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There's more to hockey than the NHL! Post in this thread about any and all hockey that is not the NHL (or the Olympics, for which there is a dedicated thread in the Olympics forum). There are tons of leagues in Europe, with the best being the predominantly Russian league, the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). The Swedish Hockey League (SHL, formerly SEL) and the SM-liiga in Finland are both also very good and many NHLers from Western Europe played in those leagues before coming over to North America. Switzerland's National League A (NLA) has produced fewer big name players but was a popular destination for NHLers during the lockouts. In North America, the American Hockey Leage (AHL) is the level of professional hockey below the NHL, and each NHL team has an AHL affiliate to which they can assign players. Below that are the ECHL (formerly East Coast Hockey League but they have a California division now so they dropped the full name) and Central Hockey League. And of course, there's the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) which is the main player development league in North America. It is composed of three leagues, the Western Hockey League (WHL), Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). Despite their names and the name of the overall organisation, the WHL and OHL have teams in the USA as well as Canada. In the US, college hockey is also a major route for development, with most players playing in the USHL or a Canadian Junior A league before they go to college. Anyone who has played in the CHL is ineligible to play in college because the NCAA does not consider it to be a purely amateur league. There is a separate thread for college hockey here. And you know who else plays hockey? Women! US college hockey is the most prominent stage (other than international competitions) for women's hockey. There is also a small professional Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL). Some league-specific information: KHL  Russia is pretty into hockey. They've had aspirations to create a pan-Europe league to rival the NHL, but for now they have the KHL. Originating from the Russian Superleague, the league has expanded beyond Russia with teams in Belarus, Croatia, Czech Republic, Latvia, Kazakhstan, Slovakia and Ukraine. The Finnish team Jokerit is set to join the league for the 2014-2015 season. Prominent ex-NHLers include Alexander Radulov (CKSA Moscow) and Ilya Kovalchuk (SKA Saint Petersburg). Some Russian prospects take their time moving over to North America from the KHL such as Evgeny Kuznetsov (he's coming over soon Caps fans, keep holding your breath!). Official website: http://en.khl.ru/ AHL  The main "minor league" of the NHL. Each NHL team has a AHL affiliate and if your favourite player just got sent down, this is probably where he's playing now. Some NHL teams own and control their AHL teams while others have partnerships. Some players in the AHL are not affiliated with NHL teams and are on AHL-only contracts. The winner of the AHL playoffs, which are structured like those of the NHL except for a best-of-five first round, is awarded the Calder Cup. Official website: http://theahl.com/ CHL The main prospect development league in North America, the CHL is composed of three leagues. Each league holds its own NHL-style playoffs with the winners of each league along with the host city playing in the prestigious Memorial Cup tournament. The CHL is considered a "major junior" league and is sometimes referred to this way. Players in the CHL are aged 16-20 (with an occasional 15 year old permitted in the OHL via "exceptional player status"). 20 year olds are considered "overage" and limited to 3 per team while teams may not play more than 4 15 or 16 year olds. Age for CHL purposes is based on the calendar year so for the 2013-2014 season, a 20 year old is any player born in 1993. This contrasts with the NHL where draft eligibility is determined by age on September 15. Each CHL league has an annual draft of bantam-aged players within their regions and the leagues hold a combined import draft for players from outside North America who may wish to play in the CHL. Teams are limited to 2 import players. WHL  The WHL includes 22 teams in four Canadian provinces and two American states. The WHL holds the CHL rights to players from the four western provinces, all three territories, the American Pacific Northwest and other designated states west of the Mississippi River. The winner of the WHL playoffs is awarded the Ed Chynoweth Cup. Official website: http://www.whl.ca/ OHL  The OHL is composed of 20 teams, located in the Canadian province of Ontario and the American states of Michigan and Pennsylvania. The winner of the OHL playoffs is awarded the J. Ross Robertson Cup. Official website: http://www.ontariohockeyleague.com/ QMJHL  Also called "the Q", the QMJHL is the only CHL league with no American teams (although there used to be one in Maine). The QMJHL has 18 teams, based in Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. The league has CHL rights to players from these provinces as well as Newfoundland and New England. The winner of the QMJHL playoffs is awarded the President's Cup. The league is known for high scores and a style of hockey which prioritises offense. Pity the goalies. Official website: http://theqmjhl.ca/ Please feel free to expand or add sections for leagues not covered and I will add them to the OP. Better maps are also welcome. F.A.Q. Sounds cool! How can I watch? The best way is in person. Minor hockey is cheap and you can probably get decent seats for $10-$15. Check your local team's Twitter or Facebook for additional promotions (e.g. my local WHL team has a limited number of seats on sale on Mondays for $5). But if you don't live near a team, or want to keep up with their away games, the best way to keep up is radio. Yes, that's still a thing. Most if not all of these teams have all their games broadcast by a local radio station, and radio is almost universally available to stream (legally!) for free online with no restrictions on location. Sure, this means you can't see the games to judge your team's precious prospects with your own eyes, but radio commentating is very thorough and hearing the players' names to know who has been involved in the play gives a pretty good idea of who has played