It's probably pretty close. Take out tuition because he's not paying that either way, AHL or NCAA.
I think the point is he's getting something of value (education) that is of significant monetary value, for free. If he signs, that's no longer the case.
At the end of the day, for relatively high picks, you should be prepared to sign them within the first year or two. If you don't think they're NHL ready by then, maybe they shouldn't be first rounders. Hell, if they'd picked a CHL player they'd have to sign him now or have him re enter the draft, no? It's just that a CHL player doesn't have the option to return to juniors for 2 more years.
I also don't think it's about being entitled. I think he has a very legitimate claim to an NHL roster spot somewhere, and I'm certain someone will give him one, so why would you not play every card in your hand to make it happen? It's just a smart move by him. Sucks that the Jets fans get bent over here, but from his perspective, if he knows he can 100% get 900k+ this year, instead of 60-70k, everyone on this website would do the same thing.
Even if there is no one who thinks he is NHL ready, no one on this website would leave a school where they're happy for an low level poor paying job, when they know in a year or two they'll get a much better offer. What's the advantage of playing in the AHL vs. college? Most of the benefit is for the team. If he has to wait a year for the NHL either way he might as well stay in school.
If anyone is entitled it's fans who think just because you got drafted that everything you do should be for the benefit of the team, even over your own wants or desires. "Happy in college? Tough, we spent a high pick on you, suck it up and leave now".
Yeah not versed in it well enough … but I doubt they expected players to exploit it to pick their destination.
Truthfully the problem is you have a draft system that's primarily set up to deal with the CHL rules. It's hard/impossible to adapt the rules to a different league with different regulations of their own. Any conceivable fix would just create new problems. The NCAA isn't going to be okay with guys getting signed and playing 9 pro games before going back. Maybe you could get the NCAA to agree to make it where they could sign their ELC but not have it kick in until later ... but then are you gonna start letting college players re-enter the draft after 2 years like their CHL counterparts? You'd probably have an even harder time signing guys who might be okay with staying in college.
Besides, even the few who do pick their destination, if they're high draft picks they're leaving a lot on the table as compared to those who are signing 2-3 years earlier. They're pushing their ELC years into the age where they could have been raking it in on a 2nd contract instead. If someone's willing to sacrifice millions in career earnings for their freedom, you kind of have to respect it. They're not getting that freedom for free.
The loophole mainly benefits lower picks and lesser prospects who might get buried on the team they were drafted by. Those guys mostly weren't getting signed early anyway, so they're not leaving much if anything on the table.