CHL/NCAA

[Kingpin794]

it won’t happen as quick as you think. Teams need to pay release fees to get players. some USHL teams are asking for 10k/15k American to release a player.

is there a set amount or is this something that is different from player to player?

 

[OHL4Life]

is there a set amount or is this something that is different from player to player?

only in the offseason, once puck drop happens it’s up to the two teams to negotiate

 

[ohloutsider]

only in the offseason, once puck drop happens it’s up to the two teams to negotiate

Depending on talent level of course but this might be cheaper than picking up the fees of an education package you would inherit in a trade. Cost has to be considered both ways.

 

[RB76]

Everything is moving fast but there is little doubt the CHL is going to expect players to honour their contract and play their four years or risk loosing their school package.

And I really don't see the NCAA competing directly with the CHL for players but instead offering continuing development for the remaining 99% of players who do not sign a pro contract.

The NCAA D1 programs have resources and facilities better than most CHL / AHL and some NHL teams. Factor in all the intangibles including education, training, experience, NIL, etc and I doubt the kids will have any hesitation in choosing the NCAA route if offered.

 

[donjohnson]

Everything is moving fast but there is little doubt the CHL is going to expect players to honour their contract and play their four years or risk loosing their school package.

This is clarified in the FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions Pertaining to NCAA Player Eligibility Changes - Ontario Hockey League

1. What NCAA eligibility change has taken place? Canadian Hockey League players have been deemed eligible for NCAA Division I hockey programs following a decision ratified November 7, 2024 by the NCAA’s Division I Council. The language that outlines the specific NCAA eligibility change that goes...

chl.ca

 

[Leviathan899]

The way I see it, USHL and the OJHL/Jr. B is ideal for most 16/17 year olds. Elite players of that age can play either USNTDP or OHL and can graduate to NCAA or Pro early.

This new rule will drain some 19/20 year old players to the NCAA, but this is not the super elite but like 2nd tier players.

More 18/19 year olds that are drafted but not signed should land in the OHL

I really like how London isn’t afraid to use Jr B for even some of their higher end prospects, rather than playing depth roles as a 16 year old. Worked well for Cowan, Bonk and now Mitchell seems to be another good example. I’ve liked him a lot at the U17’s so far playing with his peers.

 

[coolhandluc44]

I really like how London isn’t afraid to use Jr B for even some of their higher end prospects, rather than playing depth roles as a 16 year old. Worked well for Cowan, Bonk and now Mitchell seems to be another good example. I’ve liked him a lot at the U17’s so far playing with his peers.

The thing about London also is that they have a reputation and track record that as a young player you can feel confident in. It also does not hurt to say listen we will bring you up for a few games to get some experience and you also wont loose a year of your education funding (for those that care) but your main focus is going to be in Junior B for the year

 

[Millpond]

Attack just signed 2nd rd pick, NCAA D1 pick Mason Roy today .

 

[Generalsupdates]

Very interested to see how teams play this. If you're getting a young player for 2 years and your team isn't good, would be hard to justify giving that player PP time and top line minutes, knowing he's going to leave your team after 2 years and then when you are ready to win, he's gone and now all those PP reps you used on him would've been better off used to get someone else ready for your win window

 

[cruickshankd]

Very interested to see how teams play this. If you're getting a young player for 2 years and your team isn't good, would be hard to justify giving that player PP time and top line minutes, knowing he's going to leave your team after 2 years and then when you are ready to win, he's gone and now all those PP reps you used on him would've been better off used to get someone else ready for your win window

Once you got him it is up to you to make him want to stay!!

 

[coolhandluc44]

Once you got him it is up to you to make him want to stay!

You also have to wonder that now with a CHL player pool to choose from how many of those previous commitments won’t be honoured by NCAA teams.

For example Mason Roy who signed in Owen Sound. He committed to Providence College. Providence College now has this expanded player pool to choose from. So if Mason fails to impress Providence could walk away him and Mason waiting to go to Providence College could have all been for nothing. Maybe he catches on with another team but nothing is a given.

