Future of Elite Player Development

[Puck Swami]

Fascinating graph of American NHL players and where they come from tell us a lot about production of elite players, and where the colleges will be getting the best players.

http://www.quanthockey.com/TS/TS_USPlayersBig.php

www.quanthockey.com is a great source of hockey information.

 

[bothman]

Re: Future of Elite Player Development

Interesting stuff.

Most surprising for me - how on a relative % basis, Minnesota has actually experienced the most decline (from the 1970s), not Massachusetts as a lot of folks would expect.

Massachusetts has had the greatest decline since the eary 90s whereas Minny has plateaued.

 

[Puck Swami]

Re: Future of Elite Player Development

Interesting stuff.

Most surprising for me - how on a relative % basis, Minnesota has actually experienced the most decline (from the 1970s), not Massachusetts as a lot of folks would expect.

Massachusetts has had the greatest decline since the eary 90s whereas Minny has plateaued.

That Minn/Mass struck me as well. It's also interesting to hit the Goals/assists/points buttons and look at the differences.

The other big piece is the huge growth of "other" as new areas of the USA produce players.

 

[Arpod]

Re: Future of Elite Player Development

Would be interesting to see stats regarding college versus juniors, particularly for US-born players (but for all nationalities as well).

 

[du78]

Re: Future of Elite Player Development

I think one of the things driving "other" is the number of players from the 1970s who have settled in non-traditional cities where they played. They have raised their families there, have started kid's programs and coached their kids who are now college and pro age.

 

[Toe Blake]

Re: Future of Elite Player Development

That Minn/Mass struck me as well. It's also interesting to hit the Goals/assists/points buttons and look at the differences.

The other big piece is the huge growth of "other" as new areas of the USA produce players.

As I stated on the DU / MN thread, it's my opinion that parental resources have become a much more significant factor in elite player development. This does not surprise me. The power house high school programs in MN have moved away from the city and into the affluent outer ring suburbs. My guess is that most of the elite players in non-traditional hockey areas come from affluent families who have resources to give their kids specialized training.

 

[fiqure8]

Re: Future of Elite Player Development

As I stated on the DU / MN thread, it's my opinion that parental resources have become a much more significant factor in elite player development. This does not surprise me. The power house high school programs in MN have moved away from the city and into the affluent outer ring suburbs. My guess is that most of the elite players in non-traditional hockey areas come from affluent families who have resources to give their kids specialized training.

I totally agree with your statement as hockey is becoming an elitist sport.