NAHL skill level

[Hockeyfan44]

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[JMCx4]

Hopefully one or both of @kij and @Barclay Donaldson will pop their heads in to this forum in the next couple of days, and offer some advice. Good luck.

ETA: Oh, yeah, and the @mk80 dude is pretty smart on this stuff, too.

 

[JMCx4]

(Post removed)

 

[mk80]

I have received an offer to play in the NAHL next season and I'm curious as to what the skill level is like compared to Canadian Junior League's. I know that the NAHL is considered Teir II Junior. So does that equate to Jr. B skill wise? Or is it closer to Canadian Jr. A? Or does it go the other way and is just dog shit?
Any understanding anyone can give me on this would be extremely helpful.
Thanks

The NAHL is a high quality junior league second only to the USHL in the US. It is on par at least with most of the Canadian junior A leagues. It is scouted heavily by both NCAA DI & DIII coaches, along with NHL scouts.

 

[Barclay Donaldson]

I have received an offer to play in the NAHL next season and I'm curious as to what the skill level is like compared to Canadian Junior League's. I know that the NAHL is considered Teir II Junior. So does that equate to Jr. B skill wise? Or is it closer to Canadian Jr. A? Or does it go the other way and is just dog shit?
Any understanding anyone can give me on this would be extremely helpful.
Thanks

If you have a solid offer to play in the NAHL, take it. The NAHL is superior to every single Canadian Junior A league except for the BCHL when taking into account franchise stability, college advancements, and quality of play.

If you want to understand and compare American and Canadian juniors, then good luck to you.

Short answer is the NAHL/Tier II is the equivalent of Junior A. Think of it as Major Junior is equated to the Tier I/USHL, Junior A is equated to Tier II/NAHL, and Junior B is equated to Tier III. Comparing them beyond that will require a lot of explaining since the Canadian tier system is based on quality of play and American is based on financial system.

 

[kij]

Just going to add that the NAHL is still free to play (player pays billet fee), whereas much of Canadian Jr. A has moved to charging some tuition in addition to billet fees. To my knowledge, only the AJHL and SJHL have managed to stay free to play in Canada. The rest has been answered pretty well already by our friends.

The big thing to consider is your goal. Do you want to go to a college in America? It is much easier for NCAA schools to scout you in the NAHL than if you're in Canada. Want to make Canadian major junior? Canadian Jr A might be the better route. Honestly, the NAHL, BCHL, and then parts of the OJHL and AJHL are all pretty equivalent and will be able to get you where you want to go. The rest of Canadian Jr A is still good, but more variance and a little more specific goals in mind (QJAAAHL is almost exclusively trying to send guys to the QMJHL for example).

It would be helpful if you were a little more specific in your question as well, but between those of us who have commented, we can answer the majority of questions you may have about junior hockey (I personally ran the gauntlet of junior hockey in the recent past, it is very confusing).

 

[mk80]

The big thing to consider is your goal. Do you want to go to a college in America? It is much easier for NCAA schools to scout you in the NAHL than if you're in Canada. Want to make Canadian major junior? Canadian Jr A might be the better route. Honestly, the NAHL, BCHL, and then parts of the OJHL and AJHL are all pretty equivalent and will be able to get you where you want to go. The rest of Canadian Jr A is still good, but more variance and a little more specific goals in mind (QJAAAHL is almost exclusively trying to send guys to the QMJHL for example).

This might be one of the most important points in the thread. We can tell you the comparisons between the leagues and what they can offer. But in the end pick the best path to accomplish your own goals and where you feel the right fit is for yourself.

 

[PCSPounder]

In the recent past, the BCHL was supposedly heavily recruited by colleges because it wasn’t considered pro by the NCAA and had that marriage of Canadian talent and access to large west coast populations that wouldn’t necessarily be scouted back east otherwise. Things have probably moved quickly since, the BCHL hasn’t really profited from that, and now add pandemic border restrictions and things probably have changed and will change further.

But I need to say something as a soccer fan.

There seems to be an under-spoken mantra coming out of the NHL that says “wherever you go as a prospect, we will find you.” I don’t know if that applies to every Saskatchewan pond hockey prospect, but at least it’s semi-reassuring. Of course it could also be enabling all sorts of unsavory activity at various levels of junior, but it’s a fair sort of mission statement for the overall process. Meanwhile, as USA men’s soccer has once again failed to qualify for the Olympics, the turf wars light up all over again, favoritism of one’s chosen path is rampant, MLS has its own path that seems to work in Dallas for FCD and in LA for Mexican clubs while other organizations can hardly manage... and all sorts of et cetera. I won’t necessarily say that I envy what’s going on with junior hockey, but at least if a parent or player is paying attention to details, there’s no reason not to have a good experience.

 

[GrizzGreen]

There seems to be an under-spoken mantra coming out of the NHL that says “wherever you go as a prospect, we will find you.”

Daniel Walcott (Daniel Walcott at eliteprospects.com) is a good example of this. Played IL high school hockey, then ACHA, made the Q on a tryout, and will probably play at least a few games in the NHL (signed by Tampa).

I will say a lot of being a hockey parent is ensuring you're not getting bogged down with countless "showcase" camps that are really just money grabbers feeding on lower tier junior players looking for exposure that just really isn't there.

 

[JMCx4]

[Comment withdrawn]

 

[CrazyEddie20]

In the recent past, the BCHL was supposedly heavily recruited by colleges because it wasn’t considered pro by the NCAA and had that marriage of Canadian talent and access to large west coast populations that wouldn’t necessarily be scouted back east otherwise. Things have probably moved quickly since, the BCHL hasn’t really profited from that, and now add pandemic border restrictions and things probably have changed and will change further.

...

There seems to be an under-spoken mantra coming out of the NHL that says “wherever you go as a prospect, we will find you.” I don’t know if that applies to every Saskatchewan pond hockey prospect, but at least it’s semi-reassuring.

Correct about the BCHL - no stipend like Major Junior, thus, it's not 'professional' under the NCAA rules.

Years ago, a scout for a team in the National League (baseball) told me, "There are no secrets in scouting. If you're good, we'll find you. Once one of us has found you, someone else will, too." That's largely true in hockey, as well - except, perhaps, for the Sabres, since they seem to have no scouting department at present. In the case of Walcott, someone from the Q knew who he was when he was at New Trier. It worked out well for them that he ended up at Lindenwood, where he wouldn't be spotted by other scouts, thus they could convince him to come try out. Once he got to Blainville-Boisbriand, other scouts caught on.

Bottom line: if your kid is talented, he'll get scouted. If he's not, well, sorry. Someone has to drive those big rigs.

 

[JMCx4]

... Bottom line: if your kid is talented, he'll get scouted. If he's not, well, sorry. Someone has to drive those big rigs.

Or be an HFBoards poster.

 

[kij]

Or be an HFBoards poster.

This hits very close to home for me, my friend.

 

[JMCx4]

This hits very close to home for me, my friend.

Well the good news is, according to @CrazyEddie20, you'll always have over-the-road trucking to fall back on.

 

[CrazyEddie20]

Well the good news is, according to @CrazyEddie20, you'll always have over-the-road trucking to fall back on.

Judge Smails would remind you that "the world needs ditch diggers, too."

 

[JMCx4]

Judge Smails would remind you that "the world needs ditch diggers, too."

He also said:
"It's easy to grin
When your ship comes in,
And you've got the stock market beat.
But the man worthwhile
Is the man who can smile
When his shorts are too tight in the seat."