Stephen
Moderator
- Feb 28, 2002
- 79,010
- 53,950
All of the talk about the weak 2011 draft class has me wondering how the next few drafts will shake out. It seems like the draft usually runs in cycles, with successive strong drafts followed by weaker ones and then back again. The drafts in 1979 and the early 80s stocked the league with a generation of stars, the 1985 and 1986 drafts were a bit worse, the 1987-1993 drafts were quite strong, producing the next generation of stars, followed up with a pretty lukewarm string of drafts from 1994-1999, with maybe 97 and 98 being exceptions. During the late 90s, kids had a hard time breaking in and making an instant impact, and then after 2000, things started to change with the Heatley and Gaboriks and Kovalchuks of the world coming into the league.
Then the post lockout draft classes consisting of players drafted between 2003-2008 have looked very strong, leading their teams to championships, and achieving a lot of individual success early in their careers. The 2009 and 2010 classes look good but it's still very early to make a definitive judgement. That said, are we due for another downturn with some generally weak drafts on the horizon? Maybe some of you who follow this more extensively can make a guess..
Then the post lockout draft classes consisting of players drafted between 2003-2008 have looked very strong, leading their teams to championships, and achieving a lot of individual success early in their careers. The 2009 and 2010 classes look good but it's still very early to make a definitive judgement. That said, are we due for another downturn with some generally weak drafts on the horizon? Maybe some of you who follow this more extensively can make a guess..