February 25, 2015
MJHL grads Travis Hamonic (Winnipeg Saints), Dale Weise (Winnipeg South Blues), Ryan Garbutt (Blues) and Jordin Tootoo (OCN) make up 864 CJHL grads currently playing in the NHL, AHL, ECHL and CHL.
Today, the CJHL issued a news release, reporting that review of team rosters in professional and major junior hockey shows that 864 Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) alumni are currently playing in the National Hockey League (NHL), the American Hockey League (AHL), the ECHL and the Canadian Hockey League (CHL).
The study showed that 129 current players in the NHL are alumni of the CJHL. This accounts for 19% of all NHL players or an average of 4.3 players per team. In addition to the NHL, there are 383 players currently playing in the AHL and ECHL, with another 352 CJHL alumni playing in the CHL.
Below is the number of former CJHL players competing at the professional level across North America (% of all players in parenthesis):
· National Hockey League – 129 (19%)
· American Hockey League – 202 (23%)
· ECHL – 181 (36%)
· Canadian Hockey League – 352 (25%)
“We are proud of the fact that a significant number of CJHL go on to play hockey in the NHL, AHL, ECHL and CHL, including having players drafted by NHL teams directly out of our leagues,” stated CJHL President Kirk Lamb.
“It is a testament to the success of our ten Junior A leagues and their ability to provide opportunities for players to develop their skills in a high-performance setting year after year.”
The AHL is the top development to the NHL and it currently has 202 CJHL alumni, which is up from 177 a year ago. This accounts for 23% of all AHL players and almost 6.7 CJHL alumni per AHL team. The other minor professional hockey league in North America, the ECHL, currently has 181 former CJHL players on their rosters. This accounts for 36% of the ECHL players and equates to an average of 6.5 CJHL alumni per ECHL team.
352 CJHL former CJHL players are currently playing in the CHL. The number of players has increased over last year by 8% and accounts for 25% of CHL’s rosters. The CHL is comprised of the Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
About the CJHL – The Canadian Junior Hockey League is a national organization comprised of all 10 Junior A hockey leagues in Canada. The CJHL represents more than 129 teams and 2,900 players and has 2,902 alumni furthering their hockey careers at the professional, major junior and college levels across North America. For the latest CJHL news and features, visit www.cjhlhockey.com and follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cjhlhockey or @cjhlhockey.
