I really don't like burning picks on BCHL players, especially first rounders. It's such an inferior league to the WHL. Turris and Benn were drafted out of the BCHL way back in 2007, but since then the "best of the best" are guys like Fabbro, Cholowski, Jost, Kerfoot, Manson, etc. No headliners. My concern with players from this league is why aren't they playing in a better league?
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BUX7PHX
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I do know that some players are interested in going to college as well, but a little odd to not put themselves out there in better leagues. Plus, especially between the ages of 15 and 17 - there are so many early and late bloomers that some players may have been overlooked early, and they start to plan for going to college to continue playing.
Mind you, I am asking this as a speculative point, but considering that the Q is pretty much isolated to Quebec and everything east, and the OHL is pretty much Ontario (plus eastern Michigan and the northern most point of Pennsylvania), does the distance between teams in the WHL actually work against? Meaning that a player in the GTA may know that the furthest away from home they may be is in the Soo, whereas a good player in Vancouver may wind up all the way in Brandon?
I don't know how the drafts for these leagues work and if there is an emphasis on trying to take players who are in a convenient area relative to the location of the team, but maybe that is something that "prevents" players from wanting to go the WHL and instead stay in the BCHL and be closer to home?
Hard to say...
The only positives are that the top players from the BCHL usually can still produce. Look at Makar and his rise up prospect rankings.
rt
The Kinder, Gentler Version
This stuff is from memory, so forgive me if there are a few errors.
Newhook was in a unique position. He was born and raised in St. John's Newfoundland. He left home at 14 to play in Ontario to compete at a higher level. He had an opportunity to play for the Halifax Mooseheads but decided he wanted to go to Boston College instead (despite being aware that Halifax was getting the Memrial Cup. He was committed to Boston College.
You can criticize his BCHL choice if you want, but it's not as though he had a ton of options available if he wanted to maintain his NCAA eligibility. The Victoria Grizzlies opportunity was a unique one for him. Yes it 4,000 miles from home, but he has an aunt who lives there and agreed to have him stay with her. He had to go to the other side of the continent, but at least he could live with a family member.
His other option would have been to go play for the Lincoln Nebraska Stars in the USHL, a place where he knows not a single soul and is completely unfamiliar with his surroundings.
His goal was to be a BC Eagle. His options were Victory BC or Lincoln NE. I don't know about you guys, but if I'm sixteen years old, and I've already spent two years away from my family, and my options are to move in with my Aunt in Victory or move in with strangers in Lincoln, I'm picking British Columbia over Nebraska every single time. Especially given that either route leads to Boston College anyway.
Newhook was in a unique position. He was born and raised in St. John's Newfoundland. He left home at 14 to play in Ontario to compete at a higher level. He had an opportunity to play for the Halifax Mooseheads but decided he wanted to go to Boston College instead (despite being aware that Halifax was getting the Memrial Cup. He was committed to Boston College.
You can criticize his BCHL choice if you want, but it's not as though he had a ton of options available if he wanted to maintain his NCAA eligibility. The Victoria Grizzlies opportunity was a unique one for him. Yes it 4,000 miles from home, but he has an aunt who lives there and agreed to have him stay with her. He had to go to the other side of the continent, but at least he could live with a family member.
His other option would have been to go play for the Lincoln Nebraska Stars in the USHL, a place where he knows not a single soul and is completely unfamiliar with his surroundings.
His goal was to be a BC Eagle. His options were Victory BC or Lincoln NE. I don't know about you guys, but if I'm sixteen years old, and I've already spent two years away from my family, and my options are to move in with my Aunt in Victory or move in with strangers in Lincoln, I'm picking British Columbia over Nebraska every single time. Especially given that either route leads to Boston College anyway.
rt
The Kinder, Gentler Version
I believe The CHL leagues have rights to certain regions. I think the only way a Quebecois ends up in the WHL is if he goes undrafted in the QMJHL.
Newhook couldn't have chosen the QMJHL and still gone to Boston College. CHL players lose their NCAA eligibility.
BUX7PHX
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Thanks for the information. I did know that when a player goes to the CHL, their NCAA eligibility is gone. I think I have seen very rare instances where this takes place and it is more likely to see a USNTDP player go to the CHL and forego college (I think Seth Jones did that).
I guess my ideas were based on how comfortable a player would be to go a pretty far distance away from home, and it seems like the BCHL is that other option. It is interesting, b/c I feel like you don't hear about the other junior A leagues quite as much when compared to the BCHL.
I'd say the AJHL is a tiny bit behind the BCHL. That's where Makar played. Also fairly confident the OJHL is far, far worse than the OHL.
BUX7PHX
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You're right - don't know why I thought that Makar was in the BCHL.
