help on minor leagues

[needz]

ok how does it go for hockey like nhl then ahl echl echl chl southern pro league. can some1 help me if im missing a league or something

[jonnysport]

don't forget the UHL (United Hockey lEAGUE) with teams in KC, Quad Cities, St. Louis area, Rockford, Kalamazoo, Muskegon, Port Huron, Flint, Fort Wayne, Elmira, Adirondack, Motor City (Detroit area),Danbury, rICHMOND ,and (next year) Roanoke. It's probably between the ECHL and the CHL in calibre of play.

[needz]

o really i thought it was like the same as the chl or worse

[patmc16]

This question comes up every so often. The reason is because there is no formal structure like there is in baseball, so there is no set in stone answer. Different people will give a little bit different answers. In my opinion, for what it is worth, and using baseball terms:

AHL: AAA
ECHL: AA
UHL: High A
CHL: A
SPHL: Low A
OHL, QMJHL, WHL, NAHL, USHL: Rookie

I think just about everybody agrees about the AHL & ECHL, the rest is more up to debate.

No, the UHL is not the same as the CHL, and for sure it is not worse. Look at the stats of players who have played in both. Many forwards have far more impressive stats in the CHL or SPHL than in the UHL. Did they play better in the CHL / SPHL? No, the difference is that the competition is better in the UHL, so they do not dominate there like they might in the CHL / SPHL. Joe Burton, for example, is the CHL all-time leading scorer. This year in the UHL, his stats were average at best. Granted, there is the age factor with Burton, but that is just one example. The skaters are faster in the UHL, and the goalies are better. I am biased, of course, being a UHL season ticket holder, but I think most who have seen both leagues might agree.

[jonnysport]

One of the things I find interesting to look at are the numbers of players who go from the various minor leagues to the majors. Since its inception as the Colonial League, the United League appears to have sent more players to the NHL than the CHL (and predecessor WPHL). But this is just based on a very casual look at Total Hockey and this year's NHL Guide.

[Pounder]

The UHL tries to thrive on getting some quality players. UHL fans like to fight with ECHL fans on other forums about the quality of the two leagues; so I'm somewhat disappointed with patmc's post. Bring the heat, meat! :D

(Not a real invitation. By now, I'd just call it being conditioned to expect a fight when someone starts comparing hockey leagues.)

The Central league thrives on keeping player salaries low. Heck, it also ought to thrive on the travel advantages it has, but just when you think they've got it right by "letting" Indianapolis go (bit of a misnomer- leagues usually get dictation FROM teams, not the other way around), their arena scheme snags Youngstown and lets them in. That's a crazy bunch. Wait 'til they announce the Prescott, Arizona expansion!

The ECHL markets their affiliations, which are really dodgy compared to the AHL affiliations with NHL teams. I do believe more ECHLers make it up than, say, UHLers... but no NHL team ever really treats the situation like a baseball team would. That's one reason why I would recommend NOT trying to make structural comparisons between baseball and any sport; which nobody else can manage because of baseball's anti-trust exemption. In any other sport, one league can't keep out another league based on say-so. Let the Triple A issues go. You'll be happier.

Furthermore, junior leagues probably should not be considered rookie leagues. The WHL/OHL/QMJHL troika are "developmental" leagues in a far more accurate sense than, say, the NBDL. The best players in Canadian Junior go straight to the NHL. The AHL will see a substantial number of draftees. The E will catch the scraps and occasionally find a gem, the U not quite as occasionally. The players who don't go pro usually end up in Canadian collegiate programs.

The USHL and NAHL actually feed American colleges, unfortunately. The USHL (the lone American equivalent of the W/O/Q) has actually had a couple kids drafted into the NHL, and really should aim that way, but they usually end up targeting kids for D-1 programs. The NAHL isn't that lucky anymore, locating more kids into D-3 lately. Colleges are reported to recruit from Tier II Canadian leagues (British Columbia JHL, for instance) more than the NAHL anymore.

[patmc16]

The UHL tries to thrive on getting some quality players. UHL fans like to fight with ECHL fans on other forums about the quality of the two leagues; so I'm somewhat disappointed with patmc's post. Bring the heat, meat! :D

I like to think I am a realist most of the time. That's not a fight I'd pick. I've seen both leagues in person (the Toledo Storm is a little over an hour down the road) and I would put the E a small notch above the U. To paraphrase Lloyd Bentson, "I know the ECHL, and you, UHL, are no ECHL." (Hmm, I wonder how many will know what I am talking about?) If the E was 15 minutes from my home, I'd have season tickets for it. It's not, the U is, so I have season tickets for it. I'd trade them all in if one of the cities around here would suck it up and build a minor league baseball stadium, but that's another post for another forum.

Yes, Youngstown CHL is the dumbest thing I have heard in hockey since the person/league we are not supposed to talk about stepped back into the shadows. Maybe the U or E can move into the new arena when it goes belly up.

Ya, I know putting hockey in baseball terms is not fair. It's the whole square peg in a round hole thing but, I figure some might understand the baseball term/structure better, since it is more formal and understood.

I was really iffy about calling the juniors "rookie" league. I've seen the O too (the Plymouth Whalers are 45 min from here) and the quality is far better than the quality of Rookie League baseball.

[Shootmaster_44]

OHL, QMJHL, WHL, NAHL, USHL: Rookie


Is the NAHL and USHL really on par with the CHL? I would say they might be on par with the Tier II Junior A leagues in Canada.

[Pounder]

Pat, I smiled at the Bentsen reference... but I mute it because I live in a red state. They be touchy 'round here.

Shoot, I want to say that your assessment is generous towards the USHL and NAHL. :D As for the NAHL, absolutely. For the USHL, I suspect they're migrating up towards the tweener level between Tier II and CHL. The Americans, after all, aren't totally dim. (See if anyone recalls that reference)