CHL Can Now Play NCAA - Changes Everything

[MTU34]

Brad Schlossman went on a podcast with Ben Holden (B1G Network PxP) & Paul Caponigri (B1G Network Color Commentator) and basically insinuated that Michigan has some silent commits from OHLers that they're sitting on until the junior season is over.

They’re not the only ones. I know Michigan Tech has at least one name that they’ve gotten a commitment from that isn’t public yet (although I’d suspect Michigan’s names are quite a bit bigger than ours)

 

[wickedwitch]

On Spittin Chiclets Whitney said he heard Michigan has 700k per year to spend on NIL deals every year . He made a point the big football - basketball program with all money could be where big NIL money will go in hockey which could hurt A lot of hockey programs that don’t have big say football programs ect .

That number seems consistent with top players getting low six figure deals as has been previously reported (but unconfirmed).

 

[WarriorofTime]

Yeah $100K at a school like Michigan is probably not unrealistic. For reference, AJ Dybantsa (Number 1 HS basketball recruit) is reportedly getting $7 million to play at BYU. Hockey NIL is literal crumbs by comparison, but still a nice chunk of change for an 18 year old kid.

 

[Fatass]

Yeah $100K at a school like Michigan is probably not unrealistic. For reference, AJ Dybantsa (Number 1 HS basketball recruit) is reportedly getting $7 million to play at BYU. Hockey NIL is literal crumbs by comparison, but still a nice chunk of change for an 18 year old kid.

Do these kids (regardless of the sport) still take classes and have to keep a minimum gpa to play? Sounds like shelling out big money to “so called” student athletes might compromise the student part. Those schools have a lot invested in those kids on the field, court, or ice.

 

[Hockeyville USA]

Do these kids (regardless of the sport) still take classes and have to keep a minimum gpa to play? Sounds like shelling out big money to “so called” student athletes might compromise the student part. Those schools have a lot invested in those kids on the field, court, or ice.

Yes, the NCAA still has some baseline level standards

 

[WarriorofTime]

Do these kids (regardless of the sport) still take classes and have to keep a minimum gpa to play? Sounds like shelling out big money to “so called” student athletes might compromise the student part. Those schools have a lot invested in those kids on the field, court, or ice.

They have to stay academically eligible, but once they pass NCAA clearinghouse, as long as they maintain a minimum GPA and continue to have satisfactory progress towards a degree, it's ultimately up to the university to determine what that means when they're there. The University of North Carolina scandal involving student-athletes basically exposed the NCAA has no real power to determine what type of courseload is legitimate or not.

University of North Carolina academic-athletic scandal - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[CGHockey]

Yes, the NCAA still has some baseline level standards

I believe they must maintain a 2.0 GPA if im not mistaken.

 

[bigdog16]

It's rarely an issue for NCAA hockey players. For 90% of schools, college isn't difficult. As long as you go to class and submit your homework you will be able to maintain a 2.0.

 

[WarriorofTime]

It's rarely an issue for NCAA hockey players. For 90% of schools, college isn't difficult. As long as you go to class and submit your homework you will be able to maintain a 2.0.

Hockey players tend to be more affluent/have stronger academic backgrounds, and there's a high level of self-selection if they chose to attend college to begin with considering how many pro players didn't.

 

[OSA]

Yeah don’t think that would be legally enforceable. Wouldn’t be legal in the US and the US has weaker anti-trust laws than most countries.

You’re probably right in the grand scheme of things. I’m just saying his agreement was not an average CHL agreement. Exceptional Status players, being granted entry into the league a year earlier than is otherwise allowable, they have conditions in excess of a normal CHL contract that they have to agree to. Tavares, McDavid etc. I would be very surprised if remaining within the league through the player’s draft year was not one of them. Is this enforceable? Maybe not, but Who knows

 

[Corso]

On Spittin Chiclets Whitney said he heard Michigan has 700k per year to spend on NIL deals every year . He made a point the big football - basketball program with all money could be where big NIL money will go in hockey which could hurt A lot of hockey programs that don’t have big say football programs ect .

That would be a surprisingly high number. Regardless of whether it's true or not, we will begin to see more information as to who is exactly getting what when (if) the new House Settlement is approved. The hearing on it is today.

