basketball and baseball players?
Is the NHL the hardest league to make in the world?
I ask this because if you look at NBA draft's..pretty much like half of the first round play in the NBA right away. I'm pretty sure many NFL prospects play right away as well.
In the NHL a player can take up to 4 or 5 years to develope, especially goaltenders.
So I ask, why do hockey players generally take longer to develope?
well, for one thing both those league draft players closer to age 20. Their entry into the draft is kind of depending on how ready they are. Teams don't have the option of sending them to develop somewhere so they have to choose the guys who either have undeniable top end talent, or guys who are ready to play.
as well in the NBA, if you want to keep the rights to player, he has to be on your 15 man roster. so, if you want to develop the player, you are better off playing him right away because at some point the may need to step in and play a role whether thye are ready or not. the NBA has a two round draft, and a greater pool of talent to choose from, the top end talent and the players who can step in right away are the only guys who get chosen.
in the nfl, it's all about the salary cap. Teams need the room so they would rather play a cheap young player, than an overpaid veteran who is only slightly better. the league is also so hard on their athletes physically, the sometimes new legs outweigh experience.
as for baseball, it is more similar to hockey and I would say drafted players are even less likely to make the pros as NHL draftees. I mean their draft is 50 rounds every year and only 25 spots on thirty major league teams. It's basically a crap shoot and only a small percentage of drafted players are expected to ever make the major leagues.