Let's rank all the competitive leagues

[SurMartin]

Can't remember the exact quotes but according to an interview with Oscar Lindberg who went from SHL -> AHL:

*The top players in the AHL are better than the top players in the SHL.
*The worst teams in AHL are worse than the worst teams in the SHL.
*Players in AHL are generally stronger while SHL focuses more on endurance.
*Hardest part about the AHL is the bus rides, it's like playing junior hockey.

 

[Atas2000]

I don't know if this is the right place to post this, but here goes. Please move it if it doesn't belong.

Rank all the competitive leagues in the world.

I tried to base it loosely on how different players have performed at various levels.
The top three are pretty much locks, but from there it gets harder.

My top 20 list:

#1 - NHL
#2 - KHL
#3 - AHL
#4 - NLA (Switzerland)
#5 - SHL (Sweden)
#6 - Liiga (Finland)
#7 - DEL (Germany)
#8 - Extraliga (Czech Republic)
#9 - ECHL
#10 - The CHL (OHL, QMJHL, WHL)
#11 - Allsvenskan (Sweden)
#12 - The Austrian Hockey League
#13 - NLB (Switzerland)
#14 - Get-Ligaen (Norway)
#15 - Metal Ligaen (Denmark)
#16 - Hockeyettan (Sweden)
#17 - Mestis (Finland)
#18 - USHL
#19 - EIHL (United Kingdom)
#20 - Ligue Magnus (France)

You shouldn't put junior leagues on that list.

I bet SHL is better than NLA and AHL. May swedish posters contribute more background to that thought. I think you overrate the NLA a bit. And the AHL should be somewhre at the level of NLA and Liiga.

You also left out the VHL which should be at the DEL/Extraliga level.

 

[Beville]

Having spoken to a fair few guys who have played EIHL...

They've all pinned comparisons to the ECHL.

However granted, these are mostly players now in their 30s.

 

[FiLe]

The AHL's status is extremely hard to determine, because its spectrum is just way wider than any other league in the world. The best players are NHL ready and the worst wouldn't break a single SHL/Liiga/NLA roster. At least none of the regular lineups.

 

[Keeptdos]

MY top list:
1. NHL
2. KHL (only the top teams, SHL, Liiga or NLA can beat average teams on any day.)
3. SHL (because of depth)
4. Liiga
5. NLA
6. Extraliga
7. AHL
8. EBEL (EBEL top teams would beat DEL top teams.)
9. DEL
10. Allsvenskan

This seems good to me, maybe put AHL 6th.

 

[Mr Kanadensisk]

The AHL's status is extremely hard to determine, because its spectrum is just way wider than any other league in the world. The best players are NHL ready and the worst wouldn't break a single SHL/Liiga/NLA roster. At least none of the regular lineups.

The large base of players that the AHL draws from makes the players pretty balanced from top to bottom. Where you get the wide variance in ability from the top players to the bottom are leagues like the KHL where some clubs are much richer than others and where import quotas exist.

 

[Mr Kanadensisk]

It really depends on what criteria each league is being ranked on. How good the top players are, or how good the average players are, small ice, big ice, etc, etc.

If we're talking top players then the KHL is definitely 2nd. If we're talking average then the AHL is on par with a number of the European leagues, including the KHL and Swiss leagues.

 

[Hanji]

My list:


1. NHL
2. KHL
3. SHL
4. Liiga
5. AHL

 

[Quarter]

Nottingham did better than Briançon in last years Champions Hockey League.
That's what I took into consideration since I have basically zero knowledge of the French or British league.

I know where you're coming from, but grading an entire league based solely on the performance of a single team isn't that effective.

 

[smitty10]

1. NHL
2. KHL
3. SHL
4. NLA
5. AHL
6. SM Liiga
7. Czech Extraliga
8. Allsvenskan
9. VHL
10. DEL
11. Slovak Extraliga
12. EBEL
13. ECHL
14. EIHL
15. French League

 

[Ryker]

MY top list:
1. NHL
2. KHL (only the top teams, SHL, Liiga or NLA can beat average teams on any day.)
3. SHL (because of depth)
4. Liiga
5. NLA
6. Extraliga
7. AHL
8. EBEL (EBEL top teams would beat DEL top teams.)
9. DEL
10. Allsvenskan

No way is EBEL better than the DEL.

 

[Ainec]

Looking at player production I have a hard time seeing AHL as anything but #3/#4

 

[Ukki]

1. NHL
2. KHL
3. SHL
4. Liiga
5. AHL
6. NLA

4-6 are obviously debatable, however I feel SHL is far superior to the leagues that I ranked below them. After these six I have no clue so I won't even bother trying to list them.

 

[Paxton Fettel]

I also think there could be made a mathematical formula based on the rankings if they are placed correctly.

Let's say a NHL player has a PPG of 1.0. I would expect that player to have increasingly higher PPG the further down the list we go.

Let's use Alex Ovechkin as an example.

NHL PPG 1.18
KHL PPG 1.29

That is roughly a 9 percent higher PPG in the KHL compared to NHL.
In other words, Ovie "should" get a PPG of 1,4 in the AHL and 1,53 in the NLA. I would say those numbers are realistic, and therefore this could be used to rank the leagues.

