Discrediting the IIHF Study Part I

So by now everyone has read about the new IIHF Study. The study is "based on research of European players who were drafted and/or signed from IIHF clubs and who went on to play in the National Hockey League (NHL) and/or in the minor leagues and/or in the Canadian major junior leagues (CHL)."

One of the major findings of the study was that:
"The major research of the 621 Europeans shows the following:
• 62.5 percent (388 players) are non-impact, marginal or below average"

So I decided to do a little research. I looked at the 15 drafts between 1989 and 2003. Keep in mind that the numbers are slightly lower due to the fact that many of these players are still active and will increase their games played as time went on (the study had a similar disclaimer). Here's what I found:

1989 to 2003 NHL Drafts

4018 Players Drafted

2428 Played in No NHL Games (60.4%)

299 Played 1-10 NHL Games (7.4%)
316 Played between 11-50 NHL Games (7.9%)
221 Played between 51 and 100 NHL Games (5.5%)

210 Played between 101 and 200 NHL Games (5.2%)
122 Played between 201 and 300 NHL Games (3.0%)
97 Played between 301 and 400 NHL Games (2.4%)
81 Played between 401 and 500 NHL Games (2.0%)

70 Played between 501 and 600 NHL Games (1.7%)
69 Played between 601 and 700 NHL Games (1.7%)
53 Played between 701 and 800 NHL Games (1.3%)
26 Played between 801 and 900 NHL Games (0.6%)
16 Played between 901 and 1000 NHL Games (0.3%)
9 Played over 1000 Games (0.2%)

Under 100 Games = 81.2%
101 to 500 Games = 12.6%
500+ Games = 6.0%

I will be delving into these numbers with more depth but at first-glance it seems like 37.5% of Europeans being above average, not marginal and impact players is pretty impressive. Maybe they have made a case for drafting MORE Europeans...

To be continued...