The Short Story Path to Publication: Fact or Fiction?

I've read many things about how important it is to get published in short fiction if you ever hope to have a shot at getting a novel-length work published. Obviously, getting published in short stories can't hurt you and can even draw the attraction of other editors/agents. It also gives you something to put in that dreaded third paragraph of your query letter aside from "I love long walks in the park and I'm a Sagittarius with Capricorn tendencies..." I'm so kidding -- about being a Sagittarius and about putting a sentence like that in your query.

Why I'm Wondering About This? 
One of my amazingly talented Sisters is going to be published in short fiction and I'm so excited for her. She even passed along a short story opportunity to me that involves the exact same topic as a novel I recently completed. I even got a cool idea that would work as a short AND worked as a companion to my novel. Yet, I stared at my computer and all that went through my head was I.Don't.Want.To. I realize many authors love writing short stories but I'm not one of them. I'm completely obsessed with my new YA ms and am spending every spare minute working on it. I may still do the short story as a sort of self-imposed challenge but it will feel like work, not fun.

Hopeful Statistics
I've said many times what a research nerd I am. Seriously, statistics are like crack to me. I especially love it when research supports what I'm already doing -- like the studies that show how drinking coffee and eating dark chocolate are good for you. So when I came across this study conducted by author, Jim C. Hines, I got excited. Out of 246 published authors who participated in the study, 116 sold their first novel with zero short fiction sales! My takeaway is that while short story publications can help, it's not impossible to get a novel published without them.

So what are your thoughts? Any published or soon to be published writers out there want to give their own experiences?