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Does anyone have Jimmy's number? I have something to tell him.

The difference in many of the comparisons is a percentage point or two. In a survey of 400k people, that is not a lot of people. That said, even though there are differences, why do we assume that it needs fixing? This is not a question of whether or not people are allowed to like or choose something, but what it is that they choose. We tend to like and follow teams and sports that our family like or that our friends are into. If a person is from a city or region that hosts a team, (or if a parent is from said place) the likelihood that a person will follow a specific team is higher. Obviously, this is not always true. My dad (from Detroit) loved every team from Detroit. My mom (from southern Illinois) liked Cardinals baseball. I have no love for baseball or basketball, but love Wings and Lions. In her later life, after marriage, Mom became a big Wings fan. She still hates football, even though Dad coached it. When this fanhood travels through families and communities, it shapes a person's team preferences, which may shape sports preferences in general. When I was growing up, every kid had a pair of skates and the boys had hockey sticks and pucks. That was all we needed to play hockey. We hit balls around with the sticks in the summer. We also played with basketballs and baseballs and footballs. This was fun until they figured out that the reason that I did not own any of these things because I was a girl. That sucked. This was in Saskatchewan. We had a rink and ice aplenty, even in a very small town. It was part of the culture. Moving south to the US, there was still ice, but not the hockey culture. Had I moved slightly east, I'd have been in Minnesota, aka "the State of Hockey". It's about your family, your community, and your geographical location. Race may be (and likely is) a factor in at least one of these, but this does not inherently mean that it needs fixing. It just means that different families, communities, and cultures like different things. While we want to open the world of hockey to all people, it doesn't mean that we have to "fix" it. We just have to market it to people who may not have been exposed to it. We also have to accept that there are people (meaning individuals, not groups) who just have no interest in hockey, or sports in general. As long as no one is being excluded, it is a matter of personal opinion.

Expected by everyone except @ChristopherReevesLegs...

This coming from the "diversity" guy. I would have no qualms taking Byfield as I think he's the 2nd best player in the draft. My takes: Stutzle: not a full time center at the NHL level. You might very well be getting a Michal Handzus caliber player, but I want better in the top 5. Rossi: talent out the wazoo. Have concerns about his size playing against much larger men. Drysdale: Don't need another RHD and next year may have better options there. Perfetti: serious concerns about his bust potential. Not an NHL center. Skating issues. High hockey IQ, but poor on defense? Defense is more mental than physical. A player with a high hockey IQ should already be good at defense. Just don't think his game translates to the NHL. Think you're getting Tatar at best, or another Pulkinnen at worst. Byfield is actually the one I am least concerned about.

AKA bad take... Byfield is an absolute beast. He's one of the youngest players in this draft class (just turned 18 a month ago). Rossi, on the other hand, is one of the oldest players in this draft class (will turn 19 in three days). A year is a huge difference at the age of 17/18. Byfield put up 82 points in 45 games (1.822 points per game) this season. At the same age, Rossi put up 65 points in 53 games (1.226 points per game) last season. He exploded this past season for 120 points in 56 games (2.143 points per game), and I'd expect the same sort of explosion from Byfield next season, at the same age. Rossi may be closer to NHL ready, but I'd bet on Byfield being the better player long-term. Don't mistake any of this as a knock against Rossi, because it's not at all. Rossi is a great prospect, and I'd be happy to get him at 4th overall (not my first choice), but if Byfield somehow drops to 4, he's the easy pick over Rossi or anyone else available there.

I see what you are saying, and for the most part I agree. The one thing I would say, is hockey is likely losing out on some of the better athletes in the word when those athletes are from low income families given the incredibly high cost associated with minor league hockey. If you are a kid who is a HUGE hockey fan growing up, but your family is just scraping by, its a lot easier for your parents to put you in baseball, football, or basketball compared to hockey. Not saying I have a solution, but this may be the one area where something could be changed.

Bad news...