CHL to NCAA Commits

G- Charlie Schenkel- Kingston Frontenacs to Robert Morris University
F- Tye Spencer- Wenatchee Wild ( WHL)to University of Alaska- Anchorage

I think goalies will be going to the NCAA at a premium.
 
That one had been rumoured for a while, but very surprising he didn't go to OSU considering he's been living in Columbus for a big chunk of the last seven or eight months.

It'll be pretty interesting to see how many high draft picks from this year's (and last year's draft) end up going to the NCAA. The one in a lot of people's minds is McKenna, which makes a lot of sense because anything short of 150 points in the dub next year is gonna be a failure for him, but I know the Misa brothers have been recruited (BU, I think?), among others.
 
Whatever comes of all this , I just hope it “cures” the Shane Wright type of situations , would have been so much better suited playing NCAA or AHL … I’ve always thought the NHL/CHL agreement was the most BS thing in hockey and did nothing but harm the players …
 
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So are these guys getting NCAA scholarships + CHL money + NIL money? If so, I understand that would be very enticing.

1) There is almost zero NIL money going to hockey players. And Canadians get ZERO NIL because they are there on student visas and are not permitted to earn income in the US.

2) The CHL money is paid directly to the university. For US Tuition, it's a drop in the bucket. Maybe it saves the program a few dollars, but they are not getting it as a payout.

3) NCAA Scholarships can cover tuition + room + board. But, keep in mind that Canadians can't earn income, so there is no opportunity for them to earn money working at (*ahem) hockey camps.

The enticement is everything else around the programs ... the crowds, the facilities, the exposure. It's like playing pro (at most Div I programs) whereas USports teams generally play in ancient arenas and/or in front of tiny crowds.

A colleague of mine has a son who plays at Maine. It would actually cost him less to go to university in Canada, but as he said to me in USports you're not playing in front of 5000 people and nobody is wearing a jersey with your name on the back. If you're playing for the love of the game, there's a lot more to love with a legit NCAA program.
 
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love going to a STU game at Grant Harvey and having an entire section to myself to watch a pro level game but I’d also be lying if I said I wanted to play a hockey game at that level where some guy has an entire section to himself .

I think a lot of the things we all enjoy about the league are reasons the players wouldn’t want to play in it lol…

For all my complaints about how little marketing/promotion U Sports does , it is fun to go to a game where hockey is the only attraction but it does feel pretty Busch League lol
 
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1) There is almost zero NIL money going to hockey players. And Canadians get ZERO NIL because they are there on student visas and are not permitted to earn income in the US.

2) The CHL money is paid directly to the university. For US Tuition, it's a drop in the bucket. Maybe it saves the program a few dollars, but they are not getting it as a payout.

3) NCAA Scholarships can cover tuition + room + board. But, keep in mind that Canadians can't earn income, so there is no opportunity for them to earn money working at (*ahem) hockey camps.

The enticement is everything else around the programs ... the crowds, the facilities, the exposure. It's like playing pro (at most Div I programs) whereas USports teams generally play in ancient arenas and/or in front of tiny crowds.

A colleague of mine has a son who plays at Maine. It would actually cost him less to go to university in Canada, but as he said to me in USports you're not playing in front of 5000 people and nobody is wearing a jersey with your name on the back. If you're playing for the love of the game, there's a lot more to love with a legit NCAA program.
Word around the CHL is that the NCAA rule change has presented different opportunities for kids. In regards to the above:

1) the NIL money situation is changing by the day. Whispers of more and more players, including Canadian recruits being offered inducements in the $50,000-100,000. It’s the Wild West and advisors it appears have figured out how to get around the visa restrictions including signing their players to Canadian NIL deals where they can earn money while in Canada.

2) the CHL is stilling working on figuring out and updating how this works but for now the CHL package includes paying for transportation costs, covering trips to camps, Christmas breaks, necessary travel including the purchase of a vehicle.

3) Canadians can’t earn income while in the U.S. but for many the further development opportunities has even some 2025 draft eligible players are considering taking the NCAA route in pursuit of greener pastures.
 
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Not sure this applies - we all hear about a Junior kid that is on the NHL bubble and is eventually sent back to Jr - I could see these kids going to NCAA for the focus on development (a lot more practices) instead of CHL (I'm not sure the NHL/CHL rules allow that kind of movement - up, down then sideways).
 
Not sure this applies - we all hear about a Junior kid that is on the NHL bubble and is eventually sent back to Jr - I could see these kids going to NCAA for the focus on development (a lot more practices) instead of CHL (I'm not sure the NHL/CHL rules allow that kind of movement - up, down then sideways).

As soon as they sign their NHL Entry-Level Contract (ELC) they are ineligible for the NCAA, and so would have to be sent bac to Junior. I am not sure what would happen if they went to the NHL on an Amateur Tryout (ATO) without having signed their ELC.
 
As soon as they sign their NHL Entry-Level Contract (ELC) they are ineligible for the NCAA, and so would have to be sent bac to Junior. I am not sure what would happen if they went to the NHL on an Amateur Tryout (ATO) without having signed their ELC.
In an ideal world the borderline criminal NHL/CHL agreement doesn’t exist and a player like Drummer mentioned who is on the NHL bubble is playing in the AHL….
 
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In an ideal world the borderline criminal NHL/CHL agreement doesn’t exist and a player like Drummer mentioned who is on the NHL bubble is playing in the AHL….

I don't disagree. That won't change in the short-term as CHL teams are not interested in losing their top players because those are the guys who draw the crowds. It might change if the CHL starts to lose those players to the NCAA.
 
Seeing some of these really good CHL/U Sport players go to lesser known NCAA schools when we haven’t heard much from teams like BC/BU/Minnesota/Michigan is interesting. Maybe they are just going to stick to their traditional recruiting process? Or they’re going after the real big fish?
 
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Seeing some of these really good CHL/U Sport players go to lesser known NCAA schools when we haven’t heard much from teams like BC/BU/Minnesota/Michigan is interesting. Maybe they are just going to stick to their traditional recruiting process? Or they’re going after the real big fish?

Those schools have always had very few Canadians on their roster (Michigan may be an exception).
 
Seeing some of these really good CHL/U Sport players go to lesser known NCAA schools when we haven’t heard much from teams like BC/BU/Minnesota/Michigan is interesting. Maybe they are just going to stick to their traditional recruiting process? Or they’re going after the real big fish?
Definitely going after the big fish.

I think several first-rounders from '24 & '25 who are too good for the CHL but aren't ready for the NHL (and too young to go to the AHL) end up in the NCAA for a year. Weight rooms, fewer games, NIL, and, uh, "the collegiate experience" > a winter in a bus in the Dub, sadly.
 

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