Best Hockey League After The NHL

[nyr2k2]

I'm not the most AHL expert because I've never seen a game.

Tonight I saw a NHL game I missed a maximum of two minutes of the game I saw fifty eight minutes plus five minutes overtime and penalty shootout vital right team won by penalty shootout.

I have confidence in NHL and SHL this year cardinal but last season crazy.

I heard the AHL has good skaters and good goal scorer and not too far after the NHL?

I think four AHL teams to the best league or matter in the NHL of 32 teams wrong or right?

I watch Friday or Saturday or Sunday games only one game per weekend on the Swedish channel, but Viaplay sends NHL games every night to hockey people TV10 sends one game per weekend. I have TV10 for almost free games.

AHL best. KHL second best. The SHL's defensive specialist teams SHL sometimes plays as a national teams. And SM-liiga. And Extraliga.

Yes, I rank the AHL before the KHL, only the NHL goes faster, hard defensively, and offense and shots and passes from the blue line cause the goal scorer.

The AHL is different because it's a combination development/feeder league for the NHL while also existing as its own competitive entity.

Meaning, an AHL team will have guys that could be called up to the NHL as depth players if the need arose (they are on NHL contract but assigned to the AHL), and those guys usually also have some NHL experience. For example the Hartford Wolf Pack has Alex Belzile, Bo Groulx, Casey Fitzgerald, Anton Blidh, Jake Leschyshyn, Connor Mackey, Ben Harpur, and Chad Ruhwedel. They've all played 40-80 NHL games over their careers (except Ruhwedel who has played 360+ and Harpur who has played 200). So those are guys that can reasonably be expected to play in the NHL, if not on a regular basis, at least as extra players when other guys get hurt. These players are also the types that will sometimes sign contracts to go play in Europe and will usually be great players or at least good ones.

Then you have players that don't have the NHL experience as those other players but are prospects. So for the Rangers, Hartford has guys like Brett Berard and Brennan Othmann and Dylan Garand who are their top prospects. And they have other good prospects down there, too. Those guys aren't ready yet, but should be soon, or maybe are ready but there's just no spot for them in the NHL (Berard could be in this category).

Then finally, there are guys who have no affiliation with an NHL team and are actually under contract to the AHL team. So for Hartford, that's guys like Blade Jenkins, Nate Sucese, Adam Erne, and Blake Hillman.

The KHL is heavily comprised of Russian players with a smattering of North American guys from the first group that I mentioned, guys with some NHL experience but who spend most of their time in the AHL. I don't have the numbers but I would imagine there are less North American guys there now (and probably Swedes and Finns) than there were a few years ago, due to the geopolitical stuff.

 

[Finnen]

AHL plays defensively or offensively?

NHL players are hardworking and good on offense.

This season as long as special offense.

Any agree words?

 

[eco's bones]

The European leagues are not really development leagues and there are lots of former NHL/AHL veterans throughout---particularly Russia, Germany, Switzerland. All of them will have these kinds of players but some like Liiga and the SHL less than others. NHL teams don't really have any control of how their draft prospects are used by their respective teams.

AHL teams almost automatically get the best recently drafted Canadian and US kids....most AHL teams also have several guys with real NHL experience.

There are also differences in practice/fundamentals development, scheduling, rink size. European teams tend to work on fundamentals more---when teams play on larger rinks there is more space and time to make plays so skating and stick skills become more important and physical play goes down. NHL and AHL rinks there is less space to move around and players have less time to make plays and there is more physical play. The AHL develops players better for the NHL in the respect that schedules mimic NHL schedules...are longer and more condensed.....games are more rough and tumble and because there's not as much time and space players are forced to move the puck quicker. The Europeans leagues strengths as far as turning out NHL players comes from focusing on better skating, stick handling, passing and shooting skills.

