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Some teams have basically "open tryouts" for $250, meals included...
I've seen some ECHL games, and have played against a few ex-players and so on, and while they're decent, I've found that they're not what I would consider close to being pro-level... Yet, they're considered to be semi-pro...
Of course, watching them is much different than playing a whole game with/against them...
So I ask, how hard is it really to make an ECHL team? Are they pretty much on par with college/Junior teams?
I too have played with players who have "played" minor league hockey. I guess that is why they have "played" and no longer playing. But they are still very good.
Why do you not consider them pro-level? How good are you?
I too have played with players who have "played" minor league hockey. I guess that is why they have "played" and no longer playing. But they are still very good.
Why do you not consider them pro-level? How good are you?
I'm no pro by any means. I can definitely hold my own with and against them, for the most part
Watching a few games, I find them to be much sloppier in making plays, and overall not as aggressive as NHL/AHL players. Maybe I'm wrong. Do you think the average ECHL player could perform adequately in an NHL game?
And yes, I was wondering if the ones I get to play with/against "played" and are no longer playing for skill/fitness reasons.
I'm no pro by any means. I can definitely hold my own with and against them, for the most part
Watching a few games, I find them to be much sloppier in making plays, and overall not as aggressive as NHL/AHL players. Maybe I'm wrong. Do you think the average ECHL player could perform adequately in an NHL game?
And yes, I was wondering if the ones I get to play with/against "played" and are no longer playing for skill/fitness reasons.
Dude you have no idea.
The guys in the AHL are 2-3 strides slower. ECHL is 2-3 strides behind that. They may be sloppy playing against you and your pals but they aren't trying real hard despite what they tell you. You may hold your own in a one-off but over 20 games they would mop you up. I played too against guys who were D1, AHL and 2 made pro. Conditioning wasn't an issue. They were just flat out better. They took it easy on us until they needed too.
I'm no pro by any means. I can definitely hold my own with and against them, for the most part
Watching a few games, I find them to be much sloppier in making plays, and overall not as aggressive as NHL/AHL players. Maybe I'm wrong. Do you think the average ECHL player could perform adequately in an NHL game?
And yes, I was wondering if the ones I get to play with/against "played" and are no longer playing for skill/fitness reasons.
What is the highest level you have ever played at? Also, you have to remember in a men's league or open hockey, there is no contact or fighting. Also, you are playing like once I week, I presume, or when you body says, "yeh, lets go play and have fun, nothing else to do tonight". And you dont have to be playing that hard either because it is recreational.
They probably can perform adequately. There are just that many more people who can perform better that are playing in NHL.
What is the highest level you have ever played at? Also, you have to remember in a men's league or open hockey, there is no contact or fighting. Also, you are playing like once I week, I presume, or when you body says, "yeh, lets go play and have fun, nothing else to do tonight". And you dont have to be playing that hard either because it is recreational.
They probably can perform adequately. There are just that many more people who can perform better that are playing in NHL.
I stopped at Junior camp due to family issues. Some of the guys I grew up playing with, and played with up till that point, made it to AHL, ECHL and to other leagues across Europe, which is why I was asking. (Actually, our goalie made NHL...)
You do have a valid point with the once a week thing. I play a game once a week, and go to pick-up hockey maybe once or twice for the exercise if anything. These guys play non-stop, so over the years, they have much more practice and experience.
The no contact thing stinks... Of course, I understand why they have that rule, but it's annoying.
Some teams have basically "open tryouts" for $250, meals included...
I've seen some ECHL games, and have played against a few ex-players and so on, and while they're decent, I've found that they're not what I would consider close to being pro-level... Yet, they're considered to be semi-pro...
Of course, watching them is much different than playing a whole game with/against them...
So I ask, how hard is it really to make an ECHL team? Are they pretty much on par with college/Junior teams?
No, the ECHL is absolutely considered to be a professional league and is part of the NHL's developmental pipeline. Most ECHL teams are affiliated with an AHL & NHL team and can and do sometimes provide talent that moves up. http://cdn.rapidmanager.com/echl/files/ECHLAlums.pdf has an exhaustive list of ECHL alumni who've made it to the NHL, but offhand I can name guys like Alex Burrows, Jay Beagle, Jaroslav Halak, and a few others who're in the NHL this season who've got ECHL time under their belt. That said, those guys took awhile to develop. Take Burrows, for instance - he went undrafted out of Major Junior, signed in the ECHL, spent a season there before getting noticed by the Canucks organization, played with their ECHL team, then the AHL team, then sent back down...all told it took Burrows 130ish ECHL games before he became an AHL regular and then another 100ish AHL games before he got the call to Vancouver.
The ECHL team I used to follow regularly, the Columbia Inferno, was affiliated first with the Canucks and then the Maple Leafs, so most of the players were guys who'd been sent down from Toronto and Vancouver's minor league camps plus a smattering of minor league free agents signed by the Inferno themselves - these were usually guys who had some AHL experience but didn't catch on. Most all of their regular roster guys had played at least in college, major junior or at worst Junior A. They'd occasionally sign a guy with some collegiate experience as a fill-in if a guy got called up to the AHL or was injured, especially guys stationed at Shaw AFB who had played on the Air Force Academy team. Those guys, who were more semi-pro, were noticeably a few steps slower and played on either the 3rd/4th line or 3rd pairing and really stuck out as not really belonging.
Okay, so update:
I've been playing a bit more with them, and yes, they are good.
Loads of fun to play with/against them, as they can read plays very well.
I'm just as quick as them, but they seem to have overall better vision around the ice.
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