Let's rank all the competitive leagues

[Rants Mulliniks]

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.

Admitedly, I'm spoiled due to the fact the team I most closely follow is either the best or second best team in the country and probably plays in the top conference in the country. There can be quite a discrepancy in talent in the CIS. Those top teams usually fair quite well against NCAA, to the point NCAA seems to shy away from visiting them.

 

[Jablkon]

Slovan Bratislava was also quite succesfull against NHL teams which does not say anything about quality of slovak league....

Sallary rating would be interesting. Czech teams have obviously much lower budget compare to DEL teams. However I do think that some clubs can offer similar money as swedish and finnish clubs - just my feeling. Unfortunately there is no source to evaluate it.

Here is my rating just based on my feelings. To be honest, except some KHL and CHL matches, I didi not watch any match from european leagues outside CZ. Pretty ignorant thoug...

1. NHL .......
2. KHL - Its damn good league. I watched it! And most of the best europeans strive to play there...
3. SHL - its an NHL source, isn't it? All that great reputation behind the sea and everywhere. And they dominate CHL!
4. Liiga - They dont have that great PR as SHL but they are fast! And czech teams struggle less against them than against SHL so they must be 4.
5. NLA - everybody says it is good and rich league so it must be... And there is that young NA guy comming to play there! What a kick to the ass to all that junior system.
6. Extraliga - we are sixth and still bit old. I just feel we will be good soon (or later)!
7.DEL - you guys need better stickhandling to be ahead of CZ league!
7. EBEL - best teams are strong, rest are interesting. I would never think that Fehervar is easier to pronounce than EHC LIWEST BLACK WINGS LINZ!
9. Slovak - I would put you higher brothers, but you said your league struggles and I dont have any evidence to prove opposite except great memories! But common you can be at least same as EBEL.
10. Norway? That Thor hammer teams in CHL still immpress me
11. Denmark?
12. France - I watched Grenoble against Litvinov and they were better than I thought. All that less known teams are actually better than I thought.
13. UK? They are in CHL....and they have great introducing vids!
14. Italy? they would be in CHL if they were that good?
15. Poland - still hearing how they want to make step up and still dont see it....

AHL - the best position ever. letting NHL paid professionals to choose the best from 1 to 12 to play there for no money. Fast, determined, competitive, great league IMO.

 

[Primary Assist]

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

Not even close. A guy like Kevin Dallman couldn't stick in the NHL but he becomes one of the best defensemen in the league in the KHL. Take a 3rd/4th liner or a bottom pairing defenseman from a below average KHL team and they'd be completely overmatched in the NHL. We see it every year where some player decides to defect from the KHL to pursue his childhood dream in the NHL, and every year the player fails to do so.

 

[Falling Snow]

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

In my opinion the diffrence to SWE, FIN, SUI is not that Big. In FACT. there is no Prove that the KHL is that much stronger then other european top leauges -> top teams (!), the only serious competition was the champions league 2009 with the result that the ZSC Lions (NLA) win the final against Metallurg Magnitogorsk (2:2 and 5:0). I think when it comes to a series the KHL top teams would win, but in one game everything is possible.
And Teams like Amur Chabarowsk , Medvescak Zagreb, HK Witjas, Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod and so on would lose also in a series against teams like Skellefteå AIK, Växjö , Luleå HF, Davos, ZSC, Oulun Kärpät. But its all speculative.

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

I think you have a very vague idea about the talent level difference beween those leagues, its time that you start watching hockey outside of KHL

 

[Zine]

Seriously? The top KHL teams could easily compete at NHL level, but the rest of the league wouldn't fare well at all.

 

[Mr Kanadensisk]

Seriously? The top KHL teams could easily compete at NHL level, but the rest of the league wouldn't fare well at all.

Even the best KHL team would finish dead last if they played a season in the NHL right now, the talent gap is massive. Perhaps if you assembled all the best KHLers on one NHL team they could be somewhere in the bottom 1/2 of the NHL standings, but that's it I'm afraid.

 

[Mr Kanadensisk]

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

nice one

 

[roflstomper]

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

I think if you polled people with actual knowledge you;d come to the conclusion that yes the AHL is the third best league in the world next to the NHL and KHL.

