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P.S. According the excellent Blue Bullet Report, a forward drafted 1st to 3rd overall has a 100 per cent chance of playing more than 100 NHL games (this study looked at all forwards taken from 1998 to 2010). A forward drafted 4th overall has an 88 per cent chance. A first overall forward will average 0.92 points per game in his career. A fourth overall forward will average 0.60 point per game.

A forward taken 8th to 15th overall has an 69 per cent chance of playing more than 100 games and will average 0.37 points per game. So, it seems, you start giving up a lot in terms of certainty and production on average as you slide down in the draft.

At the Cult

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Staples: The pros & cons of trading RNH