ASHL is good. I ran a team in their div 2 the last 4 years, and it's pretty competitive. I think it's hard to get into though, because they have the good ice times and a lot of teams wanting to play in it. It was kind of pricey though from what I recall, although you do get 30 games. They have some really really good refs, and the odd bad one. For the most part they're pretty consistent though, and don't cause problems on the ice.
NCHL is terrible as the op has pointed out.
I might try Calgary Summer Hockey League this year. They only have one division though, and brand it as "Junior B level or better". Anyone ever played it?
http://www.calgarysummerhockeyleague.com/