If I were a players agent, I would advise my client to get on an CHL team even if the end goal is NCAA. With more players to choose from and moving forward the CHL hypothetically getting the best Under 19 players I think there will be more pressure to prove you’re skills in the CHL first to NCAA teams and also to have a fall back education option should you not catch on to an NCAA team.

 

[RayzorIsDull]

Very interested to see how teams play this. If you're getting a young player for 2 years and your team isn't good, would be hard to justify giving that player PP time and top line minutes, knowing he's going to leave your team after 2 years and then when you are ready to win, he's gone and now all those PP reps you used on him would've been better off used to get someone else ready for your win window

I guess. I find it interesting from roster management. If a player is in the OHL and has plans on NCAA if he's going there would he ever accept a trade? He could easily jump to the NCAA. That can prevent OHL teams making moves. OHL teams may take more chances now at US players as well. It will be more wild west for the OHL but it's been that in the NCAA for a few years now. You either adjust or get left behind.

 

[Generalsupdates]

Once you got him it is up to you to make him want to stay!!

100%. It's like NCAA football/basketball with NIL and the transfer portal. You constantly are recruiting, even the guys already on your team

 

[bigsportsfan]

Here is a good article that sums it up for the OHL - Rick Westhead NCAA rule change may dramatically alter path for elite young hockey players | TSN

The NCAA’s decision should help CHL teams to attract the best young players because they won't have to choose between major junior and U.S. college hockey.

Barry said that, with the rule change, he could envision a number of top junior players leaving their CHL teams after a few seasons to go to NCAA schools.

So essentially the league gets younger and the process of rebuilding gets more difficult since players could leave before they age out. As an OHL fan, I don’t like it.

Wait until they allow NHL drafted players to play AHL hockey at 19 years old. The level of play will drop even further. And when it does, even more 19 year olds will look to make the jump to the NCAA.

 

[OMG67]

Here is a good article that sums it up for the OHL - Rick Westhead NCAA rule change may dramatically alter path for elite young hockey players | TSN

The NCAA’s decision should help CHL teams to attract the best young players because they won't have to choose between major junior and U.S. college hockey.

Barry said that, with the rule change, he could envision a number of top junior players leaving their CHL teams after a few seasons to go to NCAA schools.

So essentially the league gets younger and the process of rebuilding gets more difficult since players could leave before they age out. As an OHL fan, I don’t like it.

Wait until they allow NHL drafted players to play AHL hockey at 19 years old. The level of play will drop even further. And when it does, even more 19 year olds will look to make the jump to the NCAA.

The logic behind leaving the OHL early for NCAA makes zero sense. The USHL is a better league for 16 and 17 year olds. Why go to the OHL to ride the pine as a 16 year old only to leave two years later? Then they ride the pine the first year in NCAA. Effectively, they spend two years out of three riding the pine. Ludicrous logic in my opinion.

If a player is hell bent on NCAA at 18, there is zero reason to play OHL hockey. None. These players won’t go to the OHL.

The more logical cohort to change course are the ones that have professional aspirations but want the NCAA as a plan “B” as opposed to CIS as a plan “B”. CIS really ends up being a Plan “C” now.

 

[WaW]

Ok so the OHL site says a player must compete their 19 year old season to be eligible for their CHL scholarship fund. This makes sense

Any word on whether NHL teams will be allowed to cover tuition costs for their draft picks (provide scholarships) so they can get them out of the CHL and into the NCAA at 18?

 

[Kingpin794]

Ok so the OHL site says a player must compete their 19 year old season to be eligible for their CHL scholarship fund. This makes sense

Any word on whether NHL teams will be allowed to cover tuition costs for their draft picks (provide scholarships) so they can get them out of the CHL and into the NCAA at 18?

If you're leaving the OHL for the NCAA, you're getting a full ride. School is getting paid one way or another. The incentive is that you can make extra money if you stay through your 19 year old season.

 

[leafs4life94]

I wonder how this affects how long NHL teams hold raft rights.

Using Ethan Miedema as an example - his NHL draft rights with Buffalo are set to expire June 1, 2025 since he was drafted out of the OHL. If he now decides to go to the NCAA next year, does Buffalo keep his rights for as long as he's in the NCAA? I'd imagine that's the case but it's just another factor that'll need to be sorted out.

