Quote:
Originally Posted by moon
People want this to go away so I will try to be brief.
I have said many times that the NCAA is a good route for many kids to go but overall the CHL is better. The CHL for whatever reason doesn't get near enough credit for developing guys that aren't studs coming into the league and for developing guys that are lower level draft picks in the NHL. They actually do fine at both.
For whatever reason lately it seems cool to bang on hockey Canada and the CHL but the fact is they are the best at producing NHL players whether elite or not. This doesn't mean that the NCAA is a bad route to go but it still is second best (maybe 3rd after Europe) at developing players whether elite or not.
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I think the winds may be changing though. My kid plays hockey in Canada but most his friends do not. The cost, politics, time investment, pressure, silly locals and times, etc make it difficult to support a kid in hockey. I heard a stat that less then 10% of Canadian children play the game. That is horrible.
My kid is in a decent area. But one of the larger areas in Calgary has had to hire evaluators to supervise the evaluators to keep it fair. And now lawyers have joined the group. Its silly and most parents just don't see the point when their kid can play soccer or another sport.
The CHL pays kids a paltry 50 per week and forces them to billet with strangers. They only get to play to 19 or 20 and the focus is as much on winning as it is development. The scholarships they get are time dated so if they actually decide to play pro hockey (and take their shot at the NHL) they lose out on it.
Meanwhile the NCAA provides an education while playing in a league dedicated to development. It is a league that puts out top athletes in other sports. The players are given more dedicate conditioning programs and off ice support, live in their dorms, and get to participate in a more static environment in terms of roster turn over. They also get to play against adults.
There are pros and cons to both leagues. And I would agree that for now the CHL is the better development league. But it hockey development in Canada is rapidly falling off and the European and American development systems are catching up quickly. If it keeps up I don't think we will be able to say that the CHL is the top division in 10 or even 5 years.
And in the scheme of things they are close to parity now. In terms of a player like Jankowski I don't give a second thought to him being developed in the NCAA versus the CHL. They are both very effective programs. It really doesn't matter. It is about finding the best player, not the best development system. Pure and simple.