I couldnt find a thread about junior leagues' levels, so I started one.
Mostly I'm interested in difference between european U-20-leagues and North-American leagues. In meaning of: would you rather stay in Europe and play for U20-team or go overseas to play?
The best North American leagues are better than a European U20-league, but on the other hand the U20-league in Europe is only a stepping stone to playing in the pro league. Let's take for example Mika Zibanejad. If he had taken the CHL route, he would have played this season and with all probability the next season as well in the CHL (since I doubt he would be considered any more NHL-ready than Rickard Rakell who did take the CHL-route).
By staying in Sweden, Mika has played in a worse U20-league but he has already been playing in the SEL and performed well enough for me to claim that there is no way he will play much junior hockey next season in Sweden.
I'm also thinking how do you feel european pro leagues compared to Chl, because Joel Armia is playing first line in FEL and scoring well, and still some people dont even place him in top 10.
Well, Adam Larsson plays SEL second unit defenseman, and still most people place him in the top 3. Seems to me the reason Armia is left out of the top 10 by some people is because 10 other players are considered better prospects than him, and not because he plays in the FEL instead of the CHL? Doesn't it have to do with his qualities rather than the FEL's qualities?
Of course, the general opinion on these boards seems to be that you need to bring your prospects over as soon as possible and have them play in the CHL/AHL to "get used to the North American game". In other words, the development the player has gotten his whole life in Europe is enough to make him a good enough player for NHL-fans to get really excited about his future in their club after he gets selected in the draft. But the moment he got drafted, that very same system in Europe is seen as something the player needs to get away from as soon as possible.
