CHL Not Winning Every Battle

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A lot has been made this summer about the ongoing recruiting war over players between the CHL and NCAA programs. While the number of players backing out of their college commitment in favour of the CHL has actually gone down the last few years, the high profile players doing it in a short span this summer have drawn more attention to the subject.

I think it would be hard to argue that the CHL isn't winning this border skirmish and will continue to do so unless the NCAA alters some rules specifically for NCAA hockey and I am not sure if that is even possible for them to consider. But until then, they'll continue to lose more of the big players than they win.

But that's not to say that college hockey is not without some victories of their own. There are plenty of cases where high caliber players with CHL options are still headed down the college path, or at least haven't eliminated that option.

Head to Head: Ritchie Vs. Ambroz

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The NHL draft is fast approaching and we’ve put together some head to head match ups featuring 20 different prospects. We’ve consulted 10 scouts from 10 different organizations to get their opinions in 5 different categories and ultimately, who they would take if they had the final say.

Enjoy these and tune into The Pipeline Show on Saturday June 25th from 10-Noon MST for a complete, in-depth recap of round one and coverage of day 2.

For now here’s H2H: Brett Ritchie vs. Seth Ambroz.

2011 Draft Blog: Seth Ambroz Pt.2

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Continuing his guest blogging series with us today is Seth Ambroz, forward of the Omaha Lancers. The product of New Prague, MN wrote the first entry to the blog back on October 17th which you can read HERE. Since then, the 17-year-old has continued to develop with Omaha, has helped the Lancers to the 2nd best record in the USHL's Western Conference and headlined team USA's third straight gold medal at the World Junior A Challenge.

To fill in the time from Chapter 1 until now, here is Seth Ambroz...

Top 5 Tuesdays: Surprises on 2011 Ranking

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It's the first release of the year from NHL Central Scouting and as such, the 3 CHL leagues are ranked separately as is the NCAA, USHL and European countries. Most scouts have limited viewings for players outside of their immediate areas so we often see a lot of movement from this listing to the Mid-terms.

Tonight on TPS we'll speak with E.J. McGuire, who admittedly has not seen the WHL yet, about the Central Scouting rankings.

Until then, here are 5 things that jumped out to Dean and I this morning...

USA Strikes WJAC Gold... Again

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The United States has captured its third straight gold medal finish at the World Junior A Challenge on the strength of a third period comeback including 5 unanswered goals against Canada East. The final score on Sunday evening saw the Americans skate away with an impressive 6-4 victory.

This n' That - Mid October

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It's a great time of year. The CHL is now a month into the season, the new NCAA campaign has kicked off plus the AHL is underway and so there are lots of things to look at at various levels.

Who's hot and who's not? Which 2011 eligible players are rising or falling? Are there free agents worth keeping an eye on?

This could take a while, I'll try to be brief.

2011 Draft Blog: Seth Ambroz

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It's become tradition. Every year we get a handful of NHL draft eligible players to do some guest blogging for us. The list of past players who have taken part include Jordan Eberle (EDM), John Moore (CLB), Ethan Werek (NYR), Mike Lee (PHX), Joe Colborne (BOS), Dylan Olsen (CHI), Mark Pysyk (BUF) and Brett Connolly (TBY).

We have already recruited a few players for this year and the first to send us his first installment is power forward Seth Ambroz. The 6'3, 210 lb native of New Prague Minnesota has been a standout for the Omaha Lancers in the USHL for the past couple of years and is hoping to build on that for his NHL draft year.

Here now, in his own words, is the first installment of the 2011 Guest Blog by Seth Ambroz...

Top 5 Tuesday: 2011 Draft Watch

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I know what you're thinking: The 2010 draft is still 6 months away... why bother with a 2011 list? But if you know anything about what we do here at Coming Down the Pipe! and on The Pipeline Show, you shouldn't be too surprised. We always have our eyes on the future.

I keep hearing about how bad the 2011 NHL Draft is supposed to be and yet I find that to be a little misleading. Afterall, the 2008 WHL Bantam Draft was one of the strongest in recent memory and there is a blueliner available who some have told me might be the best player in his position to come out of Europe in a very long time.

It might be a bit of a down year for the OHL, compared to recent years, but does that make 2001 a weak draft class all on its own? Of course not but still I am told that the overall depth won't be the same as we've had with 2008, 2009 and the group available in June of 2010.

I still think the top end of 2011 looks pretty darn good. Here's why: