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Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher
This point (less high end talent) is somewhat counterbalanced by the fact that the talent in the NCAA is older and thus more developed. So Jankowski may not be playing against the best 18 and 19 year olds in the world but he is playing against some 21, 22, 23 year old men who have had more development time than CHL players.
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Yeah, IMO in head to head competition NCAA teams would win against CHL teams because of the age difference. I also get the impression that NCAA teams play a more structured game since they have more time to practice and this would lead to wins but maybe at the expense of individualism. I've seen rankings that put the NCAA only slightly below the ECHL in level of play.
Top talent difference, I'd probably give the edge to the CHL but that could change as the US now has almost as many registered hockey players as Canada has. Than again a lot of the US players are choosing the CHL so development choices are a very individual subject.