CHL/NCAA

[HockeyPops]

Part of what makes it such a great development league is that the flashy, highly skilled 16 year olds have to figure out how to play hockey against 20 year old men. Not sure that eliminating 20 year olds from the league makes it a better league to develop the younger players?

 

[OMG67]

The level of skill and development in Hockey has never been higher. Each year the players coming into the league are better prepared to step right in and earn some playing time. I'm really not worried about a drop in quality being a big issue. No doubt the CHL will need to adapt and one quick move would be to eliminate overages.

The league began allowing overages some 30yrs ago to keep talented players in the league longer. If the NHL/CHL agreement changes and the top talented 19yr olds are allowed to play AHL and the best of the rest opt for the NCAA, we won't need to keep the rest of the 20yr olds in the league.

The league will get younger but IMO could become an even stronger development league by offering greater opportunities for younger players to play. A CHL that consists of the best 16 to 19yr olds in the world will still be the best developmental league in the world. The NCAA will become the next step for the majority of players who are not ready to turn pro.

That last statement is astute. NCAA becomes more of an older development path for players that may end up as pros but mostly really good OA types that don’t have pro attributes.

 

[coolhandluc44]

The level of skill and development in Hockey has never been higher. Each year the players coming into the league are better prepared to step right in and earn some playing time. I'm really not worried about a drop in quality being a big issue. No doubt the CHL will need to adapt and one quick move would be to eliminate overages.

The league began allowing overages some 30yrs ago to keep talented players in the league longer. If the NHL/CHL agreement changes and the top talented 19yr olds are allowed to play AHL and the best of the rest opt for the NCAA, we won't need to keep the rest of the 20yr olds in the league.

The league will get younger but IMO could become an even stronger development league by offering greater opportunities for younger players to play. A CHL that consists of the best 16 to 19yr olds in the world will still be the best developmental league in the world. The NCAA will become the next step for the majority of players who are not ready to turn pro.

I don't see why you would eliminate over agers when you can only have 3 of them anyways. Yes I do see many high end 19 year olds going NCAA than coming back as an over ager but teams will still most likely have 3 decent overage players which benefits the league as a whole. I will use the Bulldogs as an example. Cole Brown is going to Notre Dame next year rather than coming back as an OA. That still leaves Brantford Noah Nelson, Calvin Crombie and Lucas Moore as potential OA's. Are these guys superstars, no but there good players that with them being in the league next year helps the overall development of the league. Also without the NCAA rule change, most likely Brown would be back next year meaning one of the above mentioned players would loose a spot.

I really dont think the CHL is too worried about the overage situation in all of this because a) you can only have 3 and b) you always lost highly talented OA's to pro hockey and previously some did just want to start their post-secondary education fulltime. The biggest concern will be the D +1 and D +2 years. And getting the league younger makes all the more argument in my opinion as to why more players will jump shup after being drafted

 

[RayzorIsDull]

Part of what makes it such a great development league is that the flashy, highly skilled 16 year olds have to figure out how to play hockey against 20 year old men. Not sure that eliminating 20 year olds from the league makes it a better league to develop the younger players?

Isn't the OA crop in the OHL begin to get watered down. Romani signed with MSU today, Mews already signed. There are only 60 spots available no reason to get rid of OAs but if you thought those were 2 of the top OAs returning you're not filling the gap with other OAs.

 

[ZinErie]

Isn't the OA crop in the OHL begin to get watered down. Romani signed with MSU today, Mews already signed. There are only 60 spots available no reason to get rid of OAs but if you thought those were 2 of the top OAs returning you're not filling the gap with other OAs.

Mews is an 06.

 

[Otto]

If anything this should force teams to get their management in order. Players only option used to be to demand a trade. Now they can possibly bolt for the NCAA at seasons end and the team loses them for nothing.

Now More than ever teams need to create an environment where players want to play.

 

[OMG67]

Mews "deficiencies" are what caused Calgary from holding off on signing him. He's a good player but not an elite player and it is players such as Mews that really will benefit under this new arrangement because it will grant him the time needed in the NCAA to work out the kinks in his game.

You're right though, the reason why the NHL loves the NCAA route for its middling to lower end prospects is because it gives both the player and the parent club time to evaluate, work on various aspects and then decide what type of contract the player is really worth.

The only high end player to "defect" (if you will) so far is Spence. There may be a few more but it will not be the "flood" that some social twitter personalities are predicting.

