Mestis vs FPHL

Mestis sits at a higher caliber than the FPHL does. The styles of play differ here in that Mestis is about speed, skill, finesse and FPHL is more regimented, physical, with way more fighting.

As we mentioned above, the majority of players across Mestis are Finnish. This equates to less imports on each team throughout the league. The caliber of play in Mestis is good as it's filled with a mix of talented young players and veterans. The average age across all teams is young with team average ages ranging from 22 on the lower side and 25-26 average age on on the high end. In most cases, if you're an import here, teams will expect you to have some good pro experience or strong stats playing in NCAA/USports/etc. Since they're picky about imports in Mestis, this is especially the case.

The skill level of players and caliber of play in the FPHL is much better than a lot of people realize. Similar to the minor leagues above it (SP, Coast), the league has gotten better in recent years skillswise too. Being that it's one of the lowest tiers of professional hockey, some people assume that anyone can play here. Almost all players who play in the Fed today have spent some time prior in juniors, college (NCAA, USports, ACHA, etc), or minor pro either in North America or Europe. There's always an exception or 2 to this with an out of nowhere walk-on, a 4th line fighter, etc, but for the most part players are not cutting it here unless they've also played in one of the places we listed above prior to playing here.