He's ready for the Clash at Bowman Gray next weekend. If you know you know
This is mostly correct except that Quebec probably isn't the poorest province. It is certainly true that the Q's territory in Canada is economically below Ontario and the western provinces.
www.sportico.com
Is it just me or are most of the CHL guys committing to the NCAA are guys who probably would have went the Usports route or lower than AHL route in NA or Europe?
It shouldn’t be surprising that high-profile CHL players who are central to the success of their team and have years of theoretical eligibility in the CHL left aren’t announcing in the middle of the season that they plan to leave the team. That would be awkward at best for the players. It makes sense why they would be waiting until the season ends to make their announcements even jf they already have an agreement with a college in principle. This has been alluded to with Michael Misa, for instance.
Yes this might be so and my comment was an observation not a predictor or judgment of anything going forward and it will be very interesting to see how things unfold in the next several years.
Hence why I think hockey turns into quasi baseball with how the MLB Draft works for HS guys: those high end HS guys have an NCAA commitment lined up as a fall back option in case they aren't drafted high/aren't offered the slot money they want, but most sign and bypass university, forcing the NCAA coaches to fill spots through JUCO/portal/other new recruits
Would need to make all players immediately eligible for the AHL for this to make sense. HS baseball players move to the Minors when they sign, they don't just say stay playing high school. Without a direct Draft -> AHL path, it doesn't make a lot of sense that top Americans in particular will all of a sudden stop playing in the NCAA their D+1. I don't think the ELC + Slide is as appealing as it's been discussed, and think the NCAA season + sign at end of the year is a bit of an overlooked factor.
As of today, a kid drafted out of a CHL league still needs to be signed within two years or else they'll go back into the Draft. That's the most important piece right now before anything else regarding currently active CHL players that were or will be drafted into the NHL.
Most CHLers are Canadian and don't have the cultural pull to the NCAA, so they may or may not go NCAA if the CHL-NHL Agreement is changed so they can go to the A earlier.
Yeah, it'll be an interesting development to keep an eye on. Something that won't really be known for a fairly long time and will depend a lot on the CBA.
Fair points, I think it'll just depend on what the NHL teams advise and what the CHL-NHL Agreement looks like. But generally speaking, guys like Porter Martone and Ryan Roobroeck should move up to the NCAA when there's little left for them to prove in the O.
I believe the CHL-AHL barrier should also just completely come down, the AHL is a pro league that advertises itself as an 18yrs+ player base. Any CHL players who are 18yrs or older should have the chance to play there regardless of draft position, if they cant hang in pro hockey send them back to the CHL with their ELC and let them develop there the same. It makes no sense for the CHL to restrict 18-19yr olds from playing pro if they dont hold a monopoly anymore on the same aged kids going to the NCAA anyways. All the paths should be opened and unrestricted to provide the best development avenue.
The CHL has to lookout for its own business interests & remain profitable. They need to keep talent as long as possible instead of being raided earlier than currently.
I'm interested to see what a kid like Ryan Roobroeck does. He's a late 2007 & thus draft eligible in 2026, but has already proven to be one of the top producers in the O. He might feel a great challenge by going to Michigan, Boston University, etc as opposed to staying in Niagara.
