NEPA Ice
Registered User
- Mar 17, 2022
- 30
- 22
On another note...there were comments about the "levels" of minor league hockey. There seems to be some confusion on what would constitute Low-Level A, High-Level A, and Level AA. I think people get confused with the MLB model.
With MLB, the minors are fully designed for player development with independent leagues providing opportunities for those who have been optioned out of this path, hoping to somehow get back in the sights of MLB scouts. But the progression typically starts with Low-A, and the up through AAA, with the emphasis on player development first and secondarily on building a winning team.
In hockey, development starts with Juniors rather than a Low-Level A (FPHL). Juniors may be able to jump right to AHL or NHL (McDavid, Eichel, Bedard), although many continue to develop through different levels of college hockey. After that, any development typically occurs in ECHL, AHL, overseas leagues, or possibly (and all of them hope for this) to the NHL.
But the FPHL and SPHL are not stops along a development pathway, and as such it may confuse folks to call them Level A minor league teams. They're actually more like the baseball players in the Frontier, American Association, and Atlantic Leagues than the typical baseball A team. Although the FPHL calls itself a Single A "prospect" league, I don't think the guys in the league have many developmental prospects other than moving to the SPHL. And yes- there are some that go higher, but again it's not like the A-AAA developmental pathway some may think it is.
AND THAT DOESN'T MEAN I'M SAYING YOU CAN'T ENJOY AND ROOT FOR TEAMS IN THESE LEAGUES. Watch then with your family, or buy a ticket and grab a beer with your friends on a Saturday night! Watch "the boys" play and root for them. That doesn't bother me in the least.
With MLB, the minors are fully designed for player development with independent leagues providing opportunities for those who have been optioned out of this path, hoping to somehow get back in the sights of MLB scouts. But the progression typically starts with Low-A, and the up through AAA, with the emphasis on player development first and secondarily on building a winning team.
In hockey, development starts with Juniors rather than a Low-Level A (FPHL). Juniors may be able to jump right to AHL or NHL (McDavid, Eichel, Bedard), although many continue to develop through different levels of college hockey. After that, any development typically occurs in ECHL, AHL, overseas leagues, or possibly (and all of them hope for this) to the NHL.
But the FPHL and SPHL are not stops along a development pathway, and as such it may confuse folks to call them Level A minor league teams. They're actually more like the baseball players in the Frontier, American Association, and Atlantic Leagues than the typical baseball A team. Although the FPHL calls itself a Single A "prospect" league, I don't think the guys in the league have many developmental prospects other than moving to the SPHL. And yes- there are some that go higher, but again it's not like the A-AAA developmental pathway some may think it is.
AND THAT DOESN'T MEAN I'M SAYING YOU CAN'T ENJOY AND ROOT FOR TEAMS IN THESE LEAGUES. Watch then with your family, or buy a ticket and grab a beer with your friends on a Saturday night! Watch "the boys" play and root for them. That doesn't bother me in the least.