well. Hockey Webcasts is a fairly comprehensive source to stream radio for almost every North American team from the NHL, AHL, ECHL, WHL, OHL, and QMJHL. If your team is missing, check the official league page or team website. The AHL, WHL, OHL and QMJHL all have sites like NHL Gamecenter Live where you can watch the games online. However, they are expensive and the quality tends to be pretty bad, with the video often just being a low-res feed of whatever goes up on the jumbotron. On occasion, games are televised locally in which case you might be able to find them on your favourite illegal streaming site. All KHL games are streamed through onhockey.ru, but they happen in the middle of the (North American) night and are in Russian, so that may or may not be your thing. Why can't my team's hot prospect play in the AHL if he doesn't make the NHL team? You can blame the NHL/CHL Agreement, a.k.a. why Infidel Castro didn't get to see Seth Jones play in Milwaukee. Somewhere around 60% of all NHL players played in the CHL, making it the main pool from which the NHL drafts its players. To prevent NHL teams from taking their best players and immediately sending them to one of their minor league affiliates, the NHL and CHL made an agreement. If a player was drafted from a CHL team, they have to either be 20 years old by Dec. 31 (i.e. overage) or have played four years in the CHL in order to play in the AHL. Otherwise, the player must be sent back to the CHL team that has their rights. Note that this only applies to players drafted from the CHL, not players drafted from European leagues or the NCAA, even if they go on to play in the CHL after the draft. toe knee hand fucked around with this message at 23:57 on Feb 12, 2014 |
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Feb 12, 2014 06:04
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No Bikini Hockey League?
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Feb 12, 2014 06:11
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Go Fronts Go! Go Fronts G- also, for CHL: 16 year old players are considered "underage" and there can only be four of them on a roster at one time AFAIK also, thread title should totally be "stars of tomorrow, yesteryear, and never:..."
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Feb 12, 2014 06:12
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That's a great OP, TKH.gently caress COREY PERRY posted:Go Fronts Go! Go Fronts G-
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Feb 12, 2014 06:13
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Hand Knit posted:That's a great OP, TKH. ACL+MCL tear for Bennett in the first game of the playoffs.
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Feb 12, 2014 06:18
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Friendly reminder that ex-Predator Alex Radulov captains CSKA and is the number 2 all-time scorer in the young KHL. Also, please someone talk to me about KHL things please.
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Feb 12, 2014 06:18
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gently caress COREY PERRY posted:also, for CHL: 16 year old players are considered "underage" and there can only be four of them on a roster at one time AFAIK added this and a bit about NHLers in the KHL. e: and tomorrow I'll explain why (some) 19 year olds can't play in the AHL. toe knee hand fucked around with this message at 06:41 on Feb 12, 2014 |
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Feb 12, 2014 06:25
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toe knee hand posted:added this and a bit about NHLers in the KHL. Let's not forget about Dallman...
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Feb 12, 2014 06:27
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As a season ticket holder of the former-Memorial Cup Host Saskatoon Blades, I would like to offer one free regular season ticket to attend a game with myself, Guignol, and 7lip for any cool people who want to come watch bad things happen. Hurry, the regular season is closing fast and there will not be a post-season for this plucky group of kids! Also 15 year olds in the CHL have to wear cages. "Players and goalkeepers in the category under 18 years and younger shall wear a full face mask" -IIHF rules Pleads fucked around with this message at 06:48 on Feb 12, 2014 |
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Feb 12, 2014 06:27
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should we put draft talk in here too verv wants draisaitl or dal colle please
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Feb 12, 2014 07:03
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Pleads posted:As a season ticket holder of the former-Memorial Cup Host Saskatoon Blades a blades alumni (adam morrison) is the brother of a dude i know + son of a coworker with my father and every time i brought up hockey for like five years my father would ask "hows morrison doing" and id have to tell him he has no future but we didnt tell his father that
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Feb 12, 2014 07:05
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toe knee hand posted:added this and a bit about NHLers in the KHL. I can do this! Feel free to just put this in the OP if you will. Okay, so maybe you've noticed that when you're playing NHL 14 that there are some younger players that can be sent to the minors (AHL) while others can not. Don't worry folks, that isn't a bug. It's based on a real life agreement that the AHL had no part in negotiating at all! The NHL/CHL Agreement, a.k.a. why Infidel Castro didn't get to see Seth Jones play in Milwaukee Somewhere around 60% of all NHL players played in the CHL, making it the main pool from which the NHL drafts its players. To prevent NHL teams from taking their best players and immediately sending them to one of their minor league affiliates, the NHL and CHL made an agreement. If a player was drafted from a CHL team, they have to either be 20 years old by Dec. 31 or have played four years in the CHL in order to play in the minors. Otherwise, the player must be sent back to the CHL team that has their rights. Note that this only applies to the CHL, not players drafted from European leagues or the NCAA. However, most NHL teams will often let their prospects develop in those leagues as well before signing them to ELCs.