On the bottom, we could expect Ovie to put up 2,56 PPG in the OHL, whick still sounds reasonable.

Some leagues are more even than others, so the 9 percent increase would not be completely correct all the time, but instead, we could rather put leagues that are close to the same level in the same seeding groups with a determined percentage increase.

Your Ovechkin averages are wrong because KHL = RSL, and you forgot Ovy's RSL stats, where he never averaged 1 ppg...

 

[Jussi]

1. NHL
2. KHL
3. SHL
4. Liiga
5. AHL
6. NLA

4-6 are obviously debatable, however I feel SHL is far superior to the leagues that I ranked below them. After these six I have no clue so I won't even bother trying to list them.

I think the general concensus among hockey people in Europe is that the 3-5 are close with some things separating them:

SHL and NLA have the financial edge where as SHL and Liiga have the tactical edge.

 

[Mad Dog Tannen]

NHL

KHL/AHL

The rest

 

[Deutschland Dangler]

I don't see the DEL being better than the Extraliga.

 

[Rants Mulliniks]

Not on MY list, as you can see.

EDIT: How is it compared to CHL and NCAA? Where would you put it on the list?

I would rank CIS ahead of CHL and NCAA.

Most CIS players were CHL players but now in men's bodies. Put it this way: there are not many 100+ point CHL players yet those guys were riding pine for UNB last year in the playoffs.

 

[Ryker]

I don't see the DEL being better than the Extraliga.

I think they're pretty close, but personally I would put DEL ahead. I think that the Czech Extraliga has regressed or at least stagnated in the last years, and it's more the word "Czech" that still keeps it higher in the minds of people than the DEL.

 

[Hanji]

I would rank CIS ahead of CHL and NCAA.

Most CIS players were CHL players but now in men's bodies. Put it this way: there are not many 100+ point CHL players yet those guys were riding pine for UNB last year in the playoffs.

Two years ago CIS teams went 4-36-2 vs the NCAA in exhibitions. Not sure what their records was last year , but i doubt it was very different.
NCAA is better than CIS and CHL.

 

[Atas2000]

If we're talking average then the AHL is on par with a number of the European leagues, including the KHL and Swiss leagues.

The KHL is on par with the NHL if we're talking about average players.

 

[Atas2000]

MY top list:

2. KHL (only the top teams, SHL, Liiga or NLA can beat average teams on any day.)
n

They can certainly try. I think you have a very vague idea about the talent level difference beween those leagues.

 

[QnebO]

I don't know if this is the right place to post this, but here goes. Please move it if it doesn't belong.

Rank all the competitive leagues in the world.

I tried to base it loosely on how different players have performed at various levels.
The top three are pretty much locks, but from there it gets harder.

My top 20 list:

#1 - NHL
#2 - KHL
#3 - AHL
#4 - NLA (Switzerland)
#5 - SHL (Sweden)
#6 - Liiga (Finland)
#7 - DEL (Germany)
#8 - Extraliga (Czech Republic)
#9 - ECHL
#10 - The CHL (OHL, QMJHL, WHL)
#11 - Allsvenskan (Sweden)
#12 - The Austrian Hockey League
#13 - NLB (Switzerland)
#14 - Get-Ligaen (Norway)
#15 - Metal Ligaen (Denmark)
#16 - Hockeyettan (Sweden)
#17 - Mestis (Finland)
#18 - USHL
#19 - EIHL (United Kingdom)
#20 - Ligue Magnus (France)

Sorry to say it straight but you're not the brightest one when it comes to ranking leagues. AHL third? No way

Tappara just beat SC Bern from NLA 7-0, Bern having the home game. Every time Swedish and Finnish teams do the best in CHL ect tournaments.

Your list would be almost a "who pays the best" list of leagues, which would make kinda sense, usually you get best roster with money, unless the list had AHL as 3rd

 

[The Noot]

Sorry to say it straight but you're not the brightest one when it comes to ranking leagues. AHL third? No way

Tappara just beat SC Bern from NLA 7-0, Bern having the home game. Every time Swedish and Finnish teams do the best in CHL ect tournaments.

Your list would be almost a "who pays the best" list of leagues, which would make kinda sense, usually you get best roster with money, unless the list had AHL as 3rd

You might want to get your facts straight if you ridicule other posters. They beat Zug 7-0, not Bern.

And Davos beat Färjestads BK 4-0. This obviously means that the NLA is better than the SHL, amirite?

And as for "every time Swedish and Finnish teams do the best in CHL etc tournaments": https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Victoria_Cup

 

[QnebO]

You might want to get your facts straight if you ridicule other posters. They beat Zug 7-0, not Bern.

And Davos beat Färjestads BK 4-0. This obviously means that the NLA is better than the SHL, amirite?

And as for "every time Swedish and Finnish teams do the best in CHL etc tournaments": https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Victoria_Cup

I know Swiss team won it then, still sel and fel teams have been strongest there at ET and CHL. Order of european leagues is not that clear, AHL clearly is not that good. And I'm trying to ridicule him.