When can a player leave the CHL for the NCAA?
Now, here's a million-dollar question.
Canadian-born Macklin Celebrini played one year in the USHL with the Chicago Steel before going to Boston University for one season and then was picked first overall by the San Jose Sharks in this year's NHL Draft.
So, could a future Celebrini-type prospect play one or two years in the CHL (depending on birthdate) and then head to the NCAA before embarking on a pro career?
As the current rules stand, a standard CHL contract for a drafted player wouldn't allow that. In North America, a player typically stays in the CHL until their junior eligibility runs out, unless they make the NHL as a teenager.
"I can only talk about the way it is right now," MacKenzie said, acknowledging things could change down the road. "We have contracts with our players, (where) we make commitments to the player in terms of their hockey development and education, and they make commitments to the teams in terms of their duration with the team.
"That's the structure the way it exists now. I don't want to speculate what it might look like two, three years from now. But that's the way it is now. And it's been a system that's worked fairly well. Contracts players have signed have been recognized by federations, whether it be USA Hockey, Hockey Canada or international federations."
CHL contracts have been the subject of debate for years in hockey circles -- so it hardly seems like a sure thing this system remains in its current form.
Another hypothetical: perhaps we see a scenario where a CHL team grants an early exit to a Celebrini-type prospect in their contract so it can have the player for at least a year or two rather than never having him.
The USHL, meanwhile, is more than happy to see players leave after a year or two to go to the NCAA. That will continue to be a recruiting tool for that league if the CHL tries to hold firm on standard contracts.
"Our players are free to advance, whether that's pro hockey or college hockey, at a pace that's appropriate for them," Hefferan said.
Will signed NHL players be able to play in the NCAA?
It doesn't appear this rule change will allow that, which could help keep elite players in the CHL.
If a player is drafted out of the CHL, sometimes they are signed to NHL entry-level contracts (six or seven figures) and returned to junior.
In the NCAA, a player becomes ineligible once he signs with an NHL team.
No one is saying that's about to change.
"I think as long as (a player) doesn't sign an NHL contract, he'll be able to maintain his (NCAA) eligibility," Granato said. "If he played three years of Canadian junior (after a potential rule change), he can say 'Well, I'm not ready to sign yet, I'll go play college hockey.'"
Will CHL players cash in on NIL deals in the NCAA?
Name, Image and Likeness deals are all the rage in the NCAA, with athletes now able to make significant money while playing college sports.
We now see stories estimating which athletes have the
highest NIL values.
One problem for Canadians, though.
Student-visa rules prevent Canadians in the NCAA from entering into the same type of deals as American counterparts -- a story
best illustrated by former Purdue basketball star and Toronto native Zach Edey, the two-time NCAA player of the year.
The student-visa rules are
so significant that Kingston, Ont., native and former UConn basketball star Aaliyah Edwards could not talk about an NIL deal she signed with Adidas Canada while in the U.S. last year.
There is an opening for players to engage in more NIL deals when their team crosses the border into Canada, a big reason why Purdue's men's basketball team played a regular-season game against Alabama in Toronto last season.
There is no sense an NCAA-CHL shift would change NIL rules for non-U.S. student-athletes.
Could more NCAA hockey teams play games in Canada to help top recruits out? Stay tuned.
