Methodology

What HR Rating means

HR Rating is Hockey Registry’s 0–100 presentation of comparative team strength.

• HR Rating is not a percentage grade or a predicted win probability.
• The public presentation does not change ranking order.
• Ratings should be read in the correct season, age/division and connected competition context.
• A team’s name, reputation, organization or popularity does not directly enter its rating.

What data enters the rankings

Hockey Registry rankings are built from eligible hockey data that can be reliably connected to the correct teams and competition context.

• Final competitive regular-season results
• Final playoff and tournament results
• Resolved team identities
• Season, age-group, division and league context where available
• Opponent-adjusted game results inside valid competition networks

What does not count

• Exhibitions, scrimmages and friendlies do not affect public rankings.
• Scheduled, in-progress, postponed and other non-final games are excluded.
• A tied displayed playoff score is excluded when the source does not provide an authoritative winner.
• Final regular-season and tournament ties can count as ties when no decisive winner data exists.

Margin of victory is capped

A decisive result can carry more information than a one-goal result, but Hockey Registry does not reward endless score inflation.

Under v1.0, extra margin credit stops increasing after a 5-goal differential. Additional goals beyond that point do not increase ranking impact.

Previous-season information

Returning teams are not treated as complete unknowns at the start of a new season.

Ranking Methodology v1.0 carries 75% of the prior season’s distance from the common baseline into the new season. New or unmatched teams start at the common baseline.

Provisional vs. Established

Early-season ratings have less current-season evidence behind them.

Teams with fewer than 20 games are labeled Provisional. At 20+ games, the rating is labeled Established.

The status communicates rating maturity; it does not change the game-by-game formula.

Why competition context matters

Hockey Registry does not manufacture comparisons between disconnected schedules.

Teams are compared when the available results create a valid connected competition path. Separate markets may remain on separate ranking boards until the evidence supports a meaningful comparison.

Organization Power Index

Organization Power Index measures repeatable strength across multiple AAA age groups rather than simply copying one elite team’s rating.

• A full numeric OPI requires at least 3 Established AAA age-group boards.
• Up to the six strongest qualifying age-group HR Ratings are used.
• Stronger boards receive more weight.
• There is no separate peak-team bonus and no bonus simply for organization size.

Validation & methodology governance

Ranking Methodology v1.0 was frozen after chronological historical testing on the cleaned production dataset.

Routine ranking rebuilds apply the frozen methodology rather than automatically retuning it every time new games arrive.

Any future substantive methodology change should be versioned rather than silently replacing v1.0.

Coverage & limitations

• Coverage varies by geography, league, division and age group.
• Rankings can change as new verified results are added.
• Some hockey markets may remain separate when the evidence does not support direct comparison.
• Historical ranking depth will increase as additional ranking snapshots are captured.