Drafting anyone is "mostly a waste of a draft pick."Reefer2 wrote:Drafting college or university kids are mostly a waste of a draft pick.
If you are not in the AHL by 21ish you will not make the NHL as any sort of impact player.
Of course there are exceptions but I would say majority never make the NHL unless they quit school early.
Picking a kid heading to the NCAA in no way precludes that player from turning pro if they are good enough for the NHL like say Ryan Kesler or Chris Higgins did.. even if they are not that good that early they can still pan out a la Kevin Bieksa or Jason Garrison.
Hell if you're picking late in the draft and taking a young player who is years away from being an effective pro (like most of them) it may be better taking a kid you don't have to sign for four years than it is taking a player you lose if you don't sign them within two..