I think if Mews leads D-Men in scoring next year (or close to it like this year), I think Calgary would pretty much be forced to get him signed and hope for the best. With Mews going to Michigan, Calgary can hold off and play it safer. That is assuming Mews isn’t only there for one year “just because.” If Mews fails to impress against more mature players, that will only hurt his chances of gaining an ELC. I think he is almost certainly guaranteed to get a contract if he stays in the OHL. He’d play in the AHL for some time and he’d get close to $500k over three years minimum.

Mews isn’t getting a dime of NIL money. He likely won’t play four years and get an education. If his development doesn’t progress (like many other signed players where NHL teams need to make an early decision), he will be holding a bag of dirty laundry instead of a half mil.

 

[EvenSteven]

I think if Mews leads D-Men in scoring next year (or close to it like this year), I think Calgary would pretty much be forced to get him signed and hope for the best. With Mews going to Michigan, Calgary can hold off and play it safer. That is assuming Mews isn’t only there for one year “just because.” If Mews fails to impress against more mature players, that will only hurt his chances of gaining an ELC. I think he is almost certainly guaranteed to get a contract if he stays in the OHL. He’d play in the AHL for some time and he’d get close to $500k over three years minimum.

Mews isn’t getting a dime of NIL money. He likely won’t play four years and get an education. If his development doesn’t progress (like many other signed players where NHL teams need to make an early decision), he will be holding a bag of dirty laundry instead of a half mil.

I’m sketchy on the rules. I know if you’re an NCAA player and four years after you are NHL drafted, you can become a free agent. But if you are drafted out of the OHL, then go to the NCAA, do you still have that option? Or are you still bound under the rules of the NHL/CHL agreement?

A few years ago, when the Rangers were losing Jeremy Morin to the AHL, Spott and company tried to intervene saying he was an OHL player and thus, had to finish his junior eligibility. But the ruling was that since he was already NHL drafted out of the NTDP before he signed with Kitchener, his situation didn’t fall under the NHL/CHL agreement, and he played in the AHL at 19 years old.

 

[Dhockey16]

I find this existential angst almost comical. The CHL will lose no more than a handful of decent prospects every year, no more. I do not foresee (for the time being anyway) high end CHL prospects seeing the NCAA as the primary route to the NHL or other Pro ranks. The CHL will in turn receive a good portion of some of the top American talent to help mitigate who they may lose early to the NCAA.

The sky is far from falling. If I were a CHL fan, I would be more worried about the upcoming changes to the NHL-CHL agreement where those top players you worry about losing to the NCAA will be allowed to play in the AHL. The upside to that, however, is that there is a decent chance of some of those players being sent back down to the CHL.

We'll find out in a few months. I think at least one of Misa, Martone or Schaefer play NCAA next season. Could easily have someone like Nesbitt, Aitcheson or Martin commit too. Doubt we'll see many first round picks stay in the CHL for their D+2 season

 

[RB76]

When I think about the quality and the number of the players (140+) graduating from the CHL and committing to the NCAA, I can't help but feel the competition and level of play in the NCAA is going to go way up. I mean most of these players are the top 20/21 yr olds and/or NHL draft picks.

 

[RayzorIsDull]

I think if Mews leads D-Men in scoring next year (or close to it like this year), I think Calgary would pretty much be forced to get him signed and hope for the best. With Mews going to Michigan, Calgary can hold off and play it safer. That is assuming Mews isn’t only there for one year “just because.” If Mews fails to impress against more mature players, that will only hurt his chances of gaining an ELC. I think he is almost certainly guaranteed to get a contract if he stays in the OHL. He’d play in the AHL for some time and he’d get close to $500k over three years minimum.

Mews isn’t getting a dime of NIL money. He likely won’t play four years and get an education. If his development doesn’t progress (like many other signed players where NHL teams need to make an early decision), he will be holding a bag of dirty laundry instead of a half mil.

I would hold the phone on no NIL. I have been seeing commercials for Nike/Adidas with Canadian athletes that are at NCAA schools in them. They're not appearing in commercials for free.

 

[frontsfan67]

yup, i think thats the part that fans miss. most of these kids are 1/2 years removed from school, they don't want to go back there again, when they go to michigan, they GO TO michigan, they have to go to school, do homework, etc. it will be for some but to your point, its not going to be for all.

100% lots of the guys don’t wanna go to school think about it. At 18 they’ve been in school for 15 years. Most since grade 9 (14 turning 15) have known they’ve been on the path to the NHL and probably have been slacking in the education department since.

Which makes Connor McDavids 2 scholastic player of the years even more impressive.

Guys like Kashawn Aitcheson and Porter Martone don’t exactly give off that “student” athlete vibe. They could still be good in school I have no clue but I wouldn’t imagine them being big time scholars.

