I think it's fair to say that the QMJHL doesn't get a fair shake when compared to the other two leagues in the CHL. More often than not, its prospects are not given a fair assessment by scouting blogs, nor by credible sources such as Central Scouting or the International Scouting Service.
Case in point is TSN hockey analyst Craig Button's first round assessment of the upcoming NHL draft.
Button, a former general manager for the Calgary Flames, listed Mikael Grigorenko at number seven in his Jan. 16 rankings. That's six spots back of potential first overall pick Nail Yakupov.
So what's the issue with Button's rankings?
This is the lowest Grigorenko (who is having a standout season for the Quebec Remparts) has been ranked on any of the top rankings lists (the ISS has had Grigorenko ranked first overall for three consecutive months, while CSS has Grigorenko ranked second).
Grigorenko, though, is only a small part of this. The table below breaks down the top 30 skaters on the ISS & Button’s list. The CSS is not included, as they have separate lists for North American and European skaters.
Button | ISS | |
QMJHL | 1 | 1 |
OHL | 11 | 11 |
WHL | 6 | 6 |
Euro | 9 | 6 |
US | 3 | 6 |
Looking at this breakdown, it's clear that the QMJHL is behind the other major junior leagues in producing top end talent.
The QMJHL has only one player ranked in the first round on both these lists. That’s very troubling.
What's the issue? Personally, I feel these scouting services are spending more time elsewhere, and not being able to see the top end talent the QMJHL has to offer.
Brian Huddle, a scout & columnist for Future Considerations hockey, attributes part of the reason for these rankings to scout confidence in the league.
“I think some teams tend to shy away from the Q a bit. It’s great hockey, but has been given a reputation as a league that is a tad easier to score in comparison to (a league like) the OHL” says Huddle. “There seems to be a general lack of confidence in offensive production out east translating at the National Hockey League level”.
A few other scouts I have talked to have echoed this as well.
Another theory I have is the manner in which the QMJHL markets its players in comparison to the other two CHL leagues.
Take the OHL for example. I know, along with everyone else in the scouting world, that they are the best developmental league in the world, no doubt. But they also market their players better. Cable companies within Ontario cover all OHL contests, and these games can be seen in other parts of the country. With my cable package, I can watch any OHL game, on any given night.
For some of these scouting services, where budgets are sometimes tight, this is how they get to view games. Most scouts I have talked to in the pro ranks, view more OHL games than any other league, and can credit accessibility as a big reason.
The QMJHL has tried something similar - a partnership through Telus - airing Q games. The difference is that the OHL packages are usually added into packages such as Centre Ice as a bonus. So you get your NHL games, as well as OHL games.
You would think, with Saint John of the QMJHL winning the Memorial Cup, that coverage would have increased. But games are still rarely televised. EastLink TV broadcasts one QMJHL game each and every Friday, but this only reaches a small portion of viewers.
I asked Huddle if he thought if the OHL does a better job marketing its players, or if they’re just more skilled in general. He raised a few great points: the OHL has a leg up on the rest of the competition in the way it has marketed its players. For example, naming Steven Stamkos & John Tavares as players they did an excellent job marketing when they played in the league.
“As far as the skill, the OHL benefits from a bigger population and some great programs out of the GTHL as well”.
Hockeyfights.com writer Chris Phillips agrees.
“I think it comes down to the players,” says Phillips. “The O has a bigger scope. More often they get elite players, more often scouts want to see them”
Basically, what it comes down to most times is the bigger the market, the bigger the revenue. The more revenue a team (or league) takes in, the more money they can dish out for development.
“They have the luxury of some bigger markets in southern Ontario, and some money to back that marketing job. And that’s without word of mouth” Huddle also said.
Word of mouth. This may be the key. If word isn’t getting out about these players, then scouts aren’t noticing the talent. I think this may be the biggest challenge facing the league in the future.
Until the league does a better job exposing its players to the world, the best we can expect is for rankings to stay on par with this season’s, but we’re probably looking at them slipping even farther.
