Why do juniors move to the CHL?

[scbern27 0]

Why is it that many juniors decide to enter the draft and play in the CHL instead of staying in their home country(Switzerland, Sweden, Russia, etc) and playing in the top league there? Wouldn't the level of play be comparable?

[Chadd 916]

Guys that believe they will be able to play in the NHL often want to come over early and adapt to the more physical north american game in juniors so they won't have to spend as much time in the minors later.

[ibeck 38]

Alos a lot of guys want to get used to the pro style schedule the CHL offers. They play 68 regular season games plus all the travel gets them ready for the NHL. Mind you 36 hour bus trips in the WHL is nothing like flying with an NHL team but 68 games plus practice certain aids in the prep.

[Zjack38 46]

Also the Canadian junior leagues CHL,WHL,and the other one forget what its called, are considered some of the best juniors leagues in the world, so there is better players, and where there are better players, there's more scouts

[chippa13 1844]

There are plenty of young players who decide to stay closer to home and play against men in a Euro elite league.

[ibeck 38]

Also the Canadian junior leagues CHL,WHL,and the other one forget what its called, are considered some of the best juniors leagues in the world, so there is better players, and where there are better players, there's more scouts

The WHL, OHL and QMJHL are part of the CHL, The 3 leagues just divide up canada

[mickz 107]

Also the Canadian junior leagues CHL,WHL,and the other one forget what its called, are considered some of the best juniors leagues in the world, so there is better players, and where there are better players, there's more scouts

There's the CJHL too with the BCHL being one of the most successful Junior A leagues in Canada. It's become a big stepping stone for guys looking to play for post secondary institutions in Canada/USA. They've had guys jump to the CHL on their way to the NHL as well.

[pondchief 2]

Even though Europe is scouted much more than it used to be you are still more likely to get scouted in canada than in Europe.

[Cams 7]

Like it's been mentioned, CHL teams play a more NHL style schedule, and you get lots of 3 games in 3 days type of scheduling, plus you also get education out of it too. Smaller rinks (NHL size) as opposed to euro size, give it a more NHL type of game too. You are also exposed to the most scouts this way, and many NHL teams may want said draftee to play "closer" to their NHL city, so they can be watched in terms of their development, both on and off ice. Plus, in some of these cities, you get a lot of medio exposure (London, and Windsor for example). Most CHL teams employ coaches for stuff like media interviews now.