 

[Ryker]

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

Ridiculous. People sometimes accuse me of making statements in the vein of "all that is KHL is good", but not even I would claim something like this.

 

[Ryker]

I think if you polled people with actual knowledge you;d come to the conclusion that yes the AHL is the third best league in the world next to the NHL and KHL.

Care to back that up?

 

[Atas2000]

Not even close. A guy like Kevin Dallman couldn't stick in the NHL but he becomes one of the best defensemen in the league in the KHL. Take a 3rd/4th liner or a bottom pairing defenseman from a below average KHL team and they'd be completely overmatched in the NHL.

Repeating Dallmann's name won't get you to promised land. There are perfect single examples to "prove" exactly the opposite. If you think that bottom six, bottom pairing NHLers many of whom can't skate or hit the goal would be better than the same filler players in the KHL you just don't know the KHL obviously. The whole superiority of the NHL is the star players on the top lines and better starting goaltenders.

We see it every year where some player decides to defect from the KHL to pursue his childhood dream in the NHL, and every year the player fails to do so.

I don't see it. Maybe we're watcing different NHLs. Especially your lovely north american "defect" term is so telling.

 

[Atas2000]

And Teams like Amur Chabarowsk , Medvescak Zagreb, HK Witjas, Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod and so on would lose also in a series against teams like Skellefteå AIK, Växjö , Luleå HF, Davos, ZSC, Oulun Kärpät. But its all speculative.

The fact that you put Amur, Medvescak, Torpedo and Vityaz in the same line is proof enough that you don't have the slightest idea about the KHL.

I think you have a very vague idea about the talent level difference beween those leagues, its time that you start watching hockey outside of KHL

I do watch a lot of hockey. I doubt you do after reading your post.

 

[Atas2000]

Ridiculous. People sometimes accuse me of making statements in the vein of "all that is KHL is good", but not even I would claim something like this.

You should stop thinking "2 legs bad" and really invest some thought into what exactly I wrote.

 

[Jakk123]

Slovan Bratislava was also quite succesfull against NHL teams which does not say anything about quality of slovak league....

Sallary rating would be interesting. Czech teams have obviously much lower budget compare to DEL teams. However I do think that some clubs can offer similar money as swedish and finnish clubs - just my feeling. Unfortunately there is no source to evaluate it.

Here is my rating just based on my feelings. To be honest, except some KHL and CHL matches, I didi not watch any match from european leagues outside CZ. Pretty ignorant thoug...

1. NHL .......
2. KHL - Its damn good league. I watched it! And most of the best europeans strive to play there...
3. SHL - its an NHL source, isn't it? All that great reputation behind the sea and everywhere. And they dominate CHL!
4. Liiga - They dont have that great PR as SHL but they are fast! And czech teams struggle less against them than against SHL so they must be 4.
5. NLA - everybody says it is good and rich league so it must be... And there is that young NA guy comming to play there! What a kick to the ass to all that junior system.
6. Extraliga - we are sixth and still bit old. I just feel we will be good soon (or later)!
7.DEL - you guys need better stickhandling to be ahead of CZ league!
7. EBEL - best teams are strong, rest are interesting. I would never think that Fehervar is easier to pronounce than EHC LIWEST BLACK WINGS LINZ!
9. Slovak - I would put you higher brothers, but you said your league struggles and I dont have any evidence to prove opposite except great memories! But common you can be at least same as EBEL.
10. Norway? That Thor hammer teams in CHL still immpress me
11. Denmark?
12. France - I watched Grenoble against Litvinov and they were better than I thought. All that less known teams are actually better than I thought.
13. UK? They are in CHL....and they have great introducing vids!
14. Italy? they would be in CHL if they were that good?
15. Poland - still hearing how they want to make step up and still dont see it....

AHL - the best position ever. letting NHL paid professionals to choose the best from 1 to 12 to play there for no money. Fast, determined, competitive, great league IMO.

This is the most accurate ranking IMO. However, I don't think you can just "rank" those leagues that easily. There are lots of teams with lots of players, way too complicated to just rank them. The same applies to the ranking of individual players. I think it's pretty clear that NHL and KHL are the top 2 leagues, but later it gets a bit more even.

