In my humble opinion, the CHL seems much better at putting out 'star' players. Franchise players, if you may. These kids have great upside and ceilings - your Tavares, Stamkos, RNH, Hall, Crosby, etc., etc.,... Players that are 'supposed' to be franchise players. It is a shorter ticket to the NHL - and they are more 'ready' to be players in the NHL.
NCAA is seems to be much better for players that are not quite ready to jump into the NHL. That league seems to be better for players that are physically not ready to compete in the near future. Players for the Flames like Gaudreau and Jankowski - players that need a bit more time for size and/or more of a focus on systems play.
For the sake of argument, if I happened to be an elite prospect, I would much rather choose the CHL over the NCAA every day of the week. If I was a borderline player, or someone with a high ceiling but needing more time, I would seriously be considering the NCAA.
In short, what makes one league 'superior' to the other? Superior to me means "how likely is that league going to turn me into an NHL player?".
More and more prospects are choosing the NCAA over the CHL because of the development time, more focus on practices and more focus on systems play. Conversely, more 'stars' seem to prefer the CHL as it gives them more exposure - more games to showcase how they are, and in a league that is more closely followed by scouting.
There is no question that the CHL puts out many more NHL players than the NCAA, but more players are looking at the NCAA as a very viable option. What is second rate? Depends on what prospect you ask, and what their circumstances are. A Yakupov is never going to NCAA - what would be the point? A Gaudreau, Jankowski, or other such player would benefit more from the NCAA than the USHL or the CHL, in my opinion, due to more emphasis on practices, more time to hit the gym, and at least gives them the option of pursuing an additional career if their NHL dreams don't quite pan out.
I am only making a guess here, but if the NCAA suddenly expanded substantially in terms of available teams, and started awarding scholarships, you would see a lot of Canadian kids start opting to go the NCAA route instead of the CHL route - borderline players (who vastly outnumber the 'stars' to say the least) would flock to the NCAA.
You can't really definitely say one is better over the other in terms of a development league. Even looking at the percentages of players from the CHL and the NCAA that make it to the NHL, it would still be biased as the NCAA doesn't offer scholarships for just any player either.
It all comes down to each individual prospect and what his needs are, and how 'close' he is to making the NHL, and if not, is he 'good enough' to get an NCAA scholarship. Just what I think...
To go back on track, does anyone know how long Jankowski is going to be playing wing for? Are they waiting for him to 'catch up' with the systems side of hockey? For him to fill out more? Or just to get his ears wet for a short time before transitioning back to center? Curious to see how long he stays on wing. I really hope they don't just keep him at wing for the entire season (though it would make sense if they want him to bulk up a bit more).
Also, how is his skating compared to the other NCAA guys? Is he 'average', or better/worse? Seemed to be fine in the Flames camp, though tough to tell sometimes from such a small sample size.
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