Earlier this week, I released a method for estimating player shot assists at Hockey Graphs. If you’re not familiar with shot assists or why they’re important, check out Ryan Stimson’s work on the subject. To summarize, shot contributions (shot assists + shots) are better predictors of future scoring than points themselves for skaters. And further, the passing sequence before a shot is a significant factor in whether or not the shot becomes a goal.
If you want to learn more about the math behind these stats, I encourage you to explore the links in the articles above.