With that being said, if I was to create a ranking, I would probably go with the same ranking as Jablkon did.

 

[SwissLeaf]

I saw many NHL, NLA and a few AHL and SHL games.

NHL is the best by far, then comes the KHL (because of the top teams), then the SHL (because of the depth), then NLA and Liiga (top teams in Switzerland are probably better, but the bottom teams are better in Finland) and the AHL is definitely not better than the three European leagues.

My ranking is as follows:
#1 - NHL
#2 - KHL
#3 - SHL (Sweden)
#4 - NLA (Switzerland) / Liiga (Finland)
#5 - AHL

 

[lakers11]

This is the most accurate ranking IMO. However, I don't think you can just "rank" those leagues that easily. There are lots of teams with lots of players, way too complicated to just rank them. The same applies to the ranking of individual players. I think it's pretty clear that NHL and KHL are the top 2 leagues, but later it gets a bit more even.

With that being said, if I was to create a ranking, I would probably go with the same ranking as Jablkon did.

Hockeyallsvenskan should be no8 on that list then, because its better than the slovak league

 

[ZT]

Hockeyallsvenskan should be no8 on that list then, because its better than the slovak league

What about VHL ?

 

[lakers11]

What about VHL ?

Between Norweigan and Slovakian league

 

[montreal]

what about ranking the leagues on the same level? One for mens, one for minors and 2nd men's leagues, and one for junior leagues.

1. Top men's leagues- NHL, KHL, SHL, etc...

2. Top minor/2nd men's leagues- AHL, allsvenskan, VHL, etc...

3. Top junior leagues- CHL, USHL, MHL, Sweden's J-20, etc...


As an FYI, I watch a lot of NHL, AHL, NCAA, CHL (more QMJHL), SHL, Czech Elite league games. In the past I have watched some KHL, Finnish Elite games, ECHL, USHS.

 

[JackSlater]

Repeating Dallmann's name won't get you to promised land. There are perfect single examples to "prove" exactly the opposite. If you think that bottom six, bottom pairing NHLers many of whom can't skate or hit the goal would be better than the same filler players in the KHL you just don't know the KHL obviously. The whole superiority of the NHL is the star players on the top lines and better starting goaltenders.



I don't see it. Maybe we're watcing different NHLs. Especially your lovely north american "defect" term is so telling.

If the average KHL player is basically equivalent to the average NHL playe, why do top KHL defencemen look so terrible when they come to the NHL and when they decent players in international competition?

 

[Ryker]

You should stop thinking "2 legs bad" and really invest some thought into what exactly I wrote.

I think it's you who needs to stop thinking "4 legs good" and maybe provide some justification for your statement. Who are those average NHLers and KHLers that are comparable?

Mursak and Da Costa, who were below average NHLers and are now one of the top stars on one of the best teams in the KHL? Daugavins, who was an average NHLer at best (in fact, it'd be a stretch to call him that), and who was the top scorer on also one of the best teams in the KHL? Gustafsson, a below-average NHL defenseman, who was a KHL all-star? Komarov, who was a KHL star, and is now an average NHL player? Tim Brent, an important part of Metallurg Magnitorsk, who was now signed to serve as a veteran leader in the AHL and a borderline NHL call-up?

 

[Mr Kanadensisk]

It is very difficult to assess players and leagues without seeing them compete together. The best measure is on average how players perform who transfer between leagues. The 2013-14 Medvescak team is a pretty good basis for comparison between the AHL and KHL. They were a brand new team, entirely comprised of players who would be in the AHL if they were playing in North America and they placed 11th out of 28 teams that regular season. Furthermore I'm confident that if the KHL played on NA sized rinks for the whole season that Medvescak would have finished even higher.

It's also pretty easy to look at the top scorers in the KHL in recent years and see that the list is full of guys who would be in the AHL if playing in NA. It's true that in many cases players make more in the KHL than the AHL. However keep in mind that players will play for less in the AHL because they feel it improves their chances of making the NHL. Also many foreigners don't perceive Russia to be a great place to live, contracts are easily cancelled, etc, so they have to overpay to get a lot of guys to go over there.

