European Hockey League Rankings

Regular readers know of our affinity for NHL Equivalency as developed by the marvelous Gabriel Desjardins.  From our regular feature on the NHLE progress of the Oilers' prospects, to the look at Mats Zuccarello-Aasen, to our statistical breakdowns in our Top 25 under 25, the Copper & Blue loves the NHLE metric.  From the link, we know the conversion values, so it's interesting to note the IIHF's rankings of the European leagues.  The rankings below were taken from the IIHF website.

1. Kontinental Hockey League - Russia
2. SM-liiga - Finland
3. Extraliga - Czech Republic
4. Elitserien - Sweden
5. Extraliga - Slovakia
6. Nationalliga A - Switzerland
7. Deutsche Eishockey-Liga - Germany
8. Belarusian Vysshaya Liga - Belarus
9. Latvijas hokeja liga - Lativa
10. AL-Bank Ligaen - Denmark
11. Erste Bank Eishockey Liga - Austria
12. Kazakhstani Championship - Kazkhstan
13. GET-ligaen - Norway
14. Ligue Magnus - France
15. Slohokej Liga - Slovenia
16. Serie A - Italy
17. OB I. Bajnokság - Hungary
18. Polska Liga Hokejowa - Poland
19. Eredivisie - Netherlands
20. Vyscha Liha - Ukraine
21. Elite Ice Hockey League - Great Britain
22. Liga Nationala de hochei - Romania

I couldn't find an explanation for any methodology behind the rankings, so the what the IIHF is doing here is a mystery.  The rankings disagree with Gabe's conversion factors to a great extent. Sweden's Elitserien has dropped two spots from the previous year to fourth overall this year and the Nationalliga A in Switzerland has moved up one spot.

The rankings were more meaningful for the kickoff of the short-lived Champions Hockey League which may resume play next year (I'd love to watch this *AHEM* VERSUS), but it's interesting to look at them anyway when considering draft prospects and foreign free agents.