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Feb 12, 2014 07:36
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Verviticus posted:should we put draft talk in here too i would love to see draisaitl on the islanders, but i have a feeling they won't be picking in the first this year. i figure they'll probably go for a forward if they do - unfortunately what they really need is a goalie but that's not happening with a high draft pick sooo
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Feb 12, 2014 09:21
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You think the islanders are going to trade back to back firsts or you think they're gonna finish outside the top 10
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Feb 12, 2014 09:41
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Reposting this somewhere that people might appreciate it: SPOTLIGHT ON: NIKITA SCHERBAK (Draft Rank: 24 among North American Skaters)  Nikita Scherbak is a beaut and a shining star on a very bad Saskatoon Blades team. After being "stolen" from a Moscow junior team at the start of the year, Scherbak has put up 24 goals and 32 assists for the Blades, putting him 8th overall in points across the league. Technically a rookie despite being 18, Scherbak has put up about 20 more points than the next leading rookie scorer, Julius Honka, whose name is stupid and is also a dumb guy who sucks. Beginning his WHL career as the guy in your beer league who won't get off the ice or backcheck, Scherbak has matured into a fine 1.75-way player who only occasionally takes 3-minute shifts. He has soft, buttery hands, skates faster than 99% of the league and wears huge shoulder pads that make him look about 50 pounds heavier than he is. Nikita Scherbak would make a fine first- or second-round pick for the Washington Capitals, who seem to attract former Saskatoon Blades like flies on poo poo (see also: Holtby, Braden; Green, Mike; Erat, Martin.) Scherbak! Update: In the time since this was written, Scherbak got another 8 points, was named to the Top Prospects game (where he got a couple of sweet breakaways that went nowhere but hopefully got him noticed), and was injured by a giant shitstain on the Prince George Cougars, who hauled our star forward to the ground by his arm and punched him in the back of the head a bunch of times while the officials watched and laughed. He is currently out with an upper-body injury (read: hosed-up shoulder) that is probably going to tank his draft status to the second round. Scherbak!
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Feb 12, 2014 15:27
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That OP was a really good primer, toe knee hand. I didn't really know the structure of the CHL before now, but it makes a lot of sense I should probably pay more attention to minor league stuff, so I think this thread has given me some new poo poo to follow. Thanks, goons
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Feb 12, 2014 15:30
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I always have an interest in More Hockey, but really, past attempts to get into it have been stopped by not being able to watch it*. Is there a convenient, reliable way to watch these teams? The closest AHL team is the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, but that's like a 4 hour drive or a somewhat expensive ferry ride away. (And really, Isles tickets are just as cheap  ) So that sort of puts the kibosh on watching games live for me.I don't remember seeing the AHL or CHL on firstrowsports or anything like that. I want to get to know the prospects and whatnot, but the sad reality is, if I'm not watching it, it's hard to really care all that much. Also, this is a good OP, and I had NO IDEA that the CHL was actually three leagues in one. *Exception: when I was living in Binghamton and watched the BSens
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Feb 12, 2014 15:40
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CHL TV coverage is currently handled by Sportsnet in Canada and does not have wide distribution in the US that I know of. The teams in American markets have local deals, but unless you somehow have the local TV affiliate from Erie in your cable package I think you're SOL
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Feb 12, 2014 15:50
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The ECHL Toledo Walleye are terrible (partly because the only decent players got called up to the Grand Rapids Griffins since the Red Wings are all dead) but the arena is really nice and for $14 you get to watch defense-optional hockey with about 3 fights and a chance to win whatever giveaway they have for power play goals (right now it's a free Wendy's chili). Could be worse.