Explaining the House settlement oversight group

A new piece of the House settlement was detailed on Wednesday. But what is the Settlement Implementation Committee, and will this end legal challenges on NIL?

www.sportsbusinessjournal.com

Of course there will be more lawsuits, and this "settlement" will be the cause of some. In the end only contracts arising from collecting bargaining agreements will end the never-ending court battles and changes.

 

[Corso]

You’re probably right in the grand scheme of things. I’m just saying his agreement was not an average CHL agreement. Exceptional Status players, being granted entry into the league a year earlier than is otherwise allowable, they have conditions in excess of a normal CHL contract that they have to agree to. Tavares, McDavid etc. I would be very surprised if remaining within the league through the player’s draft year was not one of them. Is this enforceable? Maybe not, but Who knows

Most CHL clubs will not try to enforce their standard contract agreements due to poor optics and of course potential lawsuits. Dupont, however, may have signed a different type of contract with "payments" involved and that may muddy the waters.

 

[Hockeyville USA]

You’re probably right in the grand scheme of things. I’m just saying his agreement was not an average CHL agreement. Exceptional Status players, being granted entry into the league a year earlier than is otherwise allowable, they have conditions in excess of a normal CHL contract that they have to agree to. Tavares, McDavid etc. I would be very surprised if remaining within the league through the player’s draft year was not one of them. Is this enforceable? Maybe not, but Who knows

It's not enforceable. And it's a battle they'd lose in court if it got that far. Judges in the States and Canada would be very confused that a private business isn't letting someone go to an academic institution (likely would be University of Michigan). Extremely hard to prevent someone from pursuing scholastic athlete opportunities. They'd throw it out and rule in favor of McKenna.

 

[Hockeyville USA]

Reid Dyck (2004, WHL, Swift Current Broncos, unsigned 2022 Boston 6th rounder) commits to Colgate

 

[Boonk]

I would suspect there was some contractual language ensuring that he remains in the WHL when he was granted EP by Hockey Canada and the CHL.

Places of employment cannot bar or prevent any individual from persuing a post-secondary education, especially those still under the age of 18 in Canada or the US. All you need for D1 sports is a high school diploma and proper academic requirements met. CHL teams would be looking at some pretty hefty lawsuits if they tried to enforce their miniscule and exploitative junior league contracts over federal laws and regulations regarding the right to pursue an education.

 

[jtechkid68]

In hockey only? I would have to imagine that is going to be among the highest hockey funds in the country. Hard to believe most programs break 500K.

That's kind of what I wondered with regards to some hockey blue bloods. Like a North Dakota. Or a Denver. They are a one sport school that isn't Football or Basketball. What does their NIL funds look like? Are they going to be blue bloods anymore going forward?

Michigan Hockey has 700k NIL to spend yearly on it players per Whitney .

 

[Corso]

O/A CHL and the Portal....seems like this is the way of the future for many programs to construct their rosters....amazing how much things have changed from five years ago.

 

[WarriorofTime]

O/A CHL and the Portal....seems like this is the way of the future

There are still a lot of USHL/NAHL/BCHL etc commitments happening, they just aren't all re-posted here.

 

[Blue and Green]

O/A CHL and the Portal....seems like this is the way of the future for many programs to construct their rosters....amazing how much things have changed from five years ago.

Increasingly, D1 will be able to use CHL like a de facto farm league. The top talent will play in CHL at age 16 and 17 and then move to NCAA at age 18. The second tier will make the move at 19, third tier at 20, fourth tier at 21. It's mostly only CHL overage commitments that are being announced so far, probably as a courtesy while the CHL season is still going, but I expect a boatload of non-overage commitment announcements in the spring. Also expecting a bunch of USports player defections.

 

[WarriorofTime]

Increasingly, D1 will be able to use CHL like a de facto farm league. The top talent will play in CHL at age 16 and 17 and then move to NCAA at age 18. The second tier will make the move at 19, third tier at 20, fourth tier at 21. It's mostly only CHL overage commitments that are being announced so far, probably as a courtesy while the CHL season is still going, but I expect a boatload of non-overage commitment announcements in the spring. Also expecting a bunch of USports player defections.

