That 2015 draft included three straight picks for the Boston Bruins in the first round (13th, 14th and 15th). The Boston picks were widely questioned by TV commentators, especially right wing Zachary Senyshyn, picked at No. 15 but rated 38th in the NHL's Central Scouting Bureau rankings. It inspired Nandakumar to construct her own statistical model with two major pillars: One, forecast how valuable a player will be over a pro career and, two, what number and round a player will be drafted. The first pillar has been widely studied and elaborated, but the second tenet is "a lot harder," quoting Nandakumar from that VanHAC conference in 2017. She is attempting to use data to eliminate the uncertainty about what other teams will do with their draft picks.
"What impresses me most about Namita is her creativity in terms of the problems she chooses to approach and how to approach them," said Mandrycky. "We need creative problem solvers as we pick our team to take the ice in October 2021 and beyond."
Nandakumar will continue her groundbreaking work with NHL Seattle, preparing for both the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft, picking the franchise's first roster, and the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, stocking up younger players for the future. Regarding the expansion draft, Nandakumar says "we have to be ready for any scenario that comes our way." She is excited to be back in hockey and already hard at work coding, modeling, collaborating and more.