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Feb 12, 2014 15:59
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DJExile posted:The ECHL Toledo Walleye are terrible (partly because the only decent players got called up to the Grand Rapids Griffins since the Red Wings are all dead) but the arena is really nice and for $14 you get to watch defense-optional hockey with about 3 fights and a chance to win whatever giveaway they have for power play goals (right now it's a free Wendy's chili). Could be worse. Our Central Hockey League affiliate, the Brampton Beast, draws an okay crowd despite the hockey being relatively good. The price of a ticket might as well be general admission since you can just sit anywhere you want really.
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Feb 12, 2014 16:08
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Excellent op. I went to a Trenton Titans ECHL game a year or two ago. $20 got you into a bar section on the ground in the corner, including leather sofas up against the glass. Owned. I too would love to find ways to watch these games. Do any of the teams offer streams to locals that you can access with vpn or something
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Feb 12, 2014 16:24
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Why you should like the Barrie Colts (OHL): - Aaron Ekblad - Dale Hawerchuk is the coach - In 18 years in the OHL they have only missed the playoffs once (this year will make twice, unless Kingston decides to poo poo the bed) - Former coach Bill Stewart once stuffed a Russian player into the overhead luggage to sneak him across the US border (yes this ended as hilariously as you would expect) - There are actually quite a few NHLers that have played here (scroll down on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrie_Colts for lists!) - They made Dale Hunter cry in last years playoffs. Multiple times. - They made it to the Memorial Cup only once, but got to the finals and were blown the gently caress up by a super stacked Rimouski (Brad Richards  )
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Feb 12, 2014 16:24
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Verviticus posted:should we put draft talk in here too The way the Canucks are trending you'll probably get that wish or more! I somewhat casually follow the CHL (with no favourite team I focus on Canucks prospects, so this year it's the powerhouse Knights and Otters), and try and watch the Memorial Cup every year. I also try and stay somewhat knowledgeable of the players projected to go in the first round, so I try and watch them play if I can. I'm far from a diehard CHL fan though, if I had more time I'd try and get into it a bit more but I can barely keep up with the NHL these days. FurnaceFace posted:Why you should like the Barrie Colts (OHL): Counterpoint: Barrie is a dump and no one should ever go there.
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Feb 12, 2014 16:28
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quote =/= edit
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Feb 12, 2014 16:29
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Furnaceface posted:Why you should like the Barrie Colts (OHL): ahahahahaha that rules. What the hell caused all this?
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Feb 12, 2014 16:40
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Verviticus posted:You think the islanders are going to trade back to back firsts or you think they're gonna finish outside the top 10 the latter is a possibility but i don't remember the exact stipulation on their potential first but they have the option to pick either this year or next year and i hope they decide to pick next year since that draft is supposed to be a lot stronger. that being said they'll probably get a first for vanek from somewhere and scuttlebutt has said that they might even be able to fetch that for macdonald sooo yeah i guess they will pick in the first this year
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Feb 12, 2014 16:43
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THE MACHO MAN posted:I too would love to find ways to watch these games. Do any of the teams offer streams to locals that you can access with vpn or something I'll add a bit about this to the OP including links. The AHL, WHL, OHL and QMJHL all have sites like NHL Gamecenter Live where you can watch the games online. However, it's expensive and the quality tends to be pretty bad, with the video often just being a low-res feed of whatever goes up on the jumbotron. On occasion, games are televised locally in which case you might be able to find them on your favourite illegal streaming site. There tend to be streams for most KHL games, but they happen in the middle of the (North American) night and are in Russian, so that may or may not be your thing. The best way to keep up is radio. Yes, that's still a thing. Most if not all of these teams have all their games broadcast by a local radio station, and radio is almost universally available to stream for free online with no restrictions on location. Sure, this means you can't see the games to judge your team's precious prospects with your own eyes, but radio commentating is very thorough and hearing the players' names to know who has been involved a lot in the play etc gives a pretty good idea of who has played well. toe knee hand fucked around with this message at 16:49 on Feb 12, 2014 |
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Feb 12, 2014 16:44
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toe knee hand posted:Radio! Hey, radio! I... did kind of forget that this exists.
