And if education is important to a kid, that CHL scholarship looks pretty good, especially if he can play four years in a CHL league. If it turns out that he's not good enough to get a full ride from D1, or he suffers a career-ending injury, at least he's got something to help pay for his education that he wouldn't get by playing in high school or in any other junior league. And there's some flexibility to it-- you wanna go to trade school instead of university? Go ahead. You wanna try minor pro leagues for awhile and then double back to get your education? You've got 30 months (18 months for overagers) to give it a whirl. The idea that CHL = death to your education is 20 years outdated.
CHLers with remaining eligibility will be in a better position to make some security demands from NCAA schools compared to kids from other leagues.