Goon Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 I really don't follow Junior hockey but is the BCHL, AJHL and the USHL pretty much the same as far as quality goes? I honestly don't know, it seems the Sioux are getting away from the BCHL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big A HG Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 I really don't follow Junior hockey but is the BCHL, AJHL and the USHL pretty much the same as far as quality goes? I honestly don't know, it seems the Sioux are getting away from the BCHL. This whole AJHL is going to make or break the Sioux in the coming years. If these aren't as good as the coaches think as a whole, we could be hurting seriously. It'd be nice to bring in a wider variety to see where each league is standing. We will see! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Schwartz Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 I really don't follow Junior hockey but is the BCHL, AJHL and the USHL pretty much the same as far as quality goes? I honestly don't know, it seems the Sioux are getting away from the BCHL. No, they aren't the same, but top end kids in each of those leagues are pretty interchangeable. Overall the quality of the leagues is so similar that I don't think it matters. USHL is probably a bit ahead of both of those leagues in terms of overall talent. Canadian kids are forced to play in their hometown leagues so the talent level in each league is going to vary depending on the quality of players in that age level. Most years the BCHL is slightly above the AJHL but It's hard to judge. The Canadian leagues are usually a lot more high scoring than the USHL or NAHL. USHL>BCHL/AJHL>NAHL/OJHL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UND-1 Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 If he broke the fibula to the extent that it looked and add the possibility that the tibia may have also fractured, he is looking at around 6 months before he even starts walking on his own. There is a chance he could be ready to go for next year, but it depends on how bad the break(s) are and where they occurred. If they have to put in pins and plates, it could be a long road back. That injury has happened a few times around here in the past and those athletes were walking with a limp about 1-2 months later. He should be fine by next October. That injury is 10x easier to recover from than blowing out your knee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
summy1977 Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Sorry: http://ajhl.ca/news/2009/02/18/oilers-pres...o-north-dakota/ From other articles I could find it seems he is definately a strong power forward that will play a lot like Darcy Zajac does now. Not necessarily lighting the lamp but a very good forecheck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goon Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 No, they aren't the same, but top end kids in each of those leagues are pretty interchangeable. Overall the quality of the leagues is so similar that I don't think it matters. USHL is probably a bit ahead of both of those leagues in terms of overall talent. Canadian kids are forced to play in their hometown leagues so the talent level in each league is going to vary depending on the quality of players in that age level. Most years the BCHL is slightly above the AJHL but It's hard to judge. The Canadian leagues are usually a lot more high scoring than the USHL or NAHL. USHL>BCHL/AJHL>NAHL/OJHL That is what I was wondering because I know UND has a lot of High end talent from the USHL next season but it appears that they may have done well with B.E. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZSIOUX Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 This whole AJHL is going to make or break the Sioux in the coming years. If these aren't as good as the coaches think as a whole, we could be hurting seriously. It'd be nice to bring in a wider variety to see where each league is standing. We will see! true. they have filtered away from the bchl as of now overall. ill add him to the commited list Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sprig Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 This whole AJHL is going to make or break the Sioux in the coming years. If these aren't as good as the coaches think as a whole, we could be hurting seriously. It'd be nice to bring in a wider variety to see where each league is standing. We will see! The best players are the best players. The best of the early 80s teams came from the SJHL, and mostly from one team (Notre Dame). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big A HG Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 The best players are the best players. The best of the early 80s teams came from the SJHL, and mostly from one team (Notre Dame). That's true, and I'm not saying these guys aren't going to be good, but what happens if the league as a whole is overrated, and we totally flop because we have so many of these AJHL recruits. The best players are spread from coast to coast. It's not possible to get them all, or even feasible to try, but we've had a good mix of players from all leagues the previous years, and despite not winning the title, we've gotten awfully close. I'd just hate to get watered down in a league where we're not recruiting against many other schools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AltaSioux Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 No, they aren't the same, but top end kids in each of those leagues are pretty interchangeable. Overall the quality of the leagues is so similar that I don't think it matters. USHL is probably a bit ahead of both of those leagues in terms of overall talent. Canadian kids are forced to play in their hometown leagues so the talent level in each league is going to vary depending on the quality of players in that age level. Most years the BCHL is slightly above the AJHL but It's hard to judge. The Canadian leagues are usually a lot more high scoring than the USHL or NAHL. USHL>BCHL/AJHL>NAHL/OJHL You're definitely right when you say its hard to judge. You will hear very broad generalizations made about both