 

[frontsfan67]

When I think about the quality and the number of the players (140+) graduating from the CHL and committing to the NCAA, I can't help but feel the competition and level of play in the NCAA is going to go way up. I mean most of these players are the top 20/21 yr olds and/or NHL draft picks.

It should. I’ll definitely be watching some more NCAA hockey when before I’d just watch about a handful a year

 

[coolhandluc44]

Bottom line at the end of the day I don’t not think you can have a business as usual mentality if you are the CHL. If you want to retain the best players until atleast their 19 year old season it’s going to cost you money. Your going to have to invest a lot more in your training and arena facilities, staffing, coaching and let’s be honest, your going to have to pay players to stay. Maybe you get creative in that if you signed an ELC contract, you can get the monetary value of your scholarship package if you play out your 19 year old season.

 

[OMG67]

I would hold the phone on no NIL. I have been seeing commercials for Nike/Adidas with Canadian athletes that are at NCAA schools in them. They're not appearing in commercials for free.

They have to be in Canada. A lot of the nIL is for things like social media posts etc. so, the posts need to originate in canada when they are physically in Canada.

 

[Bra Wavers]

100% lots of the guys don’t wanna go to school think about it. At 18 they’ve been in school for 15 years. Most since grade 9 (14 turning 15) have known they’ve been on the path to the NHL and probably have been slacking in the education department since.

Which makes Connor McDavids 2 scholastic player of the years even more impressive.

Guys like Kashawn Aitcheson and Porter Martone don’t exactly give off that “student” athlete vibe. They could still be good in school I have no clue but I wouldn’t imagine them being big time scholars.

Porter Martone’s parents are both teachers. I’m sure Porter is a good student which is why him going to Penn State is a real possibility. Having said that, I get what you are saying as there are definitely players who are not interested in or built for higher education.
It will be interesting to see how the NHL team that drafts these guys impacts their decisions. Players will be weighing possible NIL $ + an education that could be important for them when their hockey career is over. Will NHL teams prefer them to play the pro-like schedule and get more ice-time in the CHL or would they be OK with players developing with less games against older players in the NCAA.
Any changes to the rules about how long players drafted from the CHL remain property of NHL teams before they need to be signed will have a significant impact as well.

 

[tomschman]

There are additional issues that CHL players considering NCAA will have to weight.

In the CHL, they pay a 68-game regular season (64 in Quebec). Training camps start in August and the season starts in September. The regular season ends in late March and playoffs could run until May. Including a Mem Cup run, a player could play 100 games.

The NCAA has I believe a 36 or 38 maximum regular season. Practice starts in late September, and the season begins in late October. The regular season ends in early March, and the Frozen 4 is in early April. Maximum games for a finalist are less than 50 games.

One can reasonably argue that a player will develop more with the additional games. The CHL is basically a Pro Hockey schedule.

The CHL players also have their scholarship packages. A player that came through the CHL and has someone else paying for 4 years of tuition is much more attractive to an NCAA school than an equal player that they have to give a full ride. An NCAA school can get 2 to 3 20-year-old CHL veterans for the equivalent of 1 full ride.

 

[donjohnson]

The CHL players also have their scholarship packages. A player that came through the CHL and has someone else paying for 4 years of tuition is much more attractive to an NCAA school than an equal player that they have to give a full ride. An NCAA school can get 2 to 3 20-year-old CHL veterans for the equivalent of 1 full ride.

Do we know this to be true? In many contracts there is an offset clause where if you're getting paid by someone else, it decreases the amount someone owes you. I can see future CHL scholarship packages quickly changing to say "if you go play NCAA hockey, your education package is forfeited or modified somehow..." so that CHL teams aren't on the hook for essentially free scholarships to the school. Just because you have money doesn't mean a school doesn't offer you a full ride. If Bill Gates' son was a big time basketball player, he could get a full ride scholarship to Duke even though Bill Gates could buy most of the school.

There are lots of deals in CHL hockey that work to the benefit of both parties and those are being thrown into disarray. The education package could be used for Canadian Usports because it was to help prop up the Canadian Universities with the OHL players who weren't going on to the pros. The CHL/NHL agreement is a way to keep the talent in the CHL when a lot of the players would do just fine in the AHL as a 19yo. Now, with the NCAA as an option, this throws a wrench into those types of arrangements and I fully expect that CHL education packages are going to be changed in response to the landscape being different.

 

[HockeyPops]

CHL scholarship could already be used at NCAA schools. The only thing that is changing is now the former CHLer and current student is permitted by the NCAA to play for their hockey program while they attend.