Last 2 teams have a 33.50% chance of drafting #1 in 2015

[Skooby]

If you combine the odds of winning the right to draft first (20% + 13.5%), you have a 33.5% chance to draft at least 2nd. Those aren't terrible odds even if we finish second & could stay there, just to be clear. That's about 3 times more likely than the 3rd place finisher, obviously all based on having 2 generation players to be had. Pretty neat scenario actually.

http://www.mynhldraft.com/2015-draft/draft-lottery-odds/

[coastal]

Dont start stupid

[JATMtheJATM]

Last 14 Teams have a 100% chance of drafting mceichel. True story.

[YardRat]

NHL and MLB would be a lot more popular if they ditched the antiquated idea of farm systems and adopted a more NFL-type approach to the draft. Go ahead and pick a guy, but either play him or cut him. Probably wouldn't be able to go full-blown, but including only the parent club and one minor league entity as 'the team' would work. And ditch the lottery, it's just a bad idea that lends itself to perceptions of rigging the game.

[Ginger Vitis]

Incredibly Mitch is worse at Math than BillsImpossible lol

[JATMtheJATM]

NHL and MLB would be a lot more popular if they ditched the antiquated idea of farm systems and adopted a more NFL-type approach to the draft. Go ahead and pick a guy, but either play him or cut him. Probably wouldn't be able to go full-blown, but including only the parent club and one minor league entity as 'the team' would work. And ditch the lottery, it's just a bad idea that lends itself to perceptions of rigging the game.

the development required for those sports is alot more steep and takes years.

plus, going to minor league games is fun as hell. in both baseball and hockey.

[Dude]

I'm 5% impressed.

[Dr. Lecter]

Gotta work 43% in this, so I'm 43% sure this thread is typical of the starter

[coastal]

Blow me

[YardRat]

the development required for those sports is alot more steep and takes years.

plus, going to minor league games is fun as hell. in both baseball and hockey.

Yeah, bull****...it's because they draft them younger, plain and simple, and stash them in the farm systems while they grow up.

I'm not advocating trashing minor league games completely, they can still exist, just in a manner where if a drafted player doesn't make the big league or immediate farm team, they are considered 'cut' and can sign with anybody they want. Kinda like the CFL, Arena League, etc.

[JATMtheJATM]

Yeah, bull****...it's because they draft them younger, plain and simple, and stash them in the farm systems while they grow up.

I'm not advocating trashing minor league games completely, they can still exist, just in a manner where if a drafted player doesn't make the big league or immediate farm team, they are considered 'cut' and can sign with anybody they want. Kinda like the CFL, Arena League, etc.

No, it's that's exactly why they have farm systems. and it's not a troubled system.

[Downinfloflo]

I got good news, You can save 100% on car insurance by not paying it, And the Rangers have a 16.4% chance to win he Cup.

And a 54.9% chance to win the presidents trophy..

[Skooby]

Drunken math, LOL. Lets just finish last and be done with it.

[Dr. Lecter]

Yeah, bull****...it's because they draft them younger, plain and simple, and stash them in the farm systems while they grow up.

I'm not advocating trashing minor league games completely, they can still exist, just in a manner where if a drafted player doesn't make the big league or immediate farm team, they are considered 'cut' and can sign with anybody they want. Kinda like the CFL, Arena League, etc.
NFL rosters are also 53 players

[YardRat]

No, it's that's exactly why they have farm systems. and it's not a troubled system.

I'm not saying it's troubled, it's a reason they aren't as popular as the NFL.

[YardRat]

NFL rosters are also 53 players

Coincidentally, so is the combined rosters of the Sabres/Amerks.

[Dr. Lecter]

Coincidentally, so is the combined rosters of the Sabres/Amerks.

Not when you add in players on IR, players on the practice squad, etc. The NHL limit for players under contract is 50. A NFL team usually has about 70 players by the end of the season.

You also have a larger base in the NHL and MLB, with international players being a significant portion of the population.

[IlluminatusUIUC]

NHL and MLB would be a lot more popular if they ditched the antiquated idea of farm systems and adopted a more NFL-type approach to the draft. Go ahead and pick a guy, but either play him or cut him. Probably wouldn't be able to go full-blown, but including only the parent club and one minor league entity as 'the team' would work. And ditch the lottery, it's just a bad idea that lends itself to perceptions of rigging the game.

No way. If anything I think the NFL needs an extended minor league because there are a lot of players who desperately need more time seasoning to hit the big time. Think about it this way: If not for NFL Europe and the Indoor League, neither of which exist any more, Fred Jackson would have been out of football and selling insurance by 2005. We'd never have learned his name.

[WagonCircler]

NHL and MLB would be a lot more popular if they ditched the antiquated idea of farm systems and adopted a more NFL-type approach to the draft. Go ahead and pick a guy, but either play him or cut him. Probably wouldn't be able to go full-blown, but including only the parent club and one minor league entity as 'the team' would work..

This is just stupid. The popularity, or lack of, is affected by many things--regionalism for hockey, pace of the game for baseball, but the farm system has zero bearing on each sport's popularity.

Sports are popular or not mainly due to how well suited they are for TV. Football is the perfect TV sport. Hockey, while it should improve thanks to wide availability of bigger screens over the past few years, suffers from the size of the puck, the three period (with long break--basically amounting to a double halftime show) and other factors, like regional traditions.

The average fan, who doesn't post obsessively on message boards, neither thinks about or cares about how teams are put together, especially enough to affect the popularity of a given sport.

Baseball is a totally different sports for prospects than football. There's WAY more development needed to get players to Major League status, and the draft is basically a crap shoot.

You're talking out of your ass.

