THE NUMBERS DON'T LIE

The numbers will tell you why education is important

Ever wonder how many players in any one birth year will play at any level of hockey? Well, consider these numbers.

The NHL: The NHL has member teams with 23 men on their active rosters, totaling 690 players in the league. While there are some exceptional players playing in the league before the age of 22, and some elder statesmen playing past 35 years of age, most players in the league are between the ages of 22 and 35. Thus when you divide 690 by 15 (players in the 22-35 age range equals 14 plus one year for the exception) you get 46 players on average for each birth year.

Given that 24% of the NHL players come from Europe that means that 35 players in any one North American birth year will play in the NHL.

The current make up of the NHL suggests in any one birth year that 10 players will come from the NCAA, 10 players will come from the OHL, 10 players will come from the WHL and 5 players will come from the QMJHL.

In Canada and the United States there are roughly 100,000 players in any one birth year playing youth hockey. Thus a player has a 1 in 2,857 chance of making it to the NHL.

The NCAA and CHL: There are 59 NCAA Division I teams and 59 CHL teams.

On a typical 28-man NCAA roster there are roughly five birth years represented. Thus there are 5.6 players times 59 teams, which means there are 330 North American born players needed out of any one birth year.

On a typical 25 man CHL roster there are roughly four birth years represented. Each team has two European imports, therefore, 59 teams times six players means there are 354 North American born players needed from any one birth year.

Thus there will be 684 North American players needed out of any one birth year to stock these teams.

The NHL Reality: Out of the 684 elite players that make it to the North American feeding grounds for the NHL, which are the NCAA and CHL, only 35 will make the NHL.

The Education Reality: The remote odds of making it to the NHL, whether you look at 35 out of 100,000 or 35 out of 684, only serve to illustrate why players should put education first when making their hockey decisions.

The Next Article: In our next article, USHL Central Scouting will outline the reality of how choosing the NCAA or the CHL will impact an elite players chances of obtaining a university education.