LancerFan, re-read what I said. I was referring to player promotion from professional leagues when discussing the type of players who advance to the NHL from AA. I am well aware of who is represented among USHL alumni and offered a similar list to yours.
As for jowitwer, his posts are so full of inaccuracies and outdated dogma that it's difficult to determine if he's shilling for the ECHL (or IHL), or simply out of touch.
Valleyred, it is very unlikely that Youngtown would ever see the AHL come to town, which is the only real minor league that sends any players to the NHL. The lower level minor leagues are really more like independent baseball leagues. Yeah, they may send up a player that's slipped through the cracks once in awhile, but the teams exist more for entertainment than for actual player development. In some sense, the USHL really IS more like the A-ball example, down to the age of the players, particular those drafted out of HS and are in their first or second season of pro ball. Go Wiki the USHL alumni list. You'll see a lot of familiar NHL names, and that list will only grow with the addition of the NTDP, which all by themselves gets 10-15 kids drafted a season.
They ARE in the schools. For example, the NTDP players all go to Ann Arbor Pioneer HS. As with college athletic programs, USHL teams provide tutors and other forms of academic support because these players are MUCH busier than your average high school kid. The hockey is essentially a full time job on top of the school work, and players have to remained focused to get those D1 scholarships.
Also, you cannot compare NAHL attendance to USHL. For one thing, USHL budgets are typically twice that of NAHL teams because they staff their operations and market themselves more like an ECHL team would. The only reason they aren't to the level of an ECHL budget is because they aren't paying players and providing them with worker's comp, which are two of the largest expenses of a minor league team after their building lease.
Canadians get it. They support junior hockey and have very few minor league teams. They know where the talent is.
How many of those "pros" have a future in the NHL? VERY FEW! You might see one or two enforcers or goalies move up from AA to the NHL, but no forwards or defensement because they simply lack the skills.
The CHL hasn't promoted 15 players to the NHL since they were founded in 1992. The USHL sees 15-20 kids a season drafted by NHL teams, and many more who are drafted after going to the NCAA. The USHL and NTDP (which will be in the USHL next season) had 12 players taken in the first 3 rounds of the draft each of the last two years. These aren't kids. These are REAL players with REAL futures in the game, not guys that need to move on with the rest of their lives.
How many Steelhounds can you name that have moved on? How many times have you watched an NHL game and seen a player that was a former SteelHound or CHLer? I'll bet you haven't.
What is the "bad league situation" of which you speak? It sure isn't worse than the CHL, where the SteelHounds' nearest opponent was in Memphis. The USHL team would have rivals in Ann Arbor, Chicago, and Indianapolis, with more possible through expansion. It sure isn't worse than the ECHL, which has seen two teams fold in the middle of this season with more folds anticipated this summer.
USHL chief cites league’s top quality
http://www.echl.com/cgi-bin/mpublic.c...
Phoenix folds, Dayton/Mississippi suspend. That's on top of Augusta and Fresno folding mid-season.
Yeah, the ECHL is a really solid, sustainable league. *rolleyes*
March 30, 2009 at 5:34 p.m. permalink suggest removal
USHL chief cites league’s top quality
LancerFan, re-read what I said. I was referring to player promotion from professional leagues when discussing the type of players who advance to the NHL from AA. I am well aware of who is represented among USHL alumni and offered a similar list to yours.
As for jowitwer, his posts are so full of inaccuracies and outdated dogma that it's difficult to determine if he's shilling for the ECHL (or IHL), or simply out of touch.
March 30, 2009 at 3:16 p.m. permalink suggest removal
USHL chief cites league’s top quality
Valleyred, it is very unlikely that Youngtown would ever see the AHL come to town, which is the only real minor league that sends any players to the NHL. The lower level minor leagues are really more like independent baseball leagues. Yeah, they may send up a player that's slipped through the cracks once in awhile, but the teams exist more for entertainment than for actual player development. In some sense, the USHL really IS more like the A-ball example, down to the age of the players, particular those drafted out of HS and are in their first or second season of pro ball. Go Wiki the USHL alumni list. You'll see a lot of familiar NHL names, and that list will only grow with the addition of the NTDP, which all by themselves gets 10-15 kids drafted a season.
March 26, 2009 at 1:38 p.m. permalink suggest removal
USHL chief cites league’s top quality
They ARE in the schools. For example, the NTDP players all go to Ann Arbor Pioneer HS. As with college athletic programs, USHL teams provide tutors and other forms of academic support because these players are MUCH busier than your average high school kid. The hockey is essentially a full time job on top of the school work, and players have to remained focused to get those D1 scholarships.
Also, you cannot compare NAHL attendance to USHL. For one thing, USHL budgets are typically twice that of NAHL teams because they staff their operations and market themselves more like an ECHL team would. The only reason they aren't to the level of an ECHL budget is because they aren't paying players and providing them with worker's comp, which are two of the largest expenses of a minor league team after their building lease.
Canadians get it. They support junior hockey and have very few minor league teams. They know where the talent is.
March 26, 2009 at 1:12 p.m. permalink suggest removal
USHL chief cites league’s top quality
How many of those "pros" have a future in the NHL? VERY FEW! You might see one or two enforcers or goalies move up from AA to the NHL, but no forwards or defensement because they simply lack the skills.
The CHL hasn't promoted 15 players to the NHL since they were founded in 1992. The USHL sees 15-20 kids a season drafted by NHL teams, and many more who are drafted after going to the NCAA. The USHL and NTDP (which will be in the USHL next season) had 12 players taken in the first 3 rounds of the draft each of the last two years. These aren't kids. These are REAL players with REAL futures in the game, not guys that need to move on with the rest of their lives.
How many Steelhounds can you name that have moved on? How many times have you watched an NHL game and seen a player that was a former SteelHound or CHLer? I'll bet you haven't.
What is the "bad league situation" of which you speak? It sure isn't worse than the CHL, where the SteelHounds' nearest opponent was in Memphis. The USHL team would have rivals in Ann Arbor, Chicago, and Indianapolis, with more possible through expansion. It sure isn't worse than the ECHL, which has seen two teams fold in the middle of this season with more folds anticipated this summer.
March 26, 2009 at 9:31 a.m. permalink suggest removal