I do feel like the only junior A leagues that I have really heard of are the BCHL, OJHL, and AJHL. I feel like if you are in junior A and got drafted, there is a 95% chance you came from one of these three.
rt
The Kinder, Gentler Version
I’d say the AJHL is a long way behind. The BCHL produces 1st or 2nd rounders almost yearly. Besides Makar, what has the AJHL ever done?
rt
The Kinder, Gentler Version
Arizona kids are always property of the the WHL as far as CHL goes. It’s longitudinal (by state) if I’m not mistaken.
Last decade:
AJHL
2018: 2 picks, with 1 top 60 (Bernard-Docker)
2017: 3 picks, with 2 top 60 (Makar, Mitchell)
2016: None
2015: None
2014: 2 picks, with 0 top 60 (Hickey went 64th)
2013: 2 picks, with 0 top 60
2012: 4 picks, with 0 top 60 (Parayko went in 4th round)
2011: 1 pick, with 0 top 60
2010: 2 picks, with 0 top 60
2009: 3 picks, with 1 top 60 (Olsen)
Total = 19 picks in 10 years, including 4 players taken in the first 2 rounds
BCHL
2018: 7 picks, with 1 top 60 (Tychonik)
2017: 1 pick, with 0 top 60
2016: 3 picks, with 3 top 60 (Jost, Fabbro, Cholowski)
2015: 1 pick, with 0 top 60
2014: 5 picks, with 0 top 60
2013: 7 picks, with 0 top 60 (Tambellini went 65th)
2012: 5 picks, with 0 top 60 (Khaira went 63rd)
2011: 2 picks, with 0 top 60
2010: 4 picks, with 1 top 60 (B. Bennett)
2009: 5 picks, with 0 top 60
Total: 40 picks in 10 years, including 5 players taken in the first 2 rounds
So certainly from a quantity perspective, the BCHL is well represented with more than double the amount of picks than the AJHL in the last decade. Not sure the same can be said from a quality perspective though.
rt
The Kinder, Gentler Version
The trend seems to be many more in the last three years from both leagues. Interesting that the general opinion is that the BCHL is in an overall decline the last few years. If Top60 NHL draft picks is the metric (and I’m sure it shouldn’t be) that doesn’t appear to be the case.
Newhook is an interesting case. He’s been highly touted for years. He’s not a late bloomer who’s in a Junior A league because he didn’t have other options. He could easily be playing for Halifax or for Lincoln right now. Both drafted him and competed heavily for his services. Halifax didn’t lose to Victoria, they lost to Boston. Lincoln lost to Victoria. I have a hard time holding that against Newhook.
Ultimately he chose the BCHL/NCAA over the QMJHL and over the USHL/NCAA. But his production couldn’t be more impressive in the league he did choose. We don’t know how he would be producing if he chose the USHL or the QMJHL instead. Given what he’s done in his league, I would hope he’d be doing well in either of those other leagues, but obviously I can’t be certain.
rt
The Kinder, Gentler Version
It’s often important to young players to go the NCAA route for one reason or another. I’m not sure why. Canadian kids who opt for NCAA and have to play JrA in their draft years as a result are usually criticized for it. Especially by other Canadians. Makar, Jost and Fabbro certainly heard about it. Even some of the Canadian kids who went the USHL route for this reason take flack.
BUX7PHX
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I am guessing that for some of them, they may just simply want to go to college and stay closer to home up to the age of 18. Don't know if that can be interpreted as a sign of maturity or not, but there are various reasonings, similar to why a player in the NCAA may transfer to be closer to home b/c of a family illness or something totally unrelated to the player's want to be somewhere.
Could be they don't want to leave behind family, friends, or girlfriends, but very hard to say the exact reasoning with each. I think that like other sports, if you have strong talent, you will start to be found. More NFL players are being found in some of the lower division schools, etc. Same thing here - if they are dominating their competition, then they will be available. If playing against a higher level, maybe the player doesn't "dominate," but they at least would be able to hold their own. And if teams are risking a higher pick on a talent that plays against softer competition, maybe that is smart on the players part. What if Jost or Makar played in the WHL and wound up being picks closer to the end of the 1st round?
rt
The Kinder, Gentler Version
I can definitely understand why a kid would choose NCAA over CHL. It seems from an outsiders perspective to be a tremendously better quality of life. You only play games on the weekends, the facilities are generally absolutely top-notch for a larger percentage of top programs than what you might find in the CHL. Travel seems much, much lighter and much, much better. You don't get traded. You play way fewer games and have more time for personal development. You get to live in Boston and not some place in the middle of nowhere. I would much rather play for BC than for Halifax, personally. So I get it.
