Thanks for all the input, especially the correction with Dave Emma.  But the
evidence is even stronger than I suspected.  Going back to 1981, I see only
four Hobeys in the NHL: George McPhee (if he sticks again), Tom Kurvers,
(traded from the Islanders to LA or Chicago I believe), Robb Stauber (if he
is on the parent Kings) and of course superstar-to-be Paul Kariya.  It
certainly seems to suggest that the criteria for selection for the Hobey
guarantees no success at the professional level--in fact it seems to perhaps
predict failure at the NHL level.  That doesn't mean that the Hobey
criteria are invalid, only that they are certainly different than the assets
needed for a successful professional career.
 
Other than size, and I'm not sure that the former Hobey winners could be
classified as "small" for the NHL, what factors seem to limit the chances
of success for Hobey winners in the NHL?  To make a blind stab at the question
I'm going to guess that goal scoring ability is the critical factor.  Guys like
Pellerin, McDonald and the like were assets to their teams more in their
ability to make others around them score, to make others around them play
better, than they were individual talents.  It would seem that the few Hobey
winners who have stuck were either mainly defensemen or goalies, who don't
require as much of a scoring touch.  The one "can't miss", Mr. Kariya, seems
to possess both qualities however.  He's got splendid individual talents,
goal scoring, passing, skating, and the ability to make those around him
play better.
 
You could speculate other factors may inhibit Hobey winners in the NHL:
endurance, playing the grueling NHL schedule compared to college; creativity,
the ablity to freelance and take chances, traits which are rarely evident
on most college teams, or maybe even attitude, going from feeling like a big
fish in a small pond to that of a little fish in the large ocean.  But I
would still guess that goal scoring ability is the major difference between
the successful NHLer and the Hobey winner.
 
Other opinions are welcome here.
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