 

[nyr2k2]

The European leagues are not really development leagues and there are lots of former NHL/AHL veterans throughout---particularly Russia, Germany, Switzerland. All of them will have these kinds of players but some like Liiga and the SHL less than others. NHL teams don't really have any control of how their draft prospects are used by their respective teams.

AHL teams almost automatically get the best recently drafted Canadian and US kids....most AHL teams also have several guys with real NHL experience.

There are also differences in practice/fundamentals development, scheduling, rink size. European teams tend to work on fundamentals more---when teams play on larger rinks there is more space and time to make plays so skating and stick skills become more important and physical play goes down. NHL and AHL rinks there is less space to move around and players have less time to make plays and there is more physical play. The AHL develops players better for the NHL in the respect that schedules mimic NHL schedules...are longer and more condensed.....games are more rough and tumble and because there's not as much time and space players are forced to move the puck quicker. The Europeans leagues strengths as far as turning out NHL players comes from focusing on better skating, stick handling, passing and shooting skills.

Bingo, and it's where the stereotype of a soft or all-skill European player comes from. It's not that the players themselves are soft or that a particular country breeds soft players, the leagues themselves just emphasize a different style of play. Like looking at football in Brazil vs. Germany vs. Italy.

If Adam Edstrom was born in Saskatoon, they'd have tried to turn him into Matt Rempe. I don't say that as an insult to Rempe, it's just that Edstrom would be fighting from an early age (which you can't do in most European leagues) and chances are by the time he got to the AHL they'd be asking him to play a much more "generic" physical game.

Instead since Edstrom spent several years in the SHL you can see how while he's big and strong, he's not looking to hammer people, he doesn't really fight (the one the other night was his first), and he's more focused on cycling the puck and his small-area skills around the net.

 

[noncents]

Bingo, and it's where the stereotype of a soft or all-skill European player comes from. It's not that the players themselves are soft or that a particular country breeds soft players, the leagues themselves just emphasize a different style of play. Like looking at football in Brazil vs. Germany vs. Italy.

If Adam Edstrom was born in Saskatoon, they'd have tried to turn him into Matt Rempe. I don't say that as an insult to Rempe, it's just that Edstrom would be fighting from an early age (which you can't do in most European leagues) and chances are by the time he got to the AHL they'd be asking him to play a much more "generic" physical game.

Instead since Edstrom spent several years in the SHL you can see how while he's big and strong, he's not looking to hammer people, he doesn't really fight (the one the other night was his first), and he's more focused on cycling the puck and his small-area skills around the net.

he plays hockey

 

[eco's bones]

Bingo, and it's where the stereotype of a soft or all-skill European player comes from. It's not that the players themselves are soft or that a particular country breeds soft players, the leagues themselves just emphasize a different style of play. Like looking at football in Brazil vs. Germany vs. Italy.

If Adam Edstrom was born in Saskatoon, they'd have tried to turn him into Matt Rempe. I don't say that as an insult to Rempe, it's just that Edstrom would be fighting from an early age (which you can't do in most European leagues) and chances are by the time he got to the AHL they'd be asking him to play a much more "generic" physical game.

Instead since Edstrom spent several years in the SHL you can see how while he's big and strong, he's not looking to hammer people, he doesn't really fight (the one the other night was his first), and he's more focused on cycling the puck and his small-area skills around the net.

Still there are some very tough European players. Andreas Englund of the Kings is one. Radko Gudas has been a menace it seems for forever. Some of us will remember Tomas Kloucek. And you just don't sometimes---when Jeremy Lauzon--a noted tough guy took on Podkolzin (not noted for that at all) a couple weeks ago Lauzon got his ass handed to him. So this is more about generalities....not something that's scripted with no exception.

As far as guys who fight a lot goes......I think these days most coaches (even in North America) aren't trying to push players in that direction. They leave it up to the player. Some who are very large just don't want to do it at all. Others get their ass kicked once or twice and give up on the idea too. Also some players start down that road because they see teammates getting bullied and they become protector type players.