Eliminating buyer's remorse: An examination of the sunk cost fallacy in the National Hockey League draft.

The sunk cost effect describes the tendency to escalate one's commitment toward a certain endeavor, despite diminishing returns, as a consequence of irreversible resource expenditure that has already been made (Organ Behav Hum Decis Process. 1985;35:124). This effect has been observed in a number of professional sports leagues, wherein teams escalate their commitment toward players selected early in the draft, regardless of performance outcomes, due to large financial commitments invested in them (J Sports Econom. 2017;18:282; Adm Sci Q. 1995;40:474). This effect, however, has yet to be explored in the National Hockey League (NHL). The purpose of this study was to test for sunk cost effects in the NHL, by examining the relationship between draft order and playing time, while controlling for a myriad of confounding variables. Findings from our analyses provide support for the existence of this effect in the NHL, as first-round draftees were given significantly more playing time than their peers selected in the second round, regardless of injury, player relocation, penalties, or on-ice performance outcomes. We offer some plausible underlying mechanisms driving this effect. Furthermore, we suggest the observed effects have valuable implications for NHL talent development, given the importance of playing time on various aspects of expertise attainment.

Short-Term Impact of Concussion in the NHL: An Analysis of Player Longevity, Performance, and Financial Loss.

Many studies have focused on the long-term impact of concussions in professional sports, but few have investigated short-term effects. This study examines concussion effects on individual players in the National Hockey League (NHL) by assessing career length, performance, and salary. Contracts, transactions, injury reports, and performance statistics from 2008-17 were obtained from the official NHL online publication. Players who sustained a concussion were compared with the 2008-17 non-concussed player pool. Career length was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier survival curves and stratification of player age, experience, and longevity. Player performance and salary changes were evaluated between the years before versus after concussion. Performance and salary changes were compared against non-concussed NHL athletes before/after their career midpoints. Of the 2194 eligible NHL players in the 9-year period, 309 sustained 399 concussions resulting in injury protocol. The probability of playing a full NHL season post-concussion was significantly decreased compared with the non-concussed pool (p < 0.05), specifically 65.0% versus 81.2% at 1 year into a player's career, 49.8% versus 67.4% at 2 years, and 14.6% versus 43.7% at 5 years. Performance was reduced at all non-goalie positions post-concussion (p < 0.05). Players scored 2.5 points/year less following a concussion. The total annualized financial impact from salary reductions after 1 concussion was $57.0 million, with a decrease of $292,000 per year in contract value per athlete. This retrospective study demonstrates that NHL concussions resulting in injury protocol activation lead to shorter career lengths, earnings reductions, and decreased performance when compared with non-concussed controls.

Injuries in Swedish floorball: a cost analysis.

The epidemiology of sport injuries is well documented. However, the costs are rarely discussed. Previous studies have presented such costs in specific sports or localization. No study has investigated the costs related to injuries in elite floorball. Thus, the aim of this study was to estimate cost of injuries in Swedish elite floorball players. During 1 year, 346 floorball players were prospectively followed. All time-loss injures were recorded. The injured players were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding their costs tied to the injury. Mean costs were calculated by multiplying the total resource use with the collected unit costs and dividing these total costs with the number of injuries as well as players. The results showed that the average cost per injury increased with the level of severity and ranged from 332 to 2358 Euros. The mild and moderate overuse injuries were costlier than the corresponding traumatic injuries. However, the severe traumatic injuries were associated with higher costs than overuse injuries. Knee injuries were the costliest. Our results indicate that there are costs to be saved, if floorball injuries can be avoided. They should be of interest to decision makers deciding whether to invest in preventive interventions.

Reality check: the cost-effectiveness of removing body checking from youth ice hockey.