 

[Otto]

Ok so the OHL site says a player must compete their 19 year old season to be eligible for their CHL scholarship fund. This makes sense

Any word on whether NHL teams will be allowed to cover tuition costs for their draft picks (provide scholarships) so they can get them out of the CHL and into the NCAA at 18?

Why would they?

 

[Leviathan899]

Here is a good article that sums it up for the OHL - Rick Westhead NCAA rule change may dramatically alter path for elite young hockey players | TSN

The NCAA’s decision should help CHL teams to attract the best young players because they won't have to choose between major junior and U.S. college hockey.

Barry said that, with the rule change, he could envision a number of top junior players leaving their CHL teams after a few seasons to go to NCAA schools.

So essentially the league gets younger and the process of rebuilding gets more difficult since players could leave before they age out. As an OHL fan, I don’t like it.

Wait until they allow NHL drafted players to play AHL hockey at 19 years old. The level of play will drop even further. And when it does, even more 19 year olds will look to make the jump to the NCAA.

This is the truth imo. Prevailing wisdom is this is good for the players and maybe that’s true, but it also puts the OHL and the other leagues in a more precarious situation. Harder to convince a community to support a team that is at risk of losing its best players early, kids prioritizing ncaa over OHL so there’s less overall committment and loyalty to OHL communities and teams. You don’t want to see the league become basically the same thing as the ushl is, very good 16-18 year olds but all the best 19-20 year olds are all gone.

 

[OMG67]

This is the truth imo. Prevailing wisdom is this is good for the players and maybe that’s true, but it also puts the OHL and the other leagues in a more precarious situation. Harder to convince a community to support a team that is at risk of losing its best players early, kids prioritizing ncaa over OHL so there’s less overall committment and loyalty to OHL communities and teams. You don’t want to see the league become basically the same thing as the ushl is, very good 16-18 year olds but all the best 19-20 year olds are all gone.

I still can’t see it.

This would be the projected pathway for the top players in the OHL if they choose that route:

16yo - play sparingly as a rookie. Only a small handful of players actually play meaningful top 9 and top 4 roles.
17yo - most likely middle 6 forward roles and maybe that 4-5 D-Man role
18yo - move to NCAA. Sit on the bench most games and that is even if you dress.
19yo - sophomore season in NCAA. Roll it back as if they were 17yo in the OHL. They play more but not a lot.

I don’t see how that is a positive trajectory for top players. The pure elite players that are drafted high in the NHL will remain in the OHL almost certainly. I see no reason why a player would leave the OHL early to sit in the stands as a rookie 18 year old. Even as a rookie 19 year old, at best they play middle 6 minutes up front or 4-5 D-Man minutes on the back end. They may as well continue their journey, play out their eligibility in the OHL, lock in their scholarship, and then decide what they want to do.

Remember, a CHL player can play 18 months of pro hockey provided they don’t sign and NHL deal and still access their scholarship. They cannot do that and play NCAA after. I believe the AHL contract and $$$ would exceed the limits allowed.

I can see a small handful of players decide to leave the OHL early simply because things aren’t going well for them. They don’t see themselves as having Pro prospects. They are scholastically inclined and simply decide it is better to just get that early jump on their career path at 19. But, that would be the exception, not the norm.

We already have numbers in place. Will a player that didn’t go CIS, decide to go NCAA? Not likely. School is school. Either they are the type that wants to get an education or not. On top of that, the CHL scholarship is good for trade schools and certificate programs etc. There are no DIV 1 Trade schools. Education in general is shifting away from traditional education to specialized programs. The CHL scholarship program is far more flexible than NCAA and it doesn’t REQUIRE them to play hockey to access it.

I think a lot of this angle presented is very over blown.

To me, the ONLY real question is will this new rule change open the door for more Americans to play CHL? I think less Canadians will play USHL but will the Americans make the shift? I think the USNTDP will still stay strong but players that don’t make that team will potentially report to their OHL team. That said, if the USHL suffers a bit, it may make it tougher for the USNTDP as well. We shall see.

