The Mission

NHLDraftPicks.com was founded to evaluate and rank prospects for the NHL Entry Draft using an objective, data-first framework. The project serves as a retrospective proof-of-concept to determine if a standardized statistical model can outperform the live draft results of NHL franchises.

Methodology & Scope

Operating independently on a part-time schedule, these rankings are finalized post-draft to act as an audit of the NHL’s draft results. The evaluations are limited to the player’s draft-year statistics, supplemented by live and broadcast viewings whenever possible.

The project’s original plan was to produce a strict Top 64 ranking, which is the average number of picks per draft class that play a meaningful number of NHL games. However, since 64 is just an average, the list has since expanded. Instead of a fixed number, the rankings now include any player whose draft-year data indicates they are likely to reach a benchmark of 100 or more career NHL games.

Accountability & Verification

To ensure integrity and transparency, all rankings are published as dated blog posts to establish a clear timestamp. Additionally, a PDF version of the final rankings is provided, utilizing the unalterable date stamp embedded within the file’s web address URL to verify that the projections have not been retroactively altered as players develop.