NHL Draft: Evaluating each team’s 2011 draft class

Best And Worst Drafts For Specific Teams

The Tampa Bay Lightning selected the best group of players compared to every other teams’ selections in 2011. In 2010, it was the Minnesota Wild who compiled the best draft class.

The Lightning selected six players in 2011, combining for 1,426 games played. That means that the six players averaged 237.7 games in their careers. The GP/S/P (Games played per season, per player) was 29.7. The Wild had a GP/S/P of 27.5 in 2010, meaning that the Lightning had the strongest draft over those two drafts.

As for the weakest class in 2011, at least for GP/S/P, belongs to the Washington Capitals, with a 1.9 GP/S/P. In 2010, that honor belonged to the Vancouver Canucks with a whopping 0.02 GP/S/P. So not only did 2011 have the team with a stronger class than the strongest in 2010, but they also had the stronger of the weakest than 2010. Washington had selected just four players with a combined 61 games played.

The Lightning also had the most G/S/P in the draft. For the six players that the Lightning, they combined for 362 goals in their careers. That led to their G/S/P 7.5, which is better than 2010’s best, held by Minnesota (5.4). The Lightning selections’ G/S/P took up 11.1% of the league total.

Meanwhile, Vancouver posted the worst G/S/P totals for the second straight season. Their 8 selections combined for a career total of 6 goals. That is a grand total of a 0.1 G/S/P. Their G/S/P total in the 2010 draft was far worse, as it was a 0.

As for the best team when garnering assists, it was yet again the Lightning. Their 6 selections combined for 595 assists. That total slims down to 12.4 A/S/P (assists per season, per player). That total is yet again better than the best A/S/P total put up by the Wild in 2010 (8.3). The Lightning’s A/S/P total took up 12.4% of the leagues total.

Now, can you guess the team with the worst A/S/P? The Vancouver Canucks of course,  for the second straight year. Their 8 selections combined for just 8 assists in their careers. That led to a 0.1 A/S/P, still better than their 2010 class, who had 0.

That leads me to the last point, and that is, well, points. The Lightning yet again led all teams in P/S/P in 2011, after Minnesota did so in the 2010 draft. The 6 Lightning selections combined for 957 assists in their careers. That equals a P/S/P of 19.9. That mark is better than what the best team in 2010 put up (the Wild) with their P/S/P adding up to 13.7, far worse than Tampa. Tampa’s 2011 class put up a P/S/P that made up 11.9% of the league total.

For the second consecutive season, Vancouver finished dead last in P/S/P. Their 8 selections combined for 14 career points. That led to a 0.2 P/S/P for the ‘Nucks, which was better than their 2010 P/S/P total of 0.

So, ultimately, the 2010 draft had the weakest group of selections by a team while 2011 had the strongest between the two. It’s easy to say that 2011 was a stronger class, in hindsight than the 2010 class.

Best And Worst Selections For Each Team