NCAA Eligibility & CHL

[RantAndRoarNL]

To what extents do NCAA teams investigate the 48hr rule/exhibition games if CHL drafted kids attend a team tryout. Has anyone people heard of actual cases where kids stayed longer than 48 hours for a CHL team tryout, played exhibition game, never made a roster spot but that experience then actually ruined someone's chance to get accepted to NCAA. Have heard of cases where player did play in an exhibition game at CHL tryout but still attending NCAA school.

The eligibility rules seem to frighten the crap of everyone but haven't personally haven't heard of actual cases where a tryout camp ruined it for someone. Just curious.

Click to read more...

 

[AUS Fan]

To what extents do NCAA teams investigate the 48hr rule/exhibition games if CHL drafted kids attend a team tryout. Has anyone people heard of actual cases where kids stayed longer than 48 hours for a CHL team tryout, played exhibition game, never made a roster spot but that experience then actually ruined someone's chance to get accepted to NCAA. Have heard of cases where player did play in an exhibition game at CHL tryout but still attending NCAA school.

The eligibility rules seem to frighten the crap of everyone but haven't personally haven't heard of actual cases where a tryout camp ruined it for someone. Just curious.

No one has answered this so I'll take a crack at it.
They are very specific on what you should do or not do.

"What You Need to Do:

• Do not accept payment or gifts based upon your ability as a hockey player.
• Do not sign a contract or play a game (even an exhibition game) for a professional team, including those in the CHL.
• You may attend a camp with a professional team for up to 48 hours if they are covering expenses or longer if you cover all expenses.
• Junior, prep or high school teams may cover some or all of your costs to play for them, as long as they are actual and necessary expenses."

Also this:

"NCAA student-athletes are amateurs and cannot have played for a professional sports team prior to enrollment. In hockey, specifically, this means that anyone who signs a contract with or plays for a team in the Canadian Hockey League (OHL, QMJHL or WHL) forfeits their NCAA eligibility.

The NCAA Eligibility Center will certify each prospective student-athlete's amateur status prior to clearing them for competition at the Division I level."

The NCAA will nail a B-Ball player for accepting a pizza in exchange for an autograph, so I wouldn't doubt they take a hard look at every hockey player.

Perhaps the reason you don't hear about it is because no one "breaks" the rule.

 

[Corso]

To what extents do NCAA teams investigate the 48hr rule/exhibition games if CHL drafted kids attend a team tryout. Has anyone people heard of actual cases where kids stayed longer than 48 hours for a CHL team tryout, played exhibition game, never made a roster spot but that experience then actually ruined someone's chance to get accepted to NCAA. Have heard of cases where player did play in an exhibition game at CHL tryout but still attending NCAA school.

The eligibility rules seem to frighten the crap of everyone but haven't personally haven't heard of actual cases where a tryout camp ruined it for someone. Just curious.

So so much has changed with the NCAA in recent years. There are now European players who played a couple of games in real pro leagues that have retained their edibility and played in the NCAA. I'd wager that in the next few years CHL players who do not sign NHL contracts will become eligible to play college hockey.

 

[Barclay Donaldson]

So so much has changed with the NCAA in recent years. There are now European players who played a couple of games in real pro leagues that have retained their edibility and played in the NCAA. I'd wager that in the next few years CHL players who do not sign NHL contracts will become eligible to play college hockey.

Has a lot changed? Yes.

Has that much changed? No.

In nearly every case where players with pro or CHL games have applied for and been granted NCAA eligibility, they have demonstrated they were not compensated and did not receive/accept/cash stipends or anything else within NCAA eligibility requirements. There are a few outlier cases. Austen Swankler, who played for Erie of the OHL, receiving accidental approval from the NCAA eligibility center and proceeded to play for Bowling Green of the NCAA. The NCAA was apparently unable/unwilling to reverse their approval but did make significant "personnel changes" to the group overseeing eligibility approval decisions. You can glean from those events whatever you want except for them allowing it because they intend to do it more frequently in the future.

If you do know someone who is considering the CHL but wishes to keep NCAA options open, the advice given by @AUS Fan is fantastic. Don't accept anything. The NCAA can even make rejections if they find out you accepted free equipment worth over a certain amount. Like any governing body, a surprising amount gets past them. They also catch an even more surprising amount. Don't leave it to chance.

 

[AUS Fan]

Thanks for the kind words, but what I posted came from here:

NCAA Eligibility - College Hockey, Inc.

Your NCAA Hockey Resource

collegehockeyinc.com

I just looked up Swankler. He played an entire season with Erie. Maybe because the OHL didn't play in 2020-21 because of Covid the NCAA looked at the past year and saw he didn't play and because he had been a commit they figured he was "clean".

From College Hockey News Jan 13, 2023:

"Swankler initially committed to RPI in August of 2017 and flipped to Michigan three months later before ultimately opting for the major junior route.

How was he granted eligibility by the NCAA? Apparently, it was a simple — though highly impactful — clerical error. A mistake. But after finding out about the error, the NCAA decided to just let it go.

“The process was pretty stressful at times but I was able to work with my advisor and my family through the process. I was fortunate and blessed to be granted my eligibility,” Swankler said."

 

[AUS Fan]

Swankler came up in this thread from a year ago:

CHL Players to NCAA now allowed?

I'm not sure when things changed... but it came up with the female goalie that played in the Q the other day. (they said shes going to the NCAA, and everyone commented that... that's not really possible now) I also found Austen Swankler played nearly an entire season for the Erie Otters in...

forums.hfboards.com

 

[AUS Fan]

Another guy was Brayden Gelsinger. Played 12 games with Kamloops, then 3 years in BCHL before 4 years at Lake Superior State.

 

[RantAndRoarNL]

Seems like if the team wants the player they are unlikely to disqualify for something as small staying beyond 48 hours for a CHL tryout. Quite a bit of detective work for NCAA to find out those details.

 

[Barclay Donaldson]

Seems like if the team wants the player they are unlikely to disqualify for something as small staying beyond 48 hours for a CHL tryout. Quite a bit of detective work for NCAA to find out those details.

The individual teams and schools don't rule on player ineligibility, the NCAA does. So the school wanting the player has absolutely no bearing on it.

It is quite a bit of detective work. But they do it. It is the full time job for a group of people who work for the NCAA to do it. Some obvious stuff has gotten by them. But they've also caught a whole lot.

 

[AUS Fan]

Thge

Seems like if the team wants the player they are unlikely to disqualify for something as small staying beyond 48 hours for a CHL tryout. Quite a bit of detective work for NCAA to find out those details.

NCAA has a real hate on for CHL.

In '96 we had a CIS team play US college guys at The Joe. The only NCAA guys allowed to play were seniors because they were done school and wouldn't be "tainted" from playing the pros.

Both Swankler and Gelsinger were oversights by the NCAA. In Swanklers case, they told him he could play so figured it was not in their best interest to reject him.

I'm not sure how one gets to play NCAA but there must be some form where the player attests that he does not fall into the reject category.

 

[Corso]

Has a lot changed? Yes.

Has that much changed? No.

In nearly every case where players with pro or CHