2014 Draft Success

Hey all,

Last year I wrote a blog post for the first time (yay!), and it is a repeatable project, and so I endeavour to repeat it. I have tabulated the points each team piled up based only on their drafted players, and excluding their protected roster.

Points from the 2014 draft in 2014-2015:

	Team	Pts.
1.	Lidstroms	425
2.	Moilers	369
3.	Stefans	364
4.	Mackhawks	347
5.	Flyers	344
6.	Rangers	342
7.	Faajarvis	322
8.	Canicks	319
9.	Rordiques	315
10.	Krupuls	296
11.	Kings	296
12.	Claassics	293
13.	Teeyotes	260
14.	Parkers	257
15.	Micahleks	243
16.	Schizzarks	223
TOTAL		5,015

Just for curiousity's sake, I totalled all of our draft numbers from 2013, and we introduced 5,307 points into the KCKL that year, while in 2014-2015 we brought in only 5,015. We may be, collectively, getting worse at drafting, or it may be that NHL scoring continues to decline (we had quite the anemic Hart this past year, to be sure).

All the same caveats apply this year as in the last. GMs have different strategies and draft needs from year to year, and a total-points-from-draftees score will be lowered considerably if you draft for hot prospects instead of established vets.

Further, if you weren't drafting a starting goalie, your draft points would be lower than they presumably might have been, as goalies are some of our most high-scoring players.

Also, if you traded away early round picks and drafted later you might have lower points. Though we do know that the points-per-round average after the first round is fairly consistent. Lots of value still left in that 7th round apparently. Again, this is likely due to hot prospects going in early rounds who don't produce high points right away while staid and true veterans able to consistently post 35+ points are going in later rounds. Maybe Stefan can do a more accurate, weighted calculation, based on the picks each team was working with.

One major caveat I failed to mention last year, is that obviously people make trades throughout the season and creatively use add-drops, etc. The above tabulation was created simply by taking the players each team drafted, and totalling up what each of them scored over the season. If someone you drafted totally sucked, and you shrewdly made up for it by adding an add-drop from the waiver wire, that is not captured here.

This was a painful exercise for me this year. Last time I had finished 8th overall by year's end, but had a Pyrrhic victory by leading the draft success table. This time I finished an agonizing 4th overall, and now realize that it was indeed a result of my abysmal draft.  I have learned that trying to "play it safe" by drafting established, middle of the road vets can end in heartache when nearly all of them have very down years. Anyway, congrats to the Lidstroms on yet another honourific, having nabbed top spot on the draft success board.

A few things to note: the Schizzarks have finished in last place on the draft success table two years running. The most improved drafter goes to the Teeyotes, having moved from 13th to 2nd. Honourable mention to the Lidstroms, who moved from 10th to 1st.

I promise this will be the driest writing I do in the KCKL this year. More bad jokes to follow.

Best of luck on another great year,
Lord Krusell