Quote:
Originally Posted by dobbles
I would just like to chime in that to say I think that is totally untrue.
Having been to several hundred ECHL, CHL (central hockey league), and IHL2 games, I think I have a pretty good idea of AA level hockey these last few years. And from what I have seen its nowhere near goon hockey. And considering the amount of AHL hockey I have seen in person over the last decade (including 2 years as a STH for the QC Flames) I honestly think the 2 leagues play pretty much the same. The AHL just has much more skill.
When you consider the effort the ECHL has put into becoming the official AA league, including acquiring their main rival league, the CHL (which had previously absorbed the short lived IHL2) they have every reason to promote quality hockey. They are not in markets or situations that dictate they ice rosters of goons to get fans in the seats.
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Maybe it's not as bad as it was a few years ago, but it is still the dirtier of the 3 main pro-leagues in North America. It's not that far off the AHL though I guess.
http://www.hockeyfights.com/leaders/players/3/reg2015
http://www.hockeyfights.com/leaders/players/2/reg2015
http://www.hockeyfights.com/leaders/players/
http://echl.com/stats/statdisplay.ph...id=-1&confId=0
http://theahl.com/stats/statdisplay....id=-1&confId=0
http://espn.go.com/nhl/statistics/pl...penaltyMinutes
For a veteran player it might not be a big deal, but for an 18 year old from Sweden, I wouldn't want to scare him off.