Identifying Geographical and Competition-Based Inefficiencies in the National Hockey League Entry Draft

The National Hockey League (NHL) Entry Draft is a player acquisition exercise held yearly, with each team assigned one selection per round, for seven rounds. Previous literature has highlighted a range of potential geographical influences on athletic development. This research evaluated the effect of development in different geographic regions and competition levels on games played and career performance in the NHL. A descriptive analysis suggested playing professionally in Sweden or Major Junior in North America was associated with increased games played and career performance at the NHL level. However, only geographic region had a statistically significant effect on these outcomes. These results suggest several intriguing areas for future research as well as a range of practical implications.