Inexact Science: The Six Most Compelling Draft Years in NHL History

by Bruce Dowbiggin

A fascinating in-depth analysis of six of the NHL's most interesting drafts From Guy Lafleur to Sidney Crosby to Connor McDavid, the annual draft of hockey's most talented young prospects has long been considered the best route to Stanley Cup glory. InExact Science delivers the remarkable facts behind the six most captivating NHL Drafts ever staged and explores the lessons learned from guessing hockey horoscopes. How did it change the business of the sport? And where is the draft headed next? The authors answer intriguing questions like: What if Montreal in 1971 had chosen Marcel Dionne No. 1 overall and not Guy Lafleur? How exactly is it that Wayne Gretzky went undrafted? How did the Red Wings turn their franchise around so dramatically in the 1989 Draft? Evan and Bruce Dowbiggin also delve into the controversies, innovative ideas, and plain old bad judgment that's taken place on the draft floor. Always informative and entertaining, InExact Science encapsulates the many compelling, wild, and unique stories in five-plus decades of NHL Draft history.

Genres: Hockey, Sports

212 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 12, 2021

Reviews

[Dubi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book. I enjoyed it thoroughly, and so should any hockey fan. It is wide ranging across teams, across eras, across players.

But it's not the book it says it is. Billed as "a fascinating in-depth analysis of six of the NHL's most interesting drafts," Inexact Science promises to "deliver the remarkable facts behind captivating NHL drafts and explores the lessons learned from guessing hockey horoscopes."

Much of it, however, is not that at all. Five of the six drafts focus heavily on five generational players who were destined to be first overall no matter what (Gretzky, Lemieux, Lindros, Crosby, and Lafleur-Dionne 1-2), and three of the six drafts covered are notable anomalies -- WHA pros as young as 18 eligible in 1979, Eastern European players taken in large numbers in 1989, and every team in the post-lockout draft lottery of 2005.

I understand these choices. These guys sold tickets, they sell books. Their stories are truly compelling, and the Dowbiggins do emphasize their stories as they relate to their draft years. And to repeat, this makes for an excellent hockey read. But Gretzky wasn't even drafted, Lindros refused to play for the team that drafted him, and Detroit drafting Lidstrom in 1989 was a singular scouting coup, not a watershed moment.

The true vagaries of the draft are only addressed as a secondary plot -- 65-75% is about the aforementioned stars and anomalous drafts. I would have liked to see the mix reversed, a closer examination of typical draft years and typical draft scenarios rather than these outlier years -- certainly 1986, 1990, and the incredibly loaded 2003 draft.

And 2000! We get some detail about the Islanders trading Luongo knowing they'd draft DiPietro first overall, and why selecting goalies with high picks is not the slam dunk you'd think it should be. But they leave out the part where the Islanders traded Jokinen with Luongo while failing to draft Heatley or Gaborik, only to end up with DiPietro, Kvasha, and Parrish -- my personal candidate for worst trade ever in any sport. Ever.

Meanwhile, the best goalie in that draft year, one of the top five players overall in that draft, was 7th round, 205th overall, likely Hall of Famer Henrik Lundqvist -- the 22nd goalie drafted! Interestingly, the authors tell the story of how little-known (at the time) Swedish scout Christer Rockstrom identified Lidstrom for Detroit in 1989 in the 4th round -- Rockstrom was responsible for Lundqvist too. Drafting, scouting -- Rockstrom and his peers should have been the stars of this book.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing this book for review. It's a good book, definitely worth reading, despite my perhaps overly picky criticisms.

[Kelly (miss_kellysbookishcorner) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Title: Inexact Science: The Six Most Compelling Draft Years in NHL History
Author: Evan Dowbiggin & Bruce Dowbiggin
Genre: Sports
Rating: 2.75
Pub Date: October 12 2021

Thanks to ECW Press for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

T H R E E • W O R D S

Informative • Repetitive • In-depth

📖 S Y N O P S I S

A look into six of the NHL's most interesting drafts, with a focus on the superstars they produced.

💭 T H O U G H T S

As an avid hockey fan and follower of the NHL draft, I was excited to get a chance to read an early review copy of Inexact Science. What I was expecting was a more in-depth look into the science behind drafting. For example, the science of scouting and crunching numbers, etc. but that's not what I got at all. Most of the book focuses on the generational players who came out of five of the drafts discussed. A further exploration of the other players selected in each of the drafts discussed would have made this a far more compelling read. Much has been said about the superstars already, so as a hockey fan, I'd have enjoyed seeing a closer look at the average draft, which is only addressed in the background here.

While the writing was informative, it was often padded with too much information leading me to drift off into my own thoughts while reading. This is no 101 level introduction to the NHL draft but rather an upper level course in draft anomalies. And what disappointed me most were some factual errors throughout (especially shocking given one of the author's extensive background in the sports world), that could have easily been corrected with some basic fact checking on the part of the authors' or the editor.