 

[Fergus31]

This is the truth imo. Prevailing wisdom is this is good for the players and maybe that’s true, but it also puts the OHL and the other leagues in a more precarious situation. Harder to convince a community to support a team that is at risk of losing its best players early, kids prioritizing ncaa over OHL so there’s less overall committment and loyalty to OHL communities and teams. You don’t want to see the league become basically the same thing as the ushl is, very good 16-18 year olds but all the best 19-20 year olds are all gone.

If it turns out this way, so be it. It’s all about development at this level. Not for fans of a junior team and their wins and losses.

 

[coolhandluc44]

I still can’t see it.

This would be the projected pathway for the top players in the OHL if they choose that route:

16yo - play sparingly as a rookie. Only a small handful of players actually play meaningful top 9 and top 4 roles.
17yo - most likely middle 6 forward roles and maybe that 4-5 D-Man role
18yo - move to NCAA. Sit on the bench most games and that is even if you dress.
19yo - sophomore season in NCAA. Roll it back as if they were 17yo in the OHL. They play more but not a lot.

I don’t see how that is a positive trajectory for top players. The pure elite players that are drafted high in the NHL will remain in the OHL almost certainly. I see no reason why a player would leave the OHL early to sit in the stands as a rookie 18 year old. Even as a rookie 19 year old, at best they play middle 6 minutes up front or 4-5 minutes on the back end. They may as well continue their journey, play out their eligibility in the OHL, lock in their scholarship, and then decide what they want to do.

Remember, a CHL player can play 18 months of pro hockey provided they don’t sign and NHL deal and still access their scholarship. They cannot do that and play NCAA after. I believe the AHL contract and $$$ would exceed the limits allowed.

I can see a small handful of players decide to leave the OHL early simply because things aren’t going well for them. They don’t see themselves as having Pro prospects. They are scholastically inclined and simply decide it is better to just get that early jump on their career path at 19. But, that would be the exception, not the norm.

We already have numbers in place. Will a player that didn’t go CIS, decide to go NCAA? Not likely. School is school. Either they are the type that wants to get an education or not. On top of that, the CHL scholarship is good for trade schools and certificate programs etc. There are no DIV 1 Trade schools. Education in general is shifting away from traditional education to specialized programs. The CHL scholarship program is far more flexible than NCAA and it doesn’t REQUIRE them to play hockey to access it.

I think a lot of this angle presented is very over blown.

To me, the ONLY real question is will this new rule change open the door for more Americans to play CHL? I think less Canadians will play USHL but will the Americans make the shift? I think the USNTDP will still stay strong but players that don’t make that team will potentially report to their OHL team. That said, if the USHL suffers a bit, it may make it tougher for the USNTDP as well. We shall see.

Great post especially about the education which almost everyone seems to be forgetting. As someone who works in employment counselling services, a degree or diploma is useless if it has no value in the job market or it’s in a field you dont want to work in.

I also don’t see a lot of NCAA schools heavily recruiting players until they area atleast 17 and have played two years of junior hockey The only reason you had 15 year olds committing to a school was because they had to under the old rules. NCAA teams in theory should see there quality of players increase also by getting CHL graduates. So unless you are super elite it’s going to be even harder to get meaningful playing time as an 18 or 19 year old because the NCAA rosters should be stronger moving forward

One might argue what if your dream school says if you want to play for them you have to come in at this draft class or that draft class. If you are good they will wait for you until you are ready.

If it was my kid, I would really want them to make sure that there going to a school and program that will prepare them for a career of their liking should hockey not work out. The way I see it, assuming your not in the NHL the longer they stay in the CHL the longer you get to develop in both hockey and the more time you get to make a decision on schooling or career aspirations should you not be a pro hockey player

 

[OMG67]

Great post especially about the education which almost everyone seems to be forgetting. As someone who works in employment counselling services, a degree or diploma is useless if it has no value in the job market or it’s in a field you dont want to work in.

