Steve Rucchin was picked by the Ducks in the supplimental draft out of Canadian University.
I wouldn't think the ACHA is heavily scouted, if at all. Many collegians drafted into the NHL are usually selected in the summer before their freshman year or, in some cases, as a 19-year old following a "true freshman" season. Those are the NCAA D-I guys.
Has any player ever been drafted out of the ACHA? And has anybody ever transfered from the ACHA to the NCAA and played in the NHL?
Just wondering how good the ACHA is and where it compares to the NCAA.
Thanks!
No not yet, However the level of the ACHA (espcially at the ACHA Division I level) has dramatically increased over the years since the league began, i've read some articles, i believe one on NHL.com that have commented an ACHA player in the NHL isnt too far off. my guess is sometime in the next 15-20 years.
ACHA at the top Division is on par with some of the NCAA DIII teams, but in general it is a step lower. If you went to a game, the casual hockey fan would be greatly entertained and probably not notice a difference but most top NCAA DIII schools would beat the top ACHA schools by a good margin.
There are on occasion ACHA->NCAA transfers and also some NCAA->ACHA transfers none have made NHL roster either and most of the NCAA-ACHA tranfers are into/out of the NCAA DIII.
I'm curious too about the level of ACHA. Just recently, Mike Sellitto of Florida Gulf Coast was participating as an invitee at the NY Islanders "mini camp". A couple of weeks later he signed a contract with Bridgeport Sound Tigers.
What chances do you give him in the AHL? Though I do believe he's bound for either Kalamazoo Wings in the ECHL or Odessa Jacks in the CHL, maybe someone has seen him play before and could share your thoughts.
Last edited by IslesDynasty: 08-17-2010 at 09:14 AM.
The ACHA is interesting in that it can be very good or very bad, depending on the team and the league.
From what I can tell, after being involved for 2 years both NCAA and ACHA is that a good ACHA D1 ( top 12) team can compete with NCAA d3 team ranked, say, 15th and below and probably easily beat teams ranked in the lower third.
I believe that Penn St. ACHA participated in an NCAA d3 tourny last year and did pretty well, winning 2 and losing in the finals.
I'm curious too about the level of ACHA. Just recently, Mike Sellitto of Florida Gulf Coast was participating as an invitee at the NY Islanders "mini camp". A couple of weeks later he signed a contract with Bridgeport Sound Tigers.
What chances do you give him in the AHL? Though I do believe he's bound for either Kalamazoo Wings in the ECHL or Odessa Jacks in the CHL, maybe someone has seen him play before and could share your thoughts.
You can't really give 1 rating to the ACHA as a league. It all depends on the division, the team, the player, etc. Some schools take club hockey seriously, others don't. Some teams have players who have never played before. On occasion there are players who have played at fairly high levels but ultimately put academics first. It really ranges. The stories about guys from the ACHA moving onto AHL are probably just a few out of thousands of players.
For the most part, the ACHA is just a league for guys who want to continue playing ice hockey through school. If you had a legit future in ice hockey as a career you wouldn't be going through the ACHA to do it.
You can't really give 1 rating to the ACHA as a league. It all depends on the division, the team, the player, etc. Some schools take club hockey seriously, others don't. Some teams have players who have never played before. On occasion there are players who have played at fairly high levels but ultimately put academics first. It really ranges. The stories about guys from the ACHA moving onto AHL are probably just a few out of thousands of players.
For the most part, the ACHA is just a league for guys who want to continue playing ice hockey through school. If you had a legit future in ice hockey as a career you wouldn't be going through the ACHA to do it.
That's pretty much a good summary. just to elaborate on some.
Most of the schools that play in ACHA DI take club hockey seriously, esp. the NAIA schools like Davenport, Michigan-Dearborn, Lindenwood. The NAIA doesn't sponsor hockey (since the 1980s) teams in NAIA schools are generally part of the athletic department and there's usually some scholarship opportunities in the form of academic and community service basis. (There's probably some other non-NAIA schools that do that too.)
Other ACHA DI programs are also highly organized, recruit, and attract players that don't have much of a hockey future beyond college, besides maybe a few years in the low minors. ACHA DI schools tend to be bigger and more well known. If you have a chance to play on the 2nd-4th line of NCAA DIII team at "St. John Doe College" in a small town with only 1,500 students with not much else going on. Or going to "Big Blank State University" with 35,000 students in a cool college town with lots of things to do and be on the top 2 lines of an ACHA DI team.
ACHA DII and DIII is a real mix, the top programs in those divisions are well organized and often compete/hold their own with ACHA DI teams, some like FGCU, Missouri State, and Grand Valley are good candidates to move up to the ACHA DI. Other bottom level DIIs and lots of the DIII teams are more unorganized, simple club sports/student activities and don't even require players to have previous hockey experience.
