ECHL hard core fans may insist that they're a step up from the CHL, but they aren't. They're on par.
Frankly they goofed up going for Martin.. if they were going to go the CHL route they should have got Jakaitis..
Don't fool yourself. The CHL is a step or two slower than the ECHL, any player who has played in both leagues will tell you that. The IHL of the last few years was clearly steps below both leagues.
In Martin, they signed a guy they were already familiar with. He was in camp with the Isles/Sound Tigers earlier this year. Should they have gone after Jakaitis? Probably. There's probably four or five guys better than Joel Martin out there. But this is the Isles, so they have to do it on the cheap.
ECHL hard core fans may insist that they're a step up from the CHL, but they aren't. They're on par.Frankly they goofed up going for Martin.. if they were going to go the CHL route they should have got Jakaitis..
????????????Bizarre comments.
If you watched more than a game of 2 of both you would see the difference in a heartbeat.
Players in the CHL are hoping they can advance to the ECHL....no one in the ECHL is wanting to go to the CHL.
Night and day...
CHL players are made up of young guys who didn't make ECHL rosters and mostly of guys who qualify as "veterans" in the ECHL. With the limited number of Veteran spots on ECHL rosters there is no place for them in the ECHL. There are still numerous guys in the CHL with ECHL talent but they have ECHL talent as their "ceiling". The ECHL is a truly developmental league. The most talented players on most ECHL teams are young and have AHL or NHL talent as their "ceiling". The veteran guys are there to teach the younger guys how to be a pro.
If hockey talent was graded A, B & C, the ECHL has mostly A's and B's and the CHL mostly B's and C's. So both leagues have an overlap in the middle talent level but the ECHL is definately a step above the CHL in talent.
As I said, ECHL supporters will insist there's a measurable talent gap, but there is not.
The salary caps are (I believe) within about 10% of each other, meaning the players go where the money is for them, and thus the talent at that level is distributed due to sheer economics.. The leagues also compete over coaching candidates. In addition, they have relatively similar veteran limits (4 vs 6)..
If you want to say one league has a slight edge over the other, I would obviously agree because it's logically impossible that they would be exactly equal.. but to suggest they are, quote: "night and day" or that the position that they're relatively the same is "fooling yourself", well - we will just agree to disagree.
The number of vets isn't the issue. The number that determines who is and isn't a vet is a better measure. I'm not familiar with the numbers now but I remember when I followed the ECHL, a guy could be a vet in the E and not in the C.
The number of vets isn't the issue. The number that determines who is and isn't a vet is a better measure. I'm not familiar with the numbers now but I remember when I followed the ECHL, a guy could be a vet in the E and not in the C.
The ECHL considers anyone that has played 260 or more games a veteran whereas the CHL classifies a veteran as anyone that has played 301 or more games. That is a huge gap- almost 2/3rds of a season difference.
If you watched more than a game of 2 of both you would see the difference in a heartbeat.
Players in the CHL are hoping they can advance to the ECHL....no one in the ECHL is wanting to go to the CHL.
Night and day...
I don't know that it's quite that clear cut. I personally know a goalie who has played in both the Coast and the CHL this year and he was actually doing better in the ECHL.
A lot of factors there. Motivation, confidence, the defensive play of his teammates, etc.
That goes without saying, and I'm certainly not trying to say the CHL is a better league. I'm just not convinced that ECHL is better by as wide a margin as some on here suggest. Like someone said earlier, the Coast seems to have guys who might not be as polished yet but have a higher ceiling.
