Do teams use late draft picks with a high risk/high reward theory in mind?

For this week’s article at Puck Prospectus, I further examined the NHL Entry Draft.  More specifically, I examined whether teams use their late round draft selections (5th round and beyond) with a certain high risk/high reward thought process in mind.  Do teams acknowledge that there is relatively little difference between a fifth round pick and undrafted free agent and select accorindgly? Or is every team just trying for the best player and luck will turn one way or another?

Here is an excerpt for this week’s article:

After reading last week’s draft column, my colleague Timo Seppa asked me whether the reason for the lack of disparity between later round draft picks was due to the fact that teams are aware of the minimal value difference between a fifth round pick and an undrafted free agent and consequently take a flier on a high risk/high reward player? Admittedly, this question piqued my interest. The concept certainly seems feasible, but is it true?

Read the entire article here.