I also don’t see a lot of NCAA schools heavily recruiting players until they area atleast 17 and have played two years of junior hockey The only reason you had 15 year olds committing to a school was because they had to under the old rules. NCAA teams in theory should see there quality of players increase also by getting CHL graduates. So unless you are super elite it’s going to be even harder to get meaningful playing time as an 18 or 19 year old because the NCAA rosters should be stronger moving forward

One might argue what if your dream school says if you want to play for them you have to come in at this draft class or that draft class. If you are good they will wait for you until you are ready.

If it was my kid, I would really want them to make sure that there going to a school and program that will prepare them for a career of their liking should hockey not work out. The way I see it, assuming your not in the NHL the longer they stay in the CHL the longer you get to develop in both hockey and the more time you get to make a decision on schooling or career aspirations should you not be a pro hockey player

I didn’t even consider the level of play in the NCAA increasing because they will recruit older CHL graduates. Good point. That likely makes it VERY difficult for 18 year old’s in NCAA. IT virtually ensures only 19 year olds play as freshmen unless they come in as a red shirt 18 year old.

The other aspect is the CHL has a period where they allow them 18 months from the end of their OA eligibility to access their scholarship. That means a player born in ‘05 can graduate this year and not play their OA season. Then go to the NCAA for the 2025-26 season and the 2026-27 season and if they wanted to, they could go for the first semester of the 2027-28 season and still be eligible to access their CHL scholarship in January 2028. This gives them ample opportunity to experience the NCAA and still have the fallback option of accessing their CHL Scholarship. I mean, that is a win-win if ever there was one.

I really feel people are looking for the negatives without even trying to look at all the potential positives. The positives vastly outweigh the negatives. It is almost crazy to even consider this to be a net negative or even negative at all.

Worst case scenario, we may see the quality of our OA’s lessened a bit. I am still skeptical about that because players fulfill their CHL requirements and are free to access their scholarship and yet virtually every player that is capable of playing in the league that doesn’t turn pro, looks for OHL OA opportunities. Very few decide to leave and play CIS when an OHL team is offering them a place to play. I think that is a pretty good standard in place now that we can point to.

 

[coolhandluc44]

I didn’t even consider the level of play in the NCAA increasing because they will recruit older CHL graduates. Good point. That likely makes it VERY difficult for 18 year old’s in NCAA. IT virtually ensures only 19 year olds play as freshmen unless they come in as a red shirt 18 year old.

The other aspect is the CHL has a period where they allow them 18 months from the end of their OA eligibility to access their scholarship. That means a player born in ‘05 can graduate this year and not play their OA season. Then go to the NCAA for the 2025-26 season and the 2026-27 season and if they wanted to, they could go for the first semester of the 2027-28 season and still be eligible to access their CHL scholarship in January 2028. This gives them ample opportunity to experience the NCAA and still have the fallback option of accessing their CHL Scholarship. I mean, that is a win-win if ever there was one.

I really feel people are looking for the negatives without even trying to look at all the potential positives. The positives vastly outweigh the negatives. It is almost crazy to even consider this to be a net negative or even negative at all.

Worst case scenario, we may see the quality of our OA’s lessened a bit. I am still skeptical about that because players fulfill their CHL requirements and are free to access their scholarship and yet virtually every player that is capable of playing in the league that doesn’t turn pro, looks for OHL OA opportunities. Very few decide to leave and play CIS when an OHL team is offering them a place to play. I think that is a pretty good standard in place now that we can point to.

I could see some OAs not being here that otherwise would have. But you can only dress 3 OAs anyways. And it will also give some good OAs a chance to stay in the league that otherwise are being forced out. I’ll use the Bulldogs as an example, maybe a player like Lavoie would be in the NCAA this year, that means he’s spot could have gone to an Okitndu or Rebollo or Bujold ( if he wasn’t hurt)I’m sure there are better examples but I’m most familiar with the Bulldogs.

If I loose an OA or two that would have stayed, it sucks but if it means I get a good player for 3 or 4 seasons that was not going to report under the old rules, I take that trade all the time.

I also wonder if a guy like Jackson Parsons or the player from Regina going to ASU, they could in theory be taking online courses rate now from their schools.