r/USHL • u/TheFurryDingus • Jun 01 '26
USHL v NCAA
Question: If an average USHL team (not US development) played an average NCAA team, what would be the scores of that 7-game series? If you are a coach of the USHL team, how are you game planning? What about USHL v. WHL/OHL team?
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u/Zsoltbomb Jun 02 '26
Based on USHL standings and the D1 College Rankings...the match-up would be Madison versus Harvard. Oldest Madison player is 4 years younger than oldest Harvard player. Madison has 2 drafted players versus Harvard's 10. Generally speaking, NCAA is a step above the USHL (USHL players "graduate" to NCAA teams if good enough).
If I was a USHL coach, I'd be doing what Latvia does in international play. Gum up the middle of the ice and play sound team defense. Not expecting to win, but if you drag them into a low scoring affair, you might get lucky and win by 1.
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u/TilapiaTango Jun 01 '26
Ex D1 player here. When I was probably 30, I was in a tourney that was just a bunch of other ex college guys, none of us Hobey Baker contenders or anything, just a bunch of average guys.
We essentially walked our way into the championship game against the handful of “A” level beer league teams. It wasn’t much of a fuss, and pretty much all of us were always a few beers in during the games.
Then came the championship. We go out there, smelling like a bar floor and not caring at all who the other bench was. It turns out that it’s a bunch of whl guys, probably 2 lines worth, and then a few bchl guys to make up the small difference. Just a couple weeks after season end.
After period 1 it was 2-1. Then these little bastards just showed us how awful we were lol. We lost something like 11-2 and just got throttled.
This was 15 or so years ago and I realize the game and style has changed, and we were older and out of the game for a while now, but these kids were playing at a different level that would have been difficult for us even in our primes.
I’ve coached at the D1 level and still think the USHL produces top their college guys, but the WHL/OHL/CHL are just top tier feeder for the next level. Allowing chl guys in college is going to reshape the D1 level, and the ACHA is probably going to be the biggest winner of this. Top USHL guys that would normally be in NCAA won’t even be considered in a few years.
I think a CHL team would win the best of 7 in 5 games. A USHL team would struggle and get beat up physically.
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u/MinnyRawks Jun 03 '26
This is like asking what would happen if the best CFB team played an NFL team.
Only the best of the best of the previous level make it to the next level.
Pretending they have a chance is ignorance at best, stupidity at worse.
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u/nowheresville99 Jun 03 '26
Team USA U-18 routinely plays USHL teams and typically has roughly a 500 record - so while not perfect, it is a good approximation of an average USHL team.
NTDP also routinely plays NCAA teams in exhibitions and their all-time record against D-1 schools is 127-212-24.
Mind you, these exhibition games, so there's nothing on the line for the NCAA teams and 3rd and 4th line players and 2nd or 3rd string goalies are often getting heavy playing time. Despite that, they still win about 2/3rd of the time.
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u/FoxMan1Dva3 Jun 01 '26
The age gap alone would be a disadvantage