BACKGROUND/AIM: The risk of injury among Pee Wee (ages 11-12 years) ice hockey players in leagues that allow body checking is threefold greater than in leagues that do not allow body checking. We estimated the cost-effectiveness of a no body checking policy versus a policy that allows body checking in Pee Wee ice hockey. METHODS: Cost-effectiveness analysis alongside a prospective cohort study during the 2007-2008 season, including players in Quebec (n=1046), where policy did not allow body checking, and in Alberta (n=1108), where body checking was allowed. Injury incidence rates (injuries/1000 player-hours) and incidence proportions (injuries/100 players), adjusted for cluster using Poisson regression, allowed for standardised comparisons and meaningful translation to community stakeholders. Based on Alberta fee schedules, direct healthcare costs (physician visits, imaging, procedures) were adjusted for cluster using bootstrapping. We examined uncertainty in our estimates using cost-effectiveness planes. RESULTS: Associated with significantly higher injury rates, healthcare costs where policy allowed body checking were over 2.5 times higher than where policy disallowed body checking ($C473/1000 player-hours (95% CI $C358 to $C603) vs $C184/1000 player-hours (95% CI $C120 to $C257)). The difference in costs between provinces was $C289/1000 player-hours (95% CI $C153 to $C432). Projecting results onto Alberta Pee Wee players registered in the 2011-2012 season, an estimated 1273 injuries and $C213 280 in healthcare costs would be avoided during just one season with the policy change. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that a policy disallowing body checking in Pee Wee ice hockey is cost-saving (associated with fewer injuries and lower costs) compared to a policy allowing body checking. As we did not account for long-term outcomes, our results underestimate the economic impact of these injuries.

Is it cost-effective to require recreational ice hockey players to wear face protection?

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the cost-effectiveness of requiring all recreational hockey players to wear facial protection. METHODS: The authors randomly surveyed recreational hockey players at two indoor hockey rinks in Evendale, Ohio. Data were collected on face protection, injuries, demographic variables and attitudes about protective gear from 11/2005 to 03/2006. RESULTS: We surveyed 190 players. The mean age was 34 +/- 8.7 years and 99% were male. The average hockey experience was 17 years. Forty-six percent of respondents reported at least one serious hockey injury in the last five years. Twenty-four percent of the surveyed population chose to not wear face protection (46/190). The average cost of face protection was $48. The cost to purchase two shields for the 46 players would be $4416. Individuals with face protection reported significantly more sprains and strains that resulted in significantly more physician office visits and specialty physician visits. The extra physician visits would add approximately $4590 for the 46 people needing face protection. Those with face protection reported significantly fewer facial lacerations and facial bone fractures. Requiring face protection should prevent seven facial lacerations and three facial bone fractures over five years. The savings would be approximately $15,000. The net savings by requiring face protection would be $6,000/5 years. In our population, with 24% choosing to not wear face protection, requiring face protection would save $250/5 years/person needing protection. CONCLUSION: It is cost-effective to require facial protection in all recreational hockey players.

Knee surgery costs in football, floor ball, European team handball and ice hockey.

UNLABELLED: The purpose of this study was first, to identify the health costs of knee surgery related to different sports (football, floor ball, European team handball and ice hockey) among players at competitive level in Stockholm 1997. Information was retrieved from three different databases, one containing information on all players in different sports, another one containing information on all surgery performed at S:t Gorans Hospital, Stockholm, and a third one containing information on all surgery performed in Stockholm. The National Registration Number (NRN) was used to identify the patients. The NRN is a unique personal identifier assigned to all Swedish residents, which allows linkage between different registers and databases. In Stockholm in 1997, 6781 surgical procedures related to the knee were performed at a cost of SEK (Swedish Crowns) 39,026,657. On players in all studied sports, 762 knee surgical procedures were performed on 657 patients in Stockholm at a cost of SEK 4,884,076. At S:t Gorans Hospital, 319 knee surgical procedures were performed on 288 patients, and 293 (92%) of these were directly related to sport participation. It was also found that only 74% of anterior cruciate ligament injuries that resulted in a surgical intervention were reported to the insurance company. CONCLUSION: The average cost for knee surgery in the studied sports was low. Knee surgery costs for European team handball players were the highest compared with other sports studied.