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Feb 12, 2014 17:47
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toe knee hand posted:There tend to be streams for most KHL games, but they happen in the middle of the (North American) night and are in Russian, so that may or may not be your thing. All KHL games are streamed through onhockey.ru
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Feb 12, 2014 18:02
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Rotten Cookies posted:Hey, radio! I... did kind of forget that this exists. Listening to hockey on the radio is one of the great pleasures in life. It's a sport that doesn't even vaguely lend itself to an audio only play by play, but there's just something about it. I try and listen to at least one playoff game outside in May when the weather's warm enough just because. Verviticus posted:verv wants draisaitl or dal colle please Draisitl doesn't interest only because he's an early birthday who didn't have that impressive a season the year before. Maybe I'm crazy, but I always feel like there's a disproportionate number of October/November born players taken in the 6-20 range who are seemingly selected only because of a high scoring junior season. They're an extra year of development ahead of everyone else and have had a whole season to gain the coach's trust and/or develop physically than someone born in July or August. There are a lot of Zach Hamill/Josh Bailey types taken in that range that never amount to a great deal. Obviously there are exceptions to the rule, but I'd take the younger guy with a slightly less eye-popping stat line each time. Dal Colle just seems to be a more intriguing prospect to me. e: I guess Draisaitl doesn't really apply as this was his second year like Dal Colle, but my point remains. If he'd been born 6 weeks earlier his stat line going into the draft would've been 58pts in 64 games. Would anyone be talking about him being a top 10 pick? ThinkTank fucked around with this message at 18:55 on Feb 12, 2014 |
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Feb 12, 2014 18:46
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Hockey Webcasts is a fairly comprehensive source to stream radio for almost every North American team from the NHL, AHL, ECHL, WHL, OHL, and QMJHL. http://www.hockeywebcasts.com Can't speak for the voracity of the other leagues, but the stations listed under the Dub check out.
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Feb 12, 2014 19:26
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ThinkTank posted:Listening to hockey on the radio is one of the great pleasures in life. It's a sport that doesn't even vaguely lend itself to an audio only play by play, but there's just something about it. I try and listen to at least one playoff game outside in May when the weather's warm enough just because. No, but then people next year would go "dang, that guy looks pretty good, wish we had picked him in [whatever pick he was - n]" edit: to add, people would consider that he's the youngest player in the draft and still a ppg, so yeah it would change perception. he might not be a top 10 pick though. he's also a year more ready than some. maybe you want a contributor ASAP I'd probably prefer dal colle anyways Verviticus fucked around with this message at 20:27 on Feb 12, 2014 |
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Feb 12, 2014 20:23
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Hockey on radio owns. It definitely helps to have a good crew though. Granted you could say this about any broadcast but man when you have two guys that work well, it is fantastic. The best thing is when the radio syncs up with TV and you can mute whoever's butchering things on TV that night.
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Feb 12, 2014 20:27
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ThinkTank posted:e: I guess Draisaitl doesn't really apply as this was his second year like Dal Colle, but my point remains. If he'd been born 6 weeks earlier his stat line going into the draft would've been 58pts in 64 games. Would anyone be talking about him being a top 10 pick? Maybe not in the 2013 draft, but he'd still be highly regarded. If a guy like Barzal or Konecny was eligible this year they'd both go top 5.
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Feb 12, 2014 20:31
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DJExile posted:Hockey on radio owns. It definitely helps to have a good crew though. Granted you could say this about any broadcast but man when you have two guys that work well, it is fantastic. The best thing is when the radio syncs up with TV and you can mute whoever's butchering things on TV that night. Saunders/Therien supremacy, the Flyers' radio broadcast was pretty much my gateway back into hockey back in 2011
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Feb 12, 2014 20:44
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just for the hell of it I decided to look at the 2013 draft and kind of get a mental image, a year later, what i thought of various team's drafts. in general it's kind of surprising how i went from team to team and i'm less impressed now than i was at the time. that said: san jose A: what the gently caress happened to mirco mueller B: why did a guy who was almost a ppg drop to .5 in his post-draft year C: wait, did all of their picks get the plague or something?
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Feb 12, 2014 20:53
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Verviticus posted:just for the hell of it I decided to look at the 2013 draft and kind of get a mental image, a year later, what i thought of various team's drafts. in general it's kind of surprising how i went from team to team and i'm less impressed now than i was at the time. that said: I'm only quoting this because I had no idea that the Sharks once drafted a dude named Tyson Sexsmith, or that anyone that ridiculous ever existed
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Feb 12, 2014 20:55
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mueller suffered a pretty serious injury around the beginning of the season iirc
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Feb 12, 2014 20:58
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the only thing i found about that was that he got the injury in the summer but was "finally healthy" mid-september. considering he went to the WJC 44 games doesn't seem like he missed much time
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Feb 12, 2014 21:00
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Verviticus posted:
At least looking at the Canucks draft doesn't make me wince a year later. That's a first. Detroit and Columbus came out like Bandits. ThinkTank fucked around with this message at 21:05 on Feb 12, 2014 |
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Feb 12, 2014 21:01
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