forgotten.
Deepest condolences to Brian’s family and friends, and those feeling his loss.
The SuperFan 