What Stats to Track in Youth Hockey (by Position)

The universal three

Whatever the position, these are worth logging every game:

• Goals — the headline number kids care about most.
• Assists — rewards the pass, not just the finish. Great for teaching team play.
• Games played — the denominator behind every per-game average and season milestone.

Forwards

Add shots on goal and points (goals + assists). Shots matter because they show effort and involvement even on nights the puck doesn't go in — a forward with 7 shots and 0 goals still had a strong game. Points are the running story of the season.

Defense

Goals and assists undersell a defender. Track plus/minus and, if you can, blocked shots. Plus/minus captures whether good things happen when your kid is on the ice; blocked shots reward the unglamorous defensive work that never shows up on the scoreboard. Celebrate a +3 night the way you'd celebrate a goal.

Goalies

Different job, different numbers. Track saves, goals against, and let the math give you save percentage. A 3–2 loss can hide a brilliant .929 night. We go deep on this in how to track a goalie's performance.

Ice time (any position)

If you want one advanced number, make it ice time. It provides context for every other stat — a point in twelve minutes is different from a point in twenty. Here's how to track hockey ice time without missing the game.

What to ignore

Skip anything you can't reliably see from the stands. Faceoff percentages, zone entries, and Corsi are fun for the NHL but impossible to track accurately for a nine-year-old — and chasing them turns game night into data entry. Keep it simple enough that you still watch the game.