The goal of National Hockey League scouts, player development departments, and minor league coaches is to identify, acquire and development future NHL players, in particular players who can become part of their team’s Core 12, the top seven forwards, four d-men and goalie who make up the spine of any team. Article content

If a team drafts in the top handful of picks in the annual NHL draft, they’ve got a 70 per cent chance of finding such a player with their pick. Article content Article content

That drops down to about a coin flip, a 50 per cent chance, if you’re drafting five through ten or so, in the range where the Oilers drafted Evan Bouchard, Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg recently, an excellent run of drafting by the team.

By the end of the first round, your chance of draf

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