Ryan Van Horne
aka Scribe
When comparing prospects playing in the CHL leagues (WHL, OHL and QMJHL) it's important to know the level of offence that exists, so I did a little research.
A lot of people think the QMJHL is "scorer's" league and that nobody plays defence. They also tend to dowplay the achievements of Q players and say their totals are "inflated." No one ever said Corey Locke's totals were inflated and look where he ended up. But I digress.
Anyway, this year, there were rule changes implemented in two of the three CHL leagues. The OHL and the QMJHL adopted the NHL's rule changes while the WHL did not from what I've heard. Anyway, this would explain the following:
Goals scored in the OHL in 2005-06: 4776 goals in 680 games=7.02 goals per game
Goals scored in the QMJHL in 2005-06: 4669 goals in 630 games=7.41 goals per game
Goals scored in the WHL in 2005-06: 4195 goals in 720 games=5.82 goals per game
When I have more time, I might go back a few years and compare the leagues when the played under the same rules.
Anyway, I think this disproves the myth of the Q as a pure offence league. Although it has the most, the difference isn't enough to grossly inflate the numbers of prospects from the that league compared to those in the OHL. Also, the QMJHL expanded by two teams this year. Expansion usually has an inflationary effect on scoring.
A lot of people think the QMJHL is "scorer's" league and that nobody plays defence. They also tend to dowplay the achievements of Q players and say their totals are "inflated." No one ever said Corey Locke's totals were inflated and look where he ended up. But I digress.
Anyway, this year, there were rule changes implemented in two of the three CHL leagues. The OHL and the QMJHL adopted the NHL's rule changes while the WHL did not from what I've heard. Anyway, this would explain the following:
Goals scored in the OHL in 2005-06: 4776 goals in 680 games=7.02 goals per game
Goals scored in the QMJHL in 2005-06: 4669 goals in 630 games=7.41 goals per game
Goals scored in the WHL in 2005-06: 4195 goals in 720 games=5.82 goals per game
When I have more time, I might go back a few years and compare the leagues when the played under the same rules.
Anyway, I think this disproves the myth of the Q as a pure offence league. Although it has the most, the difference isn't enough to grossly inflate the numbers of prospects from the that league compared to those in the OHL. Also, the QMJHL expanded by two teams this year. Expansion usually has an inflationary effect on scoring.