I find the qmjhl does an okay job with their forwards but their defenders and definitely their goalies suffer due to the high scoring style of the league. I also find the Q draft is like a lottery. Some teams seem to really care about there players like Halifax Drummondville and Rimouski, while a majority of other teams seem to abandon their players if they’re not immediately ready at 16 years old. Adding on to that the ncaa route gives more time for player to develop. If a player can produce at the major junior level at 16/17 then all power to them, but I’d argue most kids don’t fully hit their stride until much later. Also the entire chl schedule is extremely demanding. I understand pressure makes diamonds but you can see the wear and tear on a lot of these kids faces, most of them look like 35 year old men coming home from a 12 hour day in the mines. The NCAA season has 34 games compared to the 64 game qmjhl season. The less games allows them to get more reps in at practice, focus on their studies and gives them the opportunity to take care of their mental health before making the complete jump into the nhl. Lastly the resources that a player gets in the ncaa are flat out better. The workout facilities, nutritionists, sports psychologists and rinks are better in most cases. If you want results look no further than the last couple drafts. The past three years 23 ncaa/ushl players were drafted in the first round while only 1 player from the qmjhl has been drafted in the first round.