I also see why a kid would want to jump straight into the CHL and bypass the whole JrA draft year if they're a highly touted prospect. It's probably a better opportunity for scouting, and you're in a more pro-type schedule right away. It's like a miniature, crappy little NHL and it's no joke. I definitely get why CHL is an attractive option and why some kids choose it over NCAA.
For Newhook specifically, I think his situation was a little unique. He's a Newfie in the BCHL for crying out loud. There were obviously extenuating circumstances. Haha.
If I were Newhook, I probably would have chosen BC over Halifax, too. I also would have chosen Victoria over Lincoln. Knowing that I probably would have made the same choices with the same options, I have a tough time being critical of his decision to play i the BCHL.
He's going to be a 1st round pick and next year he'll be at BC. Both goals realized. Maybe Halifax would have seen him selected five or ten spots higher. At the end of the day, it's what you do after you get picked anyway. He's not playing for draft position.
I also see why a kid would want to jump straight into the CHL and bypass the whole JrA draft year if they're a highly touted prospect. It's probably a better opportunity for scouting, and you're in a more pro-type schedule right away. It's like a miniature, crappy little NHL and it's no joke. I definitely get why CHL is an attractive option and why some kids choose it over NCAA.
For Newhook specifically, I think his situation was a little unique. He's a Newfie in the BCHL for crying out loud. There were obviously extenuating circumstances. Haha.
If I were Newhook, I probably would have chosen BC over Halifax, too. I also would have chosen Victoria over Lincoln. Knowing that I probably would have made the same choices with the same options, I have a tough time being critical of his decision to play i the BCHL.
He's going to be a 1st round pick and next year he'll be at BC. Both goals realized. Maybe Halifax would have seen him selected five or ten spots higher. At the end of the day, it's what you do after you get picked anyway. He's not playing for draft position.
Not to mention these are teenage boys we're talking about, college girls are a hell of a drug.
rt
The Kinder, Gentler Version
No offense to the Moose Jaw Warriors or Swift Current Broncos, or North Bay Battalion or Owen Sound Attack or Rouyn-Noranda Huskies or Baie-Comeau Drakkar but...
I'd much, much rather play for BU or BC.
rt
The Kinder, Gentler Version
When you play 68 games per regular season, there is little time available for tailored personal development. Either physical development in the the gym, or skills development with more practice time and coaching availability due to so few game days. More time for video, etc. College hockey is a bit more like the NFL in that way. There's more time for specialized training and coaching and preparation. Games are the culmination of a bunch of work, rather than the work. I remember Strome talking about losing weight during the season. It's a grueling pace. Good college teams build and sculpt athletes.
Again, I'm not really arguing that the NCAA route is better than the CHL route. I'm just chucking in counter-points.
BUX7PHX
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I do think that you will get much better access to the weight room, nutrition, training plans, etc. in college, I would imagine. I don't really know to what extent a player like Hayton would get into the weight room with Soo, but there would be a set time 3 days out of the week for weight training in college.
Back when I was trying to walk on for lacrosse in college, we had lifting for fall ball between 6:30 - 7:30am 3 days out of the week, followed by practices from 8:00am-10:45am 5 days out of the week. Most players would schedule classes after 12:00pm, and would head right to the athlete dining room for meals (yes, dietary plans were included for players to help them hit ideal weight, etc.). I doubt that billet families have the ability to cater quite as easily to that sort of thing, but I may not know how extensive the prep work is in the CHL.
rt
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NHL Central Scouting Final 2019 Rankings.
2019 Draft Prospect Rankings | NHL Draft Prospect Rankings
North American Skaters
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European Skaters
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2019 Draft Prospect Rankings | NHL Draft Prospect Rankings
North American Skaters
| Final Rank | Midterm | Player |
| 1 | 1 | Jack Hughes |
| 2 | 4 | Bowen Byram |
| 3 | 2 | Kirby Dach |
| 4 | 5 | Alex Turcotte |
| 5 | 3 | Dylan Cozens |
| 6 | 7 | Trevor Zegras |
| 7 | 11 | Arthur Kaliyev |
| 8 | 15 | Cole Caufield |
| 9 | 6 | Matthew Boldy |
| 10 | 8 | Peyton Krebs |
European Skaters
| Final Rank | Midterm | Player |
| 1 | 1 | Kaapo Kakko |
| 2 | 2 | Vasily Podkolzin |
| 3 | 5 | Victor Soderstrom |
| 4 | 7 | Ville Heinola |
| 5 | 3 | Philip Broberg |
| 6 | 6 | Moritz Seider |
| 7 | 8 | Tobias Bjornfot |
| 8 | 11 | Danil Misyul |
| 9 | 4 | Ilya Nikolev |
| 10 | 9 | Mikko Kokkonen |
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