Developmental Contexts and Sporting Success: Birthdate and Birthplace Effects in National Hockey League Draftees 2000-2005

Joseph Baker ^1* and A. Jane Logan ¹

¹ York University, Canada

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: bakerj{at}yorku.ca.

Accepted 21 February 2007

Abstract

Objective: To examine relative age and birthplace effects in hockey players drafted to play in the NHL between 2000 and 2005 and determine whether these factors influenced when players were chosen in the draft.

Methods: 1,013 North American draftees were evaluated from the official NHL website, which provided birthplace, date of birth, and selection order in the draft. Population size was collected from Canadian and American census information. Athletes were divided into four quartiles based on the selection date for defining age cohorts in hockey. As well, data between the Canadian and American players were compared to see if the optimal city sizes differed between the two nations.

Results: Relative age and birthplace effects were found, although the optimal city size found in these data was dissimilar to that found in the previous studies. Further, there were inconsistencies between the Canadian and American data.

Conclusion: Contextual factors such as relative age and size of birthplace have a significant effect on likelihood of being selected in the NHL draft.

Key Words: birthdate, birthplace, development, elite athletes

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• Hancock, D. J, Ste-Marie, D. M, Young, B. W (2008). Birth date and birth place effects in National Hockey League draftees 2000-2005: comments on Baker and Logan (2007). Br. J. Sports. Med. 42: 948-949 [Full Text]