If you crunch the numbers and look at the participation levels in hockey around the world, and the relative size of the pool of players feeding each league then it is easily seen why the AHL on average is on par in terms of talent with the KHL and other Euro leagues. I have nothing against the KHL but to say it is somehow head and shoulders better than the AHL just isn't true.

 

[Fragmuffin]

It is very difficult to assess players and leagues without seeing them compete together. The best measure is on average how players perform who transfer between leagues. The 2013-14 Medvescak team is a pretty good basis for comparison between the AHL and KHL. They were a brand new team, entirely comprised of players who would be in the AHL if they were playing in North America and they placed 11th out of 28 teams that regular season. Furthermore I'm confident that if the KHL played on NA sized rinks for the whole season that Medvescak would have finished even higher.

It's also pretty easy to look at the top scorers in the KHL in recent years and see that the list is full of guys who would be in the AHL if playing in NA. It's true that in many cases players make more in the KHL than the AHL. However keep in mind that players will play for less in the AHL because they feel it improves their chances of making the NHL. Also many foreigners don't perceive Russia to be a great place to live, contracts are easily cancelled, etc, so they have to overpay to get a lot of guys to go over there.

If you crunch the numbers and look at the participation levels in hockey around the world, and the relative size of the pool of players feeding each league then it is easily seen why the AHL on average is on par in terms of talent with the KHL and other Euro leagues. I have nothing against the KHL but to say it is somehow head and shoulders better than the AHL just isn't true.

Yeah, but Medvescak's team in 14/15 was bottom 4 with top AHL "talent" like Krog, Hydar, St. Pierre, Pelletier or NHL/AHL tweeners Stweart, Palushay, Wright.
Apart for CHeechoo, our best players in 13-14 were North Americans with a lot more experience playing in the top European leagues.

I'm not saying this to prove the exact opposite of what you are saying. Im bringing it up just to point out that Medvescak's success/lack thereof should not be taken as an accurate measurement.

My rakning is as follows;

NHL
KHL
Elitserien
Liiga (i had NLA 4th, but the Finns and Swedes are just owning the CHL right now)
NLA
AHL
Extraliga (CZE)
DEL
Allsvenskan
EBEL
NLB
DEL2
Extraliga (SVK)
Mestis
Get Ligaen
LIgue Magnus
Metal Ligaen
Serie A
ECHL
EIHL

No idea where to put VHL

 

[Mr Kanadensisk]

Yeah, but Medvescak's team in 14/15 was bottom 4 with top AHL "talent" like Krog, Hydar, St. Pierre, Pelletier or NHL/AHL tweeners Stweart, Palushay, Wright.
Apart for CHeechoo, our best players in 13-14 were North Americans with a lot more experience playing in the top European leagues.

I'm not saying this to prove the exact opposite of what you are saying. Im bringing it up just to point out that Medvescak's success/lack thereof should not be taken as an accurate measurement.

That depends if on whether we want to have a factual discussion or an emotional one. Some of the players you listed barely even played for Medv and of course we should look at evidence when making these lists, otherwise they are just random BS. Also if a player once played in the NHL, but is no longer good enough to play in the NHL it doesn't make them "NHL tweeners". Stewart came to the KHL from the AHL, not the NHL, as did Palushaj, who will likely be playing in the AHL again this season.

 

[Fragmuffin]

That depends if on whether we want to have a factual discussion or an emotional one. Some of the players you listed barely even played for Medv and of course we should look at evidence when making these lists, otherwise they are just random BS. Also if a player once played in the NHL, but is no longer good enough to play in the NHL it doesn't make them "NHL tweeners". Stewart came to the KHL from the AHL, not the NHL, as did Palushaj, who will likely be playing in the AHL again this season.

Sure... Krog, Haydar and Stewart were soon sent packing because they simply weren't KHL quality.
As for Palushaj, he was a tweener in just about every season from 10/11 till 13/14.

Bottom line is, you can't really judge leagues based on point production of certain players. Some fit in, some don't, some arrive to a certain club at the right time some don't etc.

Check out Evander Kane's KHL stats btw.