Durham Tech Firm To Play Key Role In NHL’s New Tracking System

Durham-based SportsMedia Technology (SMT) in October will be a “key player in the NHL’s new Puck and Player Tracking System that will drive a motherlode of data to a variety of platforms, including broadcast and possibly gambling initiatives,” according to Kevin Paul Dupont of the BOSTON GLOBE. SMT’s role “wont’ be to generate the data, but rather to aggregate the information into a basket and then push it out through a firehose.” Former NHLer Aaron Ward, who played nearby for the Hurricanes and now works for SMT, said,”We’re ingesting the data,” explained Ward. “We take all the inputs . . . time code them . . . take them into our system. Then we are the outputter to all kinds of possible second-end users. It can be anything from broadcasters to league stats to wagering . . . to anybody who needs or wants to draw from that tracking will take it from us.”