>> According to CSB scouts Major Junior is deteriorating.
>>
> >Take a look at THN this month. As usual every first rounder, not counting
>>Europe is from where?....MAJOR JUNIOR! Tim Connolly is the only American
>> exception who might crack the top 20, and throw in one IHL player.
 
>Yeah - but most of the list was Europeans -- Canadians aren't happy about
that
>either.
 
>> The fact is: 16 year old players are given tons of ice in MAJOR JUNIOR
and
>> that's the only way players really develop. Major Junior has more games
and
>> higher caliber competition than the USHL. Even though they've been chided
as
>> being the "slug em" league they're still "cracking" the NHL "top ten"
list!
>> Granted not every kid that skates MAJOR JUNIOR makes it either.
 
>I don't think you are correct in either assertion:  That 16-year olds get a
ton
>of ice time (good 16-year olds do, just like they would in USHL) - major
juniors
>have been chided for "win at all costs" mentality for years. And, I don't
agree
>that playing them up the wazoo at age 16 helps development.
 
Especially if that "tons of ice time" means lots of GAMES.
 
One of the excellent points made in the Toronto Globe and Mail series was
that European hockey development was more skills and practice based than
North American hockey, which is competition and game based.  In my opinion,
there's no question that's one of the reasons that an increasing percentage
of "skill" players are European.  The only category of players that still
are almost exclusively North American are fighters and goons.
 
Well run practices give players opportunities to try new things, and to
perfect skills.  Games, particularly if they are "win at all costs"
encourage conservative behavior and only give a few players the opportunity
to "develop" at any one time.
 
What does this say for college hockey?  Well, most college hockey teams have
game schedules that are relatively light during the week.  They practice,
learn new things.  They aren't on the road a lot.  The good coaches are good
teachers.  So college hockey more closely resembles a European system than
the major juniors.
 
Rather than looking at the draft, let's look at actual performance.
According to the NHL website, the top rookie scorers are:
 
        1. Muckalt
        2.  Drury
        3.  Morrison
        4.  Hejduk
        5.  Parrish
        6.  Sharifijanov
        7.  Kaberle
        8.  Hrdina
        9.  Watt
        10. Maneluk
 
Mostly US Collegians and Europeans.  Now it's fair to note that the US
Collegians are "old rookies" but at least with the case of Muckalt, Drury,
and Morrison, they have been successful in the NHL without needing the "tons
of ice time" that they might have gotten in major juniors or in the minor
leagues.
 
Clay
 
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