Just not understanding how this is supposed to work.
Canadian Michael Hage says "I want to play in college at Michigan, that's a goal of mine and a thing I want to do"
He goes "well I can still play at Michigan if I go to Kitchener, the OHL team that drafted me 9th overall, I don't have to go move to the United States and play for Chicago in the USHL, so I'll reject my tender offer and sign with Kitchener"
So he gets drafted 1st round out of Kitchener in the OHL, and not Chicago in the USHL... but now he's signing his ELC and not going to Michigan at all?
It just doesn't make a lot of sense. Why is he going to the OHL at all if the OHL path means not going to college at Michigan where he wanted to go all along? Somehow going to the CHL to retain NCAA eligibility results in... less notable players playing NCAA than before? That's saying there will be a built-in inefficiency to the process.
Hage made the decision to go the college route and
forgo the OHL at 15. He was locked on to that path. He entered a league, the USHL, that had a strong working relationship with the NCAA as a whole and a team that had a strong working relationship with some prominent programs, specifically Michigan. Chicago knew Hage would be gone at 18 and the league as a whole encouraged players to play college as soon as they were ready and celebrated that fact. Hage, drafted near the end of the first round, could have signed an ELC but knew he wasn't ready for the AHL and why sign now only to have to play in the OHL, a decision that he decided against three years prior.
Fast forward to today. Hage no longer has to make the decision between playing in the OHL or the NCAA. He now has the opportunity to do both so he gladly reports to Kitchener, with a verbal commitment in hand from Michigan. The OHL, however, is not the USHL and Kitchener is certainly not Chicago. He is in an environment that has a completely different culture, one that is focused first and foremost on advancing to the pro game.
He plays two years for the Rangers, enjoying a rabid fan base. with well over 5k fans coming to see him every home game and a ton of media attention to go along with it (unlike what he experienced playing for the Steel and the USHL where he played in an empty arena). The coaching staff at Kitchener is top notch and he has access to all the bells and whistles expected for high end players. He is still thinking about playing for Michigan though but wants to see how the draft goes. He's drafted 21st overall by his favorite NHL team and now he has a decsion to make. Unlike what his USHL club was telling him, Kitchener is urging him to hold off on going to Michigan just yet. They are telling him, hey why don't you attend the Habs rookie camp and see how that goes. He does so and really enjoys it. The Rangers then tell him, hey why enroll in school just yet, you have a great thing going here so why don't you attend the main camp and who knows, maybe you might even get to play some games with the big club and just remember we will still be here waiting for you.
Let's also say that by now the CHL-NHL agreement has changed, allowing 18 year old players the opportunity to play at least part of the year in the AHL. So Kitchener and his agent say, hey why not sign, earn a nice signing bonus, play a bit in the AHL and by the time you come back to us, we will hand you the captaincy. So Hage does just that and never makes it to Michigan.
Now who knows, maybe Hage does make it to Michigan but there is now a distinct possibility that he doesn't because he is playing in a league that does not see itself nor want to be a feeder system to the NCAA. What the CHL wants above all else, is for the NCAA to be nothing more than a fall back option.
Can't imagine that helping Canadians to make NIL money is on the State Department's list of priorities.
LOL no it's not but remember, we are talking hockey here and NIL deals in hockey aren't worth all that much to begin with for the vast majority of players.
