Study Blasts the Drafting of Europeans

The findings by the International Ice Hockey Federation suggest both the Europeans leagues who are being drained of players and North American players who are being squeezed out of jobs here are suffering unnecessarily.

The majority of Europeans drafted by National Hockey League clubs between 2000 and 2006 didn't make an impact either at the professional or minor-pro level, and those jobs could have been filled by Canadians and Americans, a study conducted by the International Ice Hockey Federation found.

The IIHF concluded that 62.5 per cent of the 621 players drafted in the six-year period were either marginal NHL players who were frequent "healthy scratches" or were non-impact players on minor-league teams.

The IIHF said those players should have remained in Europe to develop their skills before coming to North America [...]

Fasel has long complained that NHL clubs are draining European leagues of talent, while the federations have cried foul over losing players to the NHL and minor-pro leagues, such as the American Hockey League and ECHL.

Fasel has long urged NHL clubs to let Europeans develop at home for a longer period before they join NHL organizations.

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