Actually most who play tier 2 do so because they aren't good enough for tier 1. The number of players who are good enough but choose the American college route is certainly growing, and continuing to do so, but they are still a distinct minority.
As far as the Saints go, they could probably give the Cougars, Thunderbirds, Oil Kings and Hurricanes a run for their money, but would fare poorly against even a low to mid level WHL team.
|