With its results on the national stage — its teams winning each of the last three national titles — the NCHC has quickly built its reputation as the nation's premier conference in college hockey. Those results speak for themselves.
But beyond the national picture, the strength of the conference, on a nightly basis, has been its parity, and — over the last three years in particular — a razor thin margin separating the 'top teams' of Minnesota-Duluth, Denver, North Dakota, and St. Cloud State. The summer of 2018 saw plenty of change throughout the league, and as the 2018-19 season get underway, teams like Colorado College and Western Michigan will look to upset the status quo.