Yeah I think a good chunk of the American kids will still be coming out of USHL, especially if CHL starts to look more and more like an NCAA feeder, then it doesn't matter too much to be in the "best" feeder (like is it a big deal if a kid plays in the GTHL versus ALLIANCE or HEO? Probably not) as long as the one they play in is still good. Going to be increasingly harder for the 20 year old NAHL players to secure a D1 spot, the various random American independent junior ones, spot as well as the Canadian Junior A guys and the ones that do the direct from Prep School route (still around but won't be as often). Not as sure about the BCHL from here. They won't have as much of a pull to keep kids out of their Major Junior affiliate league except just as a leverage play for ice time, etc. We'll see going forward how many guys from BCHL are getting recruited to play D1. All these leagues will still exist though, just mostly as D3 feeders (unless NCAA Hockey program start expanding quicker than CHL franchises).

 

[Corso]

Increasingly, D1 will be able to use CHL like a de facto farm league. The top talent will play in CHL at age 16 and 17 and then move to NCAA at age 18. The second tier will make the move at 19, third tier at 20, fourth tier at 21. It's mostly only CHL overage commitments that are being announced so far, probably as a courtesy while the CHL season is still going, but I expect a boatload of non-overage commitment announcements in the spring. Also expecting a bunch of USports player defections.

I've heard that there may be up to two dozen more U-Sports players that have or may yet commit. I know of three high end CHL players who have not made their commitment public as of yet. Not sure how many more will commit up to and after the draft. I've always maintained that the majority will sign their ELCs and forgo the college route all together.

 

[MS]

Increasingly, D1 will be able to use CHL like a de facto farm league. The top talent will play in CHL at age 16 and 17 and then move to NCAA at age 18. The second tier will make the move at 19, third tier at 20, fourth tier at 21. It's mostly only CHL overage commitments that are being announced so far, probably as a courtesy while the CHL season is still going, but I expect a boatload of non-overage commitment announcements in the spring. Also expecting a bunch of USports player defections.

As I've said a few times, I highly doubt the bolded.

There might be a few specific cases a year that jump, but the vast majority of drafted players are going to want to fast-track getting their ELC/signing bonus and get to NHL training camps and preseason games. And most NHL teams are going to want to get their hands on the player and get them into training/development camps.

And a lot of guys are just going to have loyalty to the team/league they're in - they've been mentally committed to winning that championship, they'll have friends, billet families etc. they like and are familiar with and there is always a risk associated with a change.

Even with undrafted 2005s right now, there have been virtually zero commits for the 25-26 season (is Tulk the only one?) and most of those guys are going for the 26-27 after completing their overage CHL season.

 

[SpeedyCerviche]

As I've said a few times, I highly doubt the bolded.

There might be a few specific cases a year that jump, but the vast majority of drafted players are going to want to fast-track getting their ELC/signing bonus and get to NHL training camps and preseason games. And most NHL teams are going to want to get their hands on the player and get them into training/development camps.

And a lot of guys are just going to have loyalty to the team/league they're in - they've been mentally committed to winning that championship, they'll have friends, billet families etc. they like and are familiar with and there is always a risk associated with a change.

Even with undrafted 2005s right now, there have been virtually zero commits for the 25-26 season (is Tulk the only one?) and most of those guys are going for the 26-27 after completing their overage CHL season.

Birnie I think out of the WHL too? Never really stated when he is leaving for NCAA.

 

[Corso]

Birnie I think out of the WHL too? Never really stated when he is leaving for NCAA.

There's Carson Birnie who is committed to Tech and Brady Birnie who is committed to Bemidji. Both are expected on their respective campuses this fall. Brady is a fairly well regarded recruit and an excellent get by Bemidji.

 

[Favin]

there have been virtually zero commits for the 25-26 season (is Tulk the only one?)

Its still early.

For instance, Ryan Miller from Portland (WHL) committed to Denver and could play next year. We will see how many current players depart. They have moved up deferrals before (see Hagen Burrows).

Misa and Martone have been rumored to be considering NCAA for a while. Michigan has an unusual number of open spots for 2025-26. BU may as well.

We will have to wait for the matchmaking dominoes to fall.