Hockey Leagues

[pvilleguru 65]

i'm pretty new to hockey. i'd say i've only been watching since the 08-09 playoffs. being from alabama, we really don't follow many professional teams, so i'm just now trying to pick up the details about our prospects. i see we have a bunch of guys playing in many leagues. i guess my question is, how do these other leagues stack up to each other? i see we have guys in the SEL, OHL, WHL, AHL, etc. i'm hoping i can kind of tell how far along our prospects are by which league they are playing in. any help would be greatly appreciated.

[eva unit zero 271]

i'm pretty new to hockey. i'd say i've only been watching since the 08-09 playoffs. being from alabama, we really don't follow many professional teams, so i'm just now trying to pick up the details about our prospects. i see we have a bunch of guys playing in many leagues. i guess my question is, how do these other leagues stack up to each other? i see we have guys in the SEL, OHL, WHL, AHL, etc. i'm hoping i can kind of tell how far along our prospects are by which league they are playing in. any help would be greatly appreciated.

The guys in the NHL are almost as good as me.

[Datsyerberger 279]

The guys in the NHL are almost as good as me.

You've been showing an unusual rash of humor and silly one-liners lately. It's rather strange.

Anyhow, quick run down:

AHL: NHL's primary development league. Though there are some veterans and full time AHLers that play here, it's largely filled with prospects NHL teams feels ready to adapt to the pro and/or North American style game. This is where most top prospects are going to play.

SEL: Elitserien, or Swedish Elite League as we call it on this side of the pond. This is the top level Swedish league. It's probably close to equal with the AHL in terms of skill, though style of play is different due to differently sized european ice and contact rules. A large amount of players who were only good enough for 4th line/backup NHL duty, as well as more veteran good players that go back home, keep this a rather competitive league. It's often used as a Swedish version of the juniors, with NHL teams keeping Swedish players there to develop before adapting them to the NA game in the AHL.

SM-Liiga: This is the top level Finnish league, and is generally used very similarly to the SEL. It also compares well to SEL in terms of skill, with some arguing that it's a more competitive league. Don't get that debate started between Swedes and Finns, though.

ECHL: The minor pro league the step below the AHL. Often lower level talent is sent here, or sometimes young talent not suitable for juniors but not ready for AHL. Goalies in particularly sometimes get sent here, as they benefit more from a starting job here than a backup job to a more NHL-ready goalie in the AHL. A fair number of bottom line bangers, grinders, and gritty bottom pairing defensemen get their pro start here.

UHL: A minor pro league a further step below the ECHL. On occasion, an NHL team will take a shot on a guy in this league, but if a guy gets sent here from an affiliate, it's usually not a good sign. Some AHL or ECHL teams use it as an affiliate for their lower end players.

NCAA: Obviously, this is the all-encompassing American college hockey league (comprised of smaller subleagues based on school level). As a form of juniors, there's an age limit and other restrictions that apply here. Generally, guys in this league are 18-20 year olds that were just drafted a year or two prior, and not quite ready for the pro experience yet.

CHL (QJMHL, OHL, and WHL): the CHL is the greater entity in which the three parenthetical leagues participate. These form the bulk of the high end Canadian juniors, and compares to NCAA hockey, but at a higher average playing level (due to a greater amount of trained Canadian hockey kids).

KHL: This is the high end Russian league and the strongest hockey league in Europe. Not only are there a number of good Russian kids in there, but a fair number of middling or aged but still good pros. Additionally, some guys like Hudler wander over there despite not being Russian because of superior pay. However, because it's very competitive with the NHL, unless it's a young Russian kid who hasn't come to NA yet, going back to the KHL is looked upon a bit warily.

There are many other junior and minor leagues as well as less powerful European leagues, but the above are probably the most notable ones at the moment. Someone else may do a more thorough rundown of the junior leagues, particularly the Russian & other European leagues.

[pvilleguru 65]

thanks for the main rundown. i'd take it the KHL is better than the CHL which is generally better than the SEL and SM-L. about the CHL, are the QMJHL, OHL, and WHL pretty much equal? or is it like A, AA, and AAA for baseball?

[Datsyerberger 279]

I'd personally rank them:

NHL

KHL/AHL

SEL/SM-L

OHL

QJMHL/WHL

ECHL/NCAA

UHL

But that's just me.

[dobbles 252]

just fyi, there is no more uhl. the other major player in mid level minors in the states is the chl. they absorbed a good chunk of ihl version 2.0 which was a lot of the remnants of the old uhl. as far as the chl goes, they are pretty close to the echl in terms of skill. they have a lot more veteran players compared to the younger guys the echl attracts due to their affiliation agreements.

[hooon 1,089]

I'd personally rank them:

NHL

KHL/AHL

SEL/SM-L

OHL

QJMHL/WHL

ECHL/NCAA

UHL

But that's just me.

Good rundown of the leagues. Sometimes it gets a little confusing as to which is which.

One of the things that has kept me from becoming a regular soccer fan is that understanding the different leagues is more complicated than a Kovalchuck contract negotiation. I guess it wasn't meant to be.

[pvilleguru 65]

Good rundown of the leagues. Sometimes it gets a little confusing as to which is which.

One of the things that has kept me from becoming a regular soccer fan is that understanding the different leagues is more complicated than a Kovalchuck contract negotiation. I guess it wasn't meant to be.

i could help you out a lot more with the soccer leagues than the hockey ones.

[Datsyerberger 279]

just fyi, there is no more uhl. the other major player in mid level minors in the states is the chl. they absorbed a good chunk of ihl version 2.0 which was a lot of the remnants of the old uhl. as far as the chl goes, they are pretty close to the echl in terms of skill. they have a lot more veteran players compared to the younger guys the echl attracts due to their affiliation agreements.

Yea, I was thinking of IHL/CHL/UHL with that whole merge/absorption thing. The states lower minor leagues are in such a state of flux it's hard to pin them all down at any given time.

[dobbles 252]

Yea, I was thinking of IHL/CHL/UHL with that whole merge/absorption thing. The states lower minor leagues are in such a state of flux it's hard to pin them all down at any given time.

yeah, amen to that. i doubt i would care much if i hadn't spent the last 3 years in a city that had a team involved.

[GMRwings1983 8,804]

Don't forget the LNAH guys.

[dobbles 252]

Don't forget the LNAH guys.

great, now i have to go watch les chiefs to get my lnah fix!