Is it luck or skill?

[J.I.A.H.N]

I answered a poster the other day, where he claimed there had been 31 first line centers in the NHL since 1999 ( The Year of the Sedin)

Of that 31 centers, 18 were picked in the first round, and according to his figures, 14 of them were picked in the top 5 picks

Now, there may even be teams with several first line centers, but by in large, the numbers are close. There may be few more top end second line centers, but again, the difference will not make a big impact on the above numbers.

So when we break it down, we have 30 first round picks per year and we have 15 years since the Sedins were drafted.

This equals 18 centers out of 450 first round picks, and the remaining 13 centers coming out of .......

6 rounds per yr X 30 picks each round X 15 years = 2700 picks in those 15 years.

So Summerizing: Out of 31 NHL 1st line centers out of 3150 picks in 15 years

A) 18 were first round picks

14 of the 18 first round picks were top 5 picks

C) The remaining 13 centers were taken from 2700 picks

Do you think picking a #1 Center has more to do with LUCK or SKILL ?

[Kesler+Horvat]

You lost me...but I'd go with a mix of both.

[Time Lord]

There are approximately 30 first line centers in the NHL every year, so I think this poster you speak of is incorrect in saying that there have only been 31 in the last 15 years.

[J.I.A.H.N]

There are approximately 30 first line centers in the NHL every year, so I think this poster you speak of is incorrect in saying that there have only been 31 in the last 15 years.

31 first line centers drafted in the last 15 years give or take a few...........the others were drafted earlier and were part of the last 15 years......but are not part of the statisics. Lots of Centers but not top end ones. Not #1's

[Piggy Bank]

There is a first line center on every team.

And then teams like, pitssburg, anaheim, la, etc have malkin kesler and carter who play as 2c's but are 1c's