General questions about NHL Draft

[HefHughner]

Hi, playing Edmonton, i simmed through the first season and drafted my players in 2016 and now im totally confused.

Most of the players i drafted are too young and seem to be bound to other clubs (some refused to even consider playing oversees).

In Baseball you draft the players, put them into your farm system and thats it. What about the NHL? Why is no player i drafted ready to play in the new season like Eichel or McDavid last year? And what does it mean, if the players are too young? Do they automatically become a member of my lowest farm team or do i only own the rights to offer them a contract in the next years?

[tarashnat]

Here's a post about draft success.

[dave1927p]

You draft them as a 17 turning 18 years old, and let them develop for about 2 years on their own. Ideally they will be in the Canadian Major junior or NCAA. Then you sign them. If they are in junior they play until 20 and then enter your farm league. In europe they might stay alittle longer or come earlier. Keep an eye on when your rights expire and make sure you sign them before that. You can sign a top rated prospect and if he performs poorly send him back to junior as long as a team holds his rights.

Typically only the top 4-5 players in the draft would be considered of making the NHL as an 18 year old.

[HefHughner]

Thanks to you both. Now i understand what is actually going on during the draft. Thanks!

[deknegt]

Originally Posted by dave1927p

You draft them as a 17 turning 18 years old, and let them develop for about 2 years on their own. Ideally they will be in the Canadian Major junior or NCAA. Then you sign them. If they are in junior they play until 20 and then enter your farm league. In europe they might stay alittle longer or come earlier. Keep an eye on when your rights expire and make sure you sign them before that. You can sign a top rated prospect and if he performs poorly send him back to junior as long as a team holds his rights.

Typically only the top 4-5 players in the draft would be considered of making the NHL as an 18 year old.

Another note, when players decide to go to the NCAA, their rights will extend for the duration of their stay in the NCAA, and more often than not you won't be able to sign them in those years they're in the NCAA. Some player do opt out earlier, but a lot of them stay there until they're at least 22/23, sometimes 21.

This is both good and bad, the good part is that once they're finished with College they're bound to be ready to immediately go into the NHL and compete (if they had the potential in the first place), naturally the bad thing is that you'll need to wait 3-4 years before that player becomes available.

Equally worse when the player is already NHL calibre when they're 20 or something and they're determined in finishing their college career.


But in general, even great 5* talent will need at least 2-4 years of seasoning before they're able to make it in the NHL and be able to perform to an adequate level. Only the top 3-5 players can be regarded as NHL-ready, and none of them rate at the level of a McDavid.

Here's a bit of stats to show you that it takes a while before players reach the NHL level.

2015: 5 players have played in the NHL, #3&#4 aren't among those players.
2014: 13 players have played in the NHL, Only 3 of them have played more than 25 games (rookie eligibility)
2013: It opens up a bit more, but still 10 1st round players have never played an NHL game, and only 2 players from round 2 onwards have played 25 or more games.
2012: 4 players in the first have never played an NHL game, 7 players from round 2 onwards have played 25 or more games...

So even in the past four seasons of drafts you can see that it takes at least into most players 20's before they see consistent NHL action, and even then it's hit or miss whether they're playing often or have less than a season worth of games.

And well, anyone chosen outside the first round pretty much has an extremely uphill battle to fight to even get a single NHL game, let alone become a 'career' player.

Tarashnat's link also shows that really well...

So yeah, don't expect the world from your drafted players, unless they're top 5 and generational prospects, it's better to let them play around in the minors for a bit and only sign them when they're ready, or the rights are about to expire.

[mgom27]

Have more Affliates for Teams like a Rookie League,Short Season and so on to or have a Draft Pick on Loan but not count against your Salary Cap.