By Logan Rowland

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Shawn Humphrey

Abstract

Every year, the National Hockey League hosts an entry draft in which teams can select amateur players between the ages of 18 and 20 to sign into their organization. For players, being drafted at a high position is the best way to guarantee a chance to play professional hockey at the highest level. The aim of this study is to determine what factors teams use to decide which players they select in the draft and at what rank. Previous research has analyzed individual factors and their effect on draft ranking, while this paper aggregates these factors to create a method for analyzing players holistically. To do so, data was collected on factors such as age, physical characteristics, playing statistics, and geographic location to compare the first 100 skaters selected in the last five NHL entry drafts. While the statistical analysis lacked enough significance to draw conclusions, this study opens up pathways to continue research on the same topic and introduces new questions to investigate around the draft process.