the BCHL and the AJHL (just as you hear them about the WCHA and Hockey East). Some say that the skill level is higher in the BCHL and that the AJHL is a more physical league. Try telling that to Joe Colborne and Brett Hextall. Its like saying that the WCHA players aren't as skilled as Hockey East and that HE players aren't as tough as WCHA. You're correct when you say that the top end kids (the ones that get scholarships) are interchangeable. You're not correct when you say that the kids are forced to play in their hometown leagues. There are players from across Canada (and the U.S) in both leagues. For what its worth, the AJHL champion has prevailed over the BCHL champion in the Doyle Cup over the last few years. Again, for what its worth, I thought the AJ players on Team Canada West generally performed better than the BC players at the last World Junior A Challenge in November. As for comparisons to the USHL are concerned, I have only seen players from that league at the last two World Junior A Challenge tournaments. I wasn't that impressed in 2007 but sure was last year (in particular with Kristo, Cichy and Mike Lee). Regardless of the league these recruits come from, what truly counts is how well they will do when they put the Fighting Sioux uniform on. Judging from what I've seen at the rink and what I've read on this site, I'm very impressed with the crop of recruits that UND has assembled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZSIOUX Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 future recruits as of now - basically the ajhl players seem to be replacing the bchl players that we have had and have. we have zero bchl guys coming in as of now. 2 - HS 1 - NTDPU18 6 - USHL 5 - AJHL 2 - MIDGET Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siouxhockeyfan11 Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 That's true, and I'm not saying these guys aren't going to be good, but what happens if the league as a whole is overrated, and we totally flop because we have so many of these AJHL recruits. The best players are spread from coast to coast. It's not possible to get them all, or even feasible to try, but we've had a good mix of players from all leagues the previous years, and despite not winning the title, we've gotten awfully close. I'd just hate to get watered down in a league where we're not recruiting against many other schools. Matt Frattin came from the AJHL also Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big A HG Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Matt Frattin came from the AJHL also Like I said, it was a mix of recruits. Didn't Matt absolutely tear it up there? It took him a full season to get rolling, and has still been inconsistent. So, assuming the top players are similar to Matt, and the second-tier players are just that, what are we gaining? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siouxhockeyfan11 Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Like I said, it was a mix of recruits. Didn't Matt absolutely tear it up there? It took him a full season to get rolling, and has still been inconsistent. So, assuming the top players are similar to Matt, and the second-tier players are just that, what are we gaining? Personally I think Frattin is a great hockey player and next year he'll tear up the stat sheets. Right now he is one of our top goal scorers and he'll be one of the leaders next year. As others have said the top players in each league are close in comparison and if we're getting the top players I dont care what league they are from as long as they come in and produce. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nodak hockey fanatic Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Like I said, it was a mix of recruits. Didn't Matt absolutely tear it up there? It took him a full season to get rolling, and has still been inconsistent. So, assuming the top players are similar to Matt, and the second-tier players are just that, what are we gaining? i guess you just trust the coaches know what they are doing. like someone stated, there are top notch players in the bchl, ajhl, and ushl. what's the reason there are no current bchl recruits and so many ajhl? no knowing that, but it seems to me that our coaches know talent, reguardless of league. imo, the ushl better prepares the younger players on both ends of the ice, whereas the canadian leagues are much more offensive, but good players adjust to their league and rise to the top. not many step into the wcha as a frosh (especially the first half) and make an immediate impact, although murray, parise, stafford, osh, toews and duncs seem to have bucked the trend lately. usually by the second half of the freshman year you can tell if the player is adjusting to the size and speed of the game (i thought trupp and frats came on late last season), and our freshman class this year has adjusted very well. lets hope the trend of incoming classes continues to be this good. all this being said, i think it takes MINIMUM one year for a dman to adjust in the wcha. i think marto has improved immensely over the past year and a half, as lapoint was starting to before his unfortunate accident. we will be young next season on the blueline, i hope chay sticks around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choyt3 Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Like I said, it was a mix of recruits. Didn't Matt absolutely tear it up there? It took him a full season to get rolling, and has still been inconsistent. So, assuming the top players are similar to Matt, and the second-tier players are just that, what are we gaining? nothing. Probably time to turn in the tickets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USA Hockey Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 That's true, and I'm not saying these guys aren't going to be good, but what happens if the league as a whole is overrated, and we totally flop because we have so many of these AJHL recruits. The best players are spread from coast to coast. It's not possible to get them all, or even feasible to try, but we've had a good mix of players from all leagues the previous years, and despite not winning the title, we've