It is almost a sure bet that the NHL will re-open its doors in 2006, offering dramatically reduced salaries to those willing to suit up and take the ice. The NHL Player's Association (PA) has done a really terrific job of making sure that the Haves of hockey are considered. Talk of contraction to save their salaries has put a large wedge between the top tier players and the rising talent on the other side, not of the blue line but the bottom line.
Name is the name of the game, though, and none of these overpaid darlings have the sports fan crossover-drawing star power to generate much fear or sympathy out of ownership. We expect to see most of them buckle to management and report to camp. A few might sit out the NHL in favor of international leagues for another year, cracking open the door for a few minor leaguers who can play at that level.
It is very clear, from the high level of play in most leagues, that the players know that this is their year to shine. Whatever movement that they can hope to achieve in 2006 will be based on the records from this year.
There are also major league players who kept up their minor league union cards who are eligible to play this year.
All of this talent bottled up in the minor leagues definitely puts an asterisk on the 2004-2005 season. It also means that a lot of fresh new talent that would have occupied slots in the AHL may be in a holding pattern in the ECHL or the CHL, awaiting the re-opening of the NHL.
This is the second year of MLN's FAB50 Hockey™ survey. Our staff can poll scouts, coaches, PR people, Broadcasters and personnel from the NHL clubs to discover the fifty hottest players in the minor leagues.
How do we determine who is the best of the best? We examine records, and great players from every team from the Class AAA American Hockey League (AHL) down to the Class A Southeast Professional Hockey League (SPHL). It is good to remember, though, that hockey is not baseball.
To be considered for the 2005 Fab50, a player cannot have participated in more than 25 NHL games in any single preceding season. The player must not be older than 26 years before Sept. 15 of 2004.
Affiliation deals with AA clubs aside, players in the AHL have the only real fast track into the NHL, which is why most or all of our FAB50 picks come from the AHL. There are players that have a shot at the AHL playing in the ECHL and CHL. One, No. 50, is on a tuner in the ECHL after a rough start in the AHL. It is rare to see players in Class A progress much farther than the AA. We feature the stars of AA and A hockey in our "Ones2Watch™" section later this season.
The 2005 edition of the FAB50 Hockey features better graphics, and new indices for readers on DSL or higher connections that group players by major league club, minor league, and team as well as a full picture showcase (The "Gallery"). To read on, click on the ranking numbers below each article, or select the player from the pull-down at the top of each article page, or browse the gallery, team, league or NHL pages.
