[FlamesAddiction]

I don't know much about the NBA.

Is it a league with roughly the same parity as the NHL? And do drafted prospects take as long, on average, to make an impact at the pro level? Is the likelihood to hit or miss on a draft pick roughly the same as in the NHL, especially in later rounds?

One thing that drives me nuts about the way the NHL handles the draft and distribution of draft picks is that it doesn't work towards parity. You have a cap system and points system that strives for parity, but then a draft system that goes against that. Granted, they have made some effort to distribute the odds of winning the draft lottery, but despite the Islanders benefiting from it this year, I don't think it typically does enough.

In the NHL, there is often some lag time where a team is drafting high, but because those players often don't become key contributors or peak until later, they can keep adding high picks for several years until they suddenly have an embarrassment of riches. Meanwhile, other teams whose only crime is not sucking as bad, never get to see that influx of talent. Colorado, Pittsburgh, and Edmonton did this. It looks like San Jose is the next team that is going that route. I think it is easier to go from bottom feeder to contender than from mediocre to contender for this reason.

I would love to see a lottery system where the odds for non-playoff teams are distributed more evenly and with every pick, at least in the top 10, being subject to a separate draw with similar odds. Then snake the order in the following rounds.