True but stating the obvious it depends on the quality. Just as a comparison, the Italy squad had this experience:
WC: 278 GP
HockeyAllsvenskan: 14 GP
Liiga: 59 GP
KHL: 92 GP
AHL: 210 GP
DEL: 774 GP
Compare that with Belfast last season:
WC: 52 GP
HockeyAllsvenskan: 57 GP
Liiga: 136 GP
Czechia: 31 GP
AHL: 203 GP
DEL: 67 GP
And I would argue that Italy look marginally stronger on paper, hence, I am still struggling to see the argument that the standard is lower? Thomas Larkin, amongst others, are as good a player as you will see in the EIHL and whilst the lower ranked teams are not massively strong, I would argue nor were (say) Dundee or Fife