gotten awfully close. I'd just hate to get watered down in a league where we're not recruiting against many other schools. I trust the coaches. They scout talent across the board all over North America and they can evaluate which players are the best fit for the program. We still have a good amount of talent from different areas including the USHL (where I think the majority of our already committed players are from), NTDP, High School, and AAA's. I don't have the access to watch Canadian recruits, but what I would assume is that this is a better crop out of the AJHL compared to the BCHL whereas three or four years ago it might have been vice versa. Also, college hockey recruit exchange posted a good presentation of the American Development Model proposed by USA Hockey, he also has the current model farther down. What's most interesting is the development of the High Performance Club League. Here is the link, http://collegehockeyrecruitexchange.blogsp...ment-model.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trunk Monkey Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 Is the Shattuck pipeline done? Was that more of a Blais recruiting ground or is it just a matter of time before we see some Shattuck players wearing the Sioux uniform? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZSIOUX Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 Is the Shattuck pipeline done? Was that more of a Blais recruiting ground or is it just a matter of time before we see some Shattuck players wearing the Sioux uniform? pretty much right now. they seemed to have switched their own recruiting at shattuck with different types of players now. jp parise left as well so thats gona effect the way they run everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZSIOUX Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 i dont care where recruits come from. we have a heck of a mix overall which is nice and expecially in the future with a couple states we havent recruited kids from in the past in missouri, mass and pennsylvania i believe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trunk Monkey Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 pretty much right now. they seemed to have switched their own recruiting at shattuck with different types of players now. jp parise left as well so thats gona effect the way they run everything. Thanks, I forgot JP left. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USA Hockey Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 Is the Shattuck pipeline done? Was that more of a Blais recruiting ground or is it just a matter of time before we see some Shattuck players wearing the Sioux uniform? We brought in two players this year from Shattuck and will bring in one next year. This year's Shattuck team isn't near as good as in past years and weren't losing any ground by not bringing in those players. Recently they haven't had the Parise, Stafford, Toews type players that they used to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwing77 Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 We brought in two players this year from Shattuck and will bring in one next year. This year's Shattuck team isn't near as good as in past years and weren't losing any ground by not bringing in those players. Recently they haven't had the Parise, Stafford, Toews type players that they used to. Another factor is the economy. I'm told that SSM isn't cheap. Hockey is already an expensive sport. So, if the program offers a similar quality program or at least commitment towards quality at a lesser price, there are going to be plenty of talent that goes a different direction. This results in the big name recruits heading in different directions. The wealthier players will still end up there anyways and SSM and programs like it won't be totally devoid of talent, but I think it is becoming just as likely for a good Midget AAA or U18 program (Tier I juniors, High School, whatever) to have or even keep that talent rather than going to the top private hockey schools. I don't know for sure though, just my wild hunch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagies Posted February 19, 2009 Author Share Posted February 19, 2009 That's true, and I'm not saying these guys aren't going to be good, but what happens if the league as a whole is overrated, and we totally flop because we have so many of these AJHL recruits. The best players are spread from coast to coast. It's not possible to get them all, or even feasible to try, but we've had a good mix of players from all leagues the previous years, and despite not winning the title, we've gotten awfully close. I'd just hate to get watered down in a league where we're not recruiting against many other schools. I don't think it matters if the league is overrated because, unlike most of us (me included!) I don't think the coaches are judging the player's worth and potential by how he stacks up to the guy next to him on the league scoring chart. I think the coaches are looking at character, desire, skating ability, hockey sense, hands, etc etc. While one might argue there's a risk that a player might look good compared to inferior opponents I'm guessing the coaches know a little better how to spot the little things that make a player a player. They're going to miss from time to time. Every coach does. Eaves has missed, Lucia's having a bit of a bad run, etc. So that will happen. It will hopefully not happen to UND more than anyone else, and with luck less than anyone else, but it will happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwing77 Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 Sorry for the double post, but I have a few seperate comments: Whoever it is that knows a lot about AJHL hockey, I'd love some input on Rodwell. This guy is unknown to me. It seems that there are better uncommitted forwards out there... not that Rodwell is bad, it's just that there's no information about him other than stats. At least CSS looked at Wey and there's some information out there on Olsen. What about Blake Thompson? He's ranked #81 on the list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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