How much better are first round forward draft picks than the rest?

In this week’s contribution to Puck Prospectus, I examined the production of forward draft picks between the years of 1994 through 2004.  Specifically, I looked at how productive first round forward draft picks were compared to the rest of the league’s draft picks.

Here is an excerpt. 

Now, let’s take a look at the ratios for forwards. Once again, first round draft picks (31315) almost out-produced all of the other rounds combined (33567); albeit not as close as the defensemen percentage was. In terms of ratios, the first round forwards produced 3.3 points for every point that the second round forwards produced, 3.95 for every point that the third round forwards produced and 5.95 for every point that the fourth round forwards produced.

Read the entire article here.