2 Questions about leagues

[Vedder]

1) Where would you put the European leagues(Russian, Finnish, Czech, German, etc) in comparison to the pro leagues in North America?

2) What prospect leagues would be just under the OHL, QMJHL, and WHL?

Thanks

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[Zine]

1) Where would you put the European leagues(Russian, Finnish, Czech, German, etc) in comparison to the pro leagues in North America?

1. NHL
2. Russian Super League
3. SM Liiga (Finland)
4. Elitserien (Sweden)
5. AHL
6. Czech Extraleague

2) What prospect leagues would be just under the OHL, QMJHL, and WHL?

USHL, BCHL, AJHL, etc.

 

[Vedder]

is that pretty much a pretty acurate guideline for the Tiers of pro hockey or is that kind of thing simply subjective? Thanks for your info though

 

[eh]

The top European leagues are pretty equal to each other, but if the Russians can keep paying the kind of salaries they currently are, the RSL will soon become clearly the second best of all hockey leagues. It's hard to compare the AHL and the European leagues because the style of game is so different, but the top players of the AHL are usually also top players in Europe and vice versa. The goalies are better in the AHL than in any of the European leagues, players are generally bigger and tougher, but less skilled than in Europe.

SM-liiga isn't the second/third best anymore, so many star players have left Finland in recent years. In the Swiss league, the best players are pretty much equal with any other top league, but the depth isn't there yet.

My ranking:

1. NHL
------------
2. RSL
- - - - - - - -
3. AHL
4. Elitserien
5. SM-liiga
6. Extraliga
------------
7. Swiss A-league
8. DEL (Germany)

The ranking of course depends on whether you want to compare just the level of players or include level of coaching, organizations in general etc. into the equation.

 

[f1nn]

uhhhh SM-liiga is by far the best league outside the NHL in my opinion.....

 

[Kevin Forbes]

Anyone want to venture how the minor leagues like the ECHL and the UHL et al. fit in there?

 

[teme]

SM-liiga isn't the second/third best anymore, so many star players have left Finland in recent years. In the Swiss league, the best players are pretty much equal with any other top league, but the depth isn't there yet.

My ranking:

1. NHL
------------
2. RSL
- - - - - - - -
3. AHL
4. Elitserien
5. SM-liiga
6. Extraliga
------------
7. Swiss A-league
8. DEL (Germany)

The ranking of course depends on whether you want to compare just the level of players or include level of coaching, organizations in general etc. into the equation.

Interesting ranking on DEL, I catched a game between Hamburg Freezers and some other team on TV and at least that game was pretty atrocious. Entertaining, but the skill level... Which is kind of weird considering they have some very good players in DEL.

 

[md17]

uhhhh SM-liiga is by far the best league outside the NHL in my opinion.....

You're living in the past... Of the European leagues SM-liiga might be the closest to NHL with respect to speed and intensity of the game, but the depth in terms of skill is rather diluted nowadays. Being a top scorer in SM-league doesn't mean much in terms of offensive potential. I agree with eh's ranking.

 

[Schlep Rock]

Might I add the BCHL is making MAJOR strides to rival the USHL now. Travis Zajac, not even the BCHL's top scorer is ranked in the Top 20 by the CSB. While maybe too high, he's still there. And there's more players ranked for the BCHL than in previous years.

As far as the minor leagues go...

AHL
ECHL
UHL
CHL
WHA2
SEHL

 

[Pekka Lampinen]

RSL is bringing its level down as it spreads its talent to 18 teams. That doesn't diminish the Russians' ability to create a strong league, but it does both hurt the quality of play and make personal achievements less valuable. Long-term Euro Hockey Tour results - or anything, for that matter - are not suggesting that the domestic elite league level talent pool were any stronger than that of Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic. In order to leave Elitserien and SM-Liiga behind, RSL must also be able to recruit a notable amount of Nordic talent. Czechs and Canadians won't get them that far.

I should bring myself to write a thorough analysis some day instead of posting fragments like this out of a deserving context. It would clear some things up to me too.

 

[SIBIR]

RSL is bringing its level down as it spreads its talent to 18 teams. That doesn't diminish the Russians' ability to create a strong league, but it does both hurt the quality of play and make personal achievements less valuable. Long-term Euro Hockey Tour results - or anything, for that matter - are not suggesting that the domestic elite league level talent pool were any stronger than that of Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic. In order to leave Elitserien and SM-Liiga behind, RSL must also be able to recruit a notable amount of Nordic talent. Czechs and Canadians won't get them that far.

I should bring myself to write a thorough analysis some day instead of posting fragments like this out of a deserving context. It would clear some things up to me too.

RSL has 16 teams! not 18

IMO there are enough talented players for at least 18 teams to create the strongest league in Europe. But the problem is that hockey schools like Lokomotiv, CSKA, Magnitogorsk (in 2-3 years) create "too much" good players and so they didn't get the ice time they deserve and have to play for the farm teams. Other hockey clubs like Amur, Sibir, Novokuznetzk produce almost anything .... there is no ballance!