I don't see why a player from the ACHA couldn't make it to the AHL. Lots of hockey is played and they learn a lot about the game. Can be great skill development because I'm sure some of the rinks let students use the ice whenever they want and if someone is out practicing every day for 2-3 hours then I'm sure they could make it to NCAA hockey the next year. I.E. Get called up from Michigan-Dearborn to U of M Ann Arbor. Is it a long shot? Yes, but by not believing it to be a reality you will never accomplish it. Once you hit NCAA hockey who knows where you go. You could be good enough to make it to the AHL or even the NHL eventually if you give it your all everyday and concentrate on the smallest aspects of the game. That's where you gain the most development. But to answer your question no one goes straight from ACHA to the NHL. AHL is possible, but very uncommon. ACHA is significantly underscouted. If NCAA coaches scouted it I'm sure they could pick up a few players for their team.
Speaking as someone that's been to a bunch of Illini games over the years, including during the years when they were an absolutely dominant team, the level of play is good for amateurs, but nowhere near as good as any level of professional or established collegiate play (I can't speak for Division III or major juniors, though). The games are very fun, but don't expect to really be wow'd in any way by the talent on the ice.
The ACHA is improving a lot if you look at FHL,SPHL CHL and a few ECHL teams are giving these guys tryouts. I'd say its roughly because hockey is growing and a lot of people aren't going to D3 Schools due to location or lack of scholarships. If you look at some rosters it has guys who left small NCAA colleges after their 1st or 2nd year even if some did put up solid numbers. I doubt you'll ever see an NHL player but I'm not saying it coudln't happen.
The ACHA is improving a lot if you look at FHL,SPHL CHL and a few ECHL teams are giving these guys tryouts. I'd say its roughly because hockey is growing and a lot of people aren't going to D3 Schools due to location or lack of scholarships. If you look at some rosters it has guys who left small NCAA colleges after their 1st or 2nd year even if some did put up solid numbers. I doubt you'll ever see an NHL player but I'm not saying it coudln't happen.
I agree, I think it we'll see a trend of more players going to at least the minor pro level. Not many NCAA players jump to the NHL anymore, most spend a year or two in the AHL. I think we'll continue to see more ex ACHA players on minor pro rosters, esp from the top ACHA DI teams (most operate as varsity club teams or varsity teams (from NAIA schools). ACHA has benefited from a growth of junior hockey in the USA that's steadier and much faster than growth of NCAA programs.
You can't really give 1 rating to the ACHA as a league. It all depends on the division, the team, the player, etc. Some schools take club hockey seriously, others don't. Some teams have players who have never played before. On occasion there are players who have played at fairly high levels but ultimately put academics first. It really ranges. The stories about guys from the ACHA moving onto AHL are probably just a few out of thousands of players.
For the most part, the ACHA is just a league for guys who want to continue playing ice hockey through school. If you had a legit future in ice hockey as a career you wouldn't be going through the ACHA to do it.
My school, Stony Brook, is DI, and the school doesn't really care about it. There is a petition going around to get the school to recognize the team and make it NCAA, but that's probably not going to happen.
I go to Texas A&M, and although we are a large university, there is still a decent amount of interest in our team that plays ACHA DII. We have between 200-1000 spectators at the games. They've only been competitive over the last few seasons, but there is plenty of interest in joining the team among students. There are over 30 students on the team, and plenty more I know that have played AA and Tier I AAA that don't play because of the money.
I don't think there is ever a chance of it becoming NCAA sanctioned here, because we have so few NCAA sports as it is. Out of the sports included in the capital one cup,we don't have men's lacrosse, men's soccer, men's fencing, men's water polo, men's riflery, men's skiing, men's ice hockey, men's wrestling, men's gymnastics, men's volleyball. and those are just the men's sports that we don't have haha
I go to Texas A&M, and although we are a large university, there is still a decent amount of interest in our team that plays ACHA DII. We have between 200-1000 spectators at the games. They've only been competitive over the last few seasons, but there is plenty of interest in joining the team among students. There are over 30 students on the team, and plenty more I know that have played AA and Tier I AAA that don't play because of the money.
I don't think there is ever a chance of it becoming NCAA sanctioned here, because we have so few NCAA sports as it is. Out of the sports included in the capital one cup,we don't have men's lacrosse, men's soccer, men's fencing, men's water polo, men's riflery, men's skiing, men's ice hockey, men's wrestling, men's gymnastics, men's volleyball. and those are just the men's sports that we don't have haha
I'm planning on going to go play at a&m next year.
It's hard to find ACHA film, but there was a power outage at a UofM Dearborn vs John Caroll matchup so they did a charity shootout for autism. Only the UMD shots were filmed though. There are a couple ok
EDIT: Not sure how to embed links right, but if you highlight the first link and copy and pase it then it should work.
2nd edit: ill make a YouTube link
Last edited by ComradeChris: 11-22-2012 at 09:25 PM.
(There's probably some other non-NAIA schools that do that too.)