Overall, I did enjoy reading about the different drafts discussed but was hoping for more of a scientific approach (as the title implies) than just discussion about players and drafts avid fans already know plenty about.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• NHL draft enthusiasts
• Trivia buffs

[Sooz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being a lifelong fan of hockey, the topic was interesting to me but I found that at times the book was a little too padded with unnecessary information. That said, if you’re a hockey fan (or sports fan in general) with a borderline academic interest in the historical trivia side of hockey, you will undoubtedly enjoy this quite a bit. Just know that this is absolutely *not* a primer on the draft itself nor is any terminology explained. This sometimes felt like the sports equivalent of a 400-level college course. You will be thrown into the deep end, and frankly, anyone interested enough in NHL Draft history that they want to read this book will probably not have many issues here. It is assumed you know such things like what C-forms are. If not, you’re going to be doing some googling.

Overall I thought it was an interesting and entertaining book. I enjoyed little tidbits like seeing people like Frank Selke and Conn Smythe mentioned - spoken about as the people they were rather than as the trophy names and “achievements” we know them as today. I learned a lot, too. I have never paid that much attention to the draft and had no idea Lindros refused to play for the team that drafted him. (I also didn’t know that was an option.)

I especially enjoyed reading about how the draft evolved into what it is today. It is (or can be) a very complex process that involves a lot of luck but can also turn a team into a talent-stacked juggernaut when manipulated with great skill. Though I’d still call the act of drafting an art form rather than a science, inexact or otherwise.

3.5 stars out of 5

Thanks to NetGalley and ECW Press for the ARC.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

The focus is largely on the first overall pick for each draft (not a surprise), and then details the main stories for each of them. It is good to get some background like that, but I do think they could have talked a little more about some of the other picks made, or even some of the trades around each draft. The exception to this is 1989: despite being the first draft with a European picked first overall, it focuses on the Red Wings and their efforts to select European players (Lidstrom and Konstantinov), and gives some focus to Bure being controversially selected (I think they could have dived deeper into this). They also conclude with their own re-ranking of top picks; for the most part these aren't too wild, though having Jonathan Quick the top goalie for 2005 is a questionable choice (above both Price and Rask). The final chapter is a look at what may come for the drafts, arguing that high picks are key for championship teams.

I will also add that as I've come to expect from books by Dowbiggan, this is rife with factual errors. Normally I wouldn't make a big deal of this, but as I've now seen this happen consistently through his works I am calling him out, especially as he is a hockey journalist and should know how to do some basic fact-checking. Examples in this book include claiming Mark Messier's brief minor league demotion was to the Wichita Wind (he actually played for the Houston Apollos; the second time he's messed up Messier's non-NHL teams in a book), miscounting the lottery balls the Panthers had for the 2005 draft, and claiming Jay Bouwmeester was selected in the 2003 draft (it was actually 2002). There was also a lot of grammatical and typographical issues, which was really disappointing as the publisher should have caught that. Otherwise it's worth reading, as there's not a lot on the entry draft out there.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book might be just dry stats and boring. It was anything but. If you want an in-depth, fun look at the business of drafting hockey players, then read this book. The authors have put a lot of thought and information into the players they selected to be highlighted. If you love hockey, or are just starting to be a fan, this is a great book to get you understanding the inside world of players.
Thank you NetGalley for providing me with this copy for my unpaid, honest review.

[Mojoswork · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read for NHL fans, hitting on so many important cross-sections of hockey history like the Montreal dynasty, WHA, Gretzky’s unique draft status, the Lindros drama, and even a touch of Cold War intrigue. Once the book got going, it was impossible to get bored. The only gripe is that the seven chapters could have been broken down into smaller, bite-size morsels.

[Howie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the trip through the selected draft years but was expecting more analysis. Not what I expected. Maybe just the title of the book is deceiving. Thought a deep dive into the science of draft a 17 year old kid and projecting him to be a pro. A nice read for all hockey fans.

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish all the amateur GMs on social media would read this book and learn how hard it is to be a successful NHL scout or GM.

[Kevin Dillman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was an easy read, I had hard time putting the book down. Very informative look on some of the most important NHL draft years. I find this type of stuff fascinating like being a fly on the wall.

[Sydney Stype · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit dry at times but overall very interesting

[Anne Marie Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

The NHL draft has long been a target of "Chosen one"
various going to 1979 drafts-91 drafts writers use team chose of leaders to carry the NHL teams, back to the days of Marvell Dion', to Mario Lemieux ,looking statistically how team picks number one draft pick, and reality of hoe the draft settled at end of each year. The kid drafted #23 was breakout star after moving to three different divisions. This definitely not "Money Ball." But must read for NHL fans.

[Teebz Hbic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review for Inexact Science can be found on Hockey Blog In Canada.