[YardRat]

Again, I'm not saying the other leagues need to go away. The NFL is much more popular than the NHL and MLB because newly acquired high-profile players get on the field immediately, not after 3-5 years of growing up. Sure, the die-hards are going to follow first round draft picks in hockey and baseball through their developmental stage, but the average fan isn't. How much excitement would there be, really, when a Mariotta or Winston, or for that matter a Luck, gets taken #1 overall and then is relegated to indoor football or the CFL or three seasons while they develop? A lot less than now, when they are anticipated to contribute out of the gate.

[YardRat]

This is just stupid. The popularity, or lack of, is affected by many things--regionalism for hockey, pace of the game for baseball, but the farm system has zero bearing on each sport's popularity.

Sports are popular or not mainly due to how well suited they are for TV. Football is the perfect TV sport. Hockey, while it should improve thanks to wide availability of bigger screens over the past few years, suffers from the size of the puck, the three period (with long break--basically amounting to a double halftime show) and other factors, like regional traditions.

The average fan, who doesn't post obsessively on message boards, neither thinks about or cares about how teams are put together, especially enough to affect the popularity of a given sport.

Baseball is a totally different sports for prospects than football. There's WAY more development needed to get players to Major League status, and the draft is basically a crap shoot.

You're talking out of your ass.

All good points, and I never stated my contention was the only reason for the difference in popularity, but let's face it...it isn't the first round draft pick learning the ropes in the EHL that is selling jersey's and tickets, it's the 22 year old that was drafted and put on the field immediately. Ultimately, it's star power that sells sports, and the NFL has it head and shoulders over any other league when it comes to establishing that kind of attention for newbies making it to the pro level.

[WagonCircler]

All good points, and I never stated my contention was the only reason for the difference in popularity, but let's face it...it isn't the first round draft pick learning the ropes in the EHL that is selling jersey's and tickets, it's the 22 year old that was drafted and put on the field immediately. Ultimately, it's star power that sells sports, and the NFL has it head and shoulders over any other league when it comes to establishing that kind of attention for newbies making it to the pro level.

Getting rid of or changing the farm system wouldn't be enough to move the needle.

[Downinfloflo]

Maybe if the NHL and MLB played once a week like the NFL??

You have to wait a week to watch your team play, And you only get 16 games.

That's why people are drawn to the NFL, It's not going to last, If football was on every night people would get sick of it.

[Skooby]

Maybe if the NHL and MLB played once a week like the NFL??

You have to wait a week to watch your team play, And you only get 16 games.

That's why people are drawn to the NFL, It's not going to last, If football was on every night people would get sick of it.

Like Thursday / Sunday / Monday & then Saturday late in the season ?? The ratings during many of the games also trump anything else playing and the night games have the highest rating of anything else on TV during those periods.

[Downinfloflo]

Like Thursday / Sunday / Monday & then Saturday late in the season ?? The ratings during many of the games also trump anything else playing and the night games have the highest rating of anything else on TV during those periods.

Keep it up...

Pigs get fat hogs get slaughtered.

[YardRat]

Getting rid of or changing the farm system wouldn't be enough to move the needle.

Certainly not enough to overtake the NFL, but getting the 'star power' on the ice or diamond earlier so fans can bond with them would help.


Maybe if the NHL and MLB played once a week like the NFL??

You have to wait a week to watch your team play, And you only get 16 games.

That's why people are drawn to the NFL, It's not going to last, If football was on every night people would get sick of it.

That may be a small part of it, and I agree at some point the league is going to over-saturate the market and have to scale back, but it's not really a major factor otherwise sports leagues with similar scaled-down schedules would be more popular. It's all about star power, and more and more getting those stars on display. Even the average fan can't wait to see what a Sammy Watkins can do in the big leagues four months after he was drafted, other than the hard core followers who really gives a **** what Reinhart is doing in Kootany?

[coastal]

Sorry yard... getting the draftees up to the pros immediately as a means of improving interest in the sport is just stupid.

Hockey is primarily a regional obsession. Interest outside of the sphere has extended beyond the shadow of the Great Lakes, but it can probably be argued much of that interest stems from transplants. Almost the entire youth hockey community down here fits that mold.

Here's a great pic from the recent Minnesota High School Hockey Championship game. Must have been awesome to be there.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/2009_MN_Boys_Hockey_State_Championship.jpg

[Skooby]

Keep it up...

Pigs get fat hogs get slaughtered.

Whatever.

[IlluminatusUIUC]

Certainly not enough to overtake the NFL, but getting the 'star power' on the ice or diamond earlier so fans can bond with them would help.



That may be a small part of it, and I agree at some point the league is going to over-saturate the market and have to scale back, but it's not really a major factor otherwise sports leagues with similar scaled-down schedules would be more popular. It's all about star power, and more and more getting those stars on display. Even the average fan can't wait to see what a Sammy Watkins can do in the big leagues four months after he was drafted, other than the hard core followers who really gives a **** what Reinhart is doing in Kootany?

Players like Sammy Watkins come into the league full of hype because they are already through the NFL's "farm system." If hockey and baseball just drafted 18 year olds and dumped them into the bigs, it would be a complete disaster. When the NBA tried that, they had to reverse themselves within a few years because they were destroying their own talent pool.

[JATMtheJATM]

sabres take a point, edmonton 2, arizona loses.

sabres gain a point on the yotes, but fall a point to the oilers. sabres now 5 points behind both teams, with 26 points left available.

[SpikedLemonade]

sabres take a point, edmonton 2, arizona loses.

sabres gain a point on the yotes, but fall a point to the oilers. sabres now 5 points behind both teams, with 26 points left available.

The excitement of losing!

[JATMtheJATM]

The excitement of losing!

The excitement of trolling!