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Which league do you think a player has to play D1 hockey???

USHL, but I do see a lot of NAHL kids getting committments recently.

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key= ... CpqCpRsjRw

It is the NAHL. Take a look at the 2008 commit list from each league and you'll see a difference. Even with removing the USNTDP team the NAHL has more guys.

NAHL:
Alaska 2
Alexandria 1
Alpena 1
Bismarck 2
Fairbanks 13
Fargo/Moorhead 1
Kenai 0
Mahoning Valley 7
North Iowa 9
Southern Minn 3
Springfield 3
St. Louis 14
Texas 1
Topeka 4
Traverse City 0
Witchita Falls 4

Total NAHL: 73 average of 4.56 per D-I commits per team

EJHL:
Apple Core 2
Bay State 5
Bridgewater 4
New England 2
Green Mountain 1
New Jersey 3
New England Huskies 3
Junior Bruins 0
South Shore 3
New Hampshire 11
Capital District 0
Boston 0
Syracuse 3
Valley 0

Total EJHL: 32 average of 2.285 D-I commits per team

Each year the EJHL will have a team that is completely stacked with D-I players (NH Monarchs 08, New Jersey Hitmen 09) but for the rest of the league its not that good. If you look at this years tier III national tournament, the Minnesota Junior Hockey League teams (which most people bash on this board) played them very closely with Granite City losing 4-2 to the eventual champion New Hampshire Monarchs.

Add to the fact that it costs nearly $7,000 to play for an EJHL team you might as well try out in the NAHL then play in the MNJHL if things don't work out.

Both the NAHL and EJHL are good leagues and getting better.

2008: 18 NAHL teams; 56 D-I commitments. 14 EJHL teams; 58.

2009: 18 NAHL teams; 56 D-I commitments. 14 EJHL teams; 42.

2009 NCAA Frozen Four: 14 former NAHL players; 17 former EJHL players (including Hobey Baker winner Matt Gilroy).

2009 NHL Central Scouting List for draft-eligible players: NAHL-0; EJHL 11

It is the NAHL. Take a look at the 2008 commit list from each league and you'll see a difference. Even with removing the USNTDP team the NAHL has more guys.

NAHL:
Alaska 2
Alexandria 1
Alpena 1
Bismarck 2
Fairbanks 13
Fargo/Moorhead 1
Kenai 0
Mahoning Valley 7
North Iowa 9
Southern Minn 3
Springfield 3
St. Louis 14
Texas 1
Topeka 4
Traverse City 0
Witchita Falls 4

Total NAHL: 73 average of 4.56 per D-I commits per team

EJHL:
Apple Core 2
Bay State 5
Bridgewater 4
New England 2
Green Mountain 1
New Jersey 3
New England Huskies 3
Junior Bruins 0
South Shore 3
New Hampshire 11
Capital District 0
Boston 0
Syracuse 3
Valley 0

Total EJHL: 32 average of 2.285 D-I commits per team

Each year the EJHL will have a team that is completely stacked with D-I players (NH Monarchs 08, New Jersey Hitmen 09) but for the rest of the league its not that good. If you look at this years tier III national tournament, the Minnesota Junior Hockey League teams (which most people bash on this board) played them very closely with Granite City losing 4-2 to the eventual champion New Hampshire Monarchs.

Add to the fact that it costs nearly $7,000 to play for an EJHL team you might as well try out in the NAHL then play in the MNJHL if things don't work out.

CenterIce wrote:Both the NAHL and EJHL are good leagues and getting better.

2008: 18 NAHL teams; 56 D-I commitments. 14 EJHL teams; 58.

2009: 18 NAHL teams; 56 D-I commitments. 14 EJHL teams; 42.

2009 NCAA Frozen Four: 14 former NAHL players; 17 former EJHL players (including Hobey Baker winner Matt Gilroy).

2009 NHL Central Scouting List for draft-eligible players: NAHL-0; EJHL 11

Centerice & huville, above you seem to have statistics which are completely different. Huville says for 2008 the NAHL had 73 committs and EJHL had 32, but you say 56 & 58 respectively. Which one of you is right, please site your sources. Thank you.

Chris Heisenberg's web site usually has the most accurate information, but it is difficult to find exact numbers anywhere.

League and team websites can be misleading because more than one team often takes credit for a D-I commitment. For example, a kid may play in the NAHL one year, and the USHL the next. Both leagues and teams will list him on websites as one of their own who moved on.

Also, the NA is much better than the EJ at keeping its website up to date with college commitments. A lot of committed EJ kids are not recognized on the EJ league website, but are on their team websites and elsewhere.

I don't know where Huville got his numbers, but it appears that, for the NA, he may have included all of the kids from the USNTDP U17 and U18 teams. Virtually all of them have D-I commitments, with most of them having at least verbally committed before going to Ann Arbor.

Again, both the NAHL and EJHL are good leagues, and the quality of each is improving each year.

"Most men learn from their mistakes; wise men learn from the mistakes of others."

I've said it again, and again, and again. Those of you who have read this board over the years have heard me say: "It's not what league is better or best, it's about which league is the best fit for you." The NAHL is a great league. The EJHL is a great league. If you're a great skater, you have a 29 ACT and you want to play for UVM or in Hockey EAst, play for Green Mountain in the EJHL. If you're a physical kid who wants to play for Colgate, play juniors in Canada. If you're a late developer who wants to play for Ohio State or in the CCHA, play in the NAHL. But for the love of God, ask the right question ("What's best for me?" not "Which league is best?") and do a little thinking and planning rather than just engaging in the same old polyanna.

I couldn't agree more. Some leagues give a kid the chance to move on, some don't. Both the NA and the EJ fall into the former category. Once you have that part figured out, it comes down to finding a team and league that suits you best, and there are a lot of factors that go into that decision.

Play in the NAHL its hands down a better league

Did you join the board just to make that comment? The NA is better how? Any real information to back that up? Have you ever seen an EJ game?

From the College Hockey Recruit Exchange:

"Wednesday, June 3, 2009
EJHL Prospect Rankings . . . I failed. I admit that, as a Minnesotan, I don't pay as much attention to the east as I should. My apologies. Hopefully, the prospect rankings for the EJHL should help make up for my errors.

The EJHL is really a league pretty much on par with the NAHL, despite the fact that the NAHL is technicallyTier II and the EJHL is Tier III. Like the NAHL, many of these players have secured their college commitments already. Some of the more talented players will go straight to D1, others will transition to the USHL. Due to the lack of youth on this list, I don't think any are considered hot commodities. For the most part, those players have made their college choices already."

2009 NHL DRAFT PICKS:

12 USHL Teams -- 16 players drafted

NTDP (U18) -- 14 players drafted

14 EJHL Teams -- 4 players drafted

18 NAHL Teams -- 1 player drafted

Just happened to see this on another message board:

"2009 ANNUAL CONGRESS REPORT . . . NCAA Placements

2008-09 D-III Placements: EJHL-65, AJHL-62, MetJHL-57, NAHL-46, CSHL-31, EmJHL-28, WSHL-23, MnJHL-20, CHA-12, USHL-12.

2008-09 D-I Placements: USHL-134, EJHL-56, NAHL-47, MetJHL-12, CSHL-9, AJHL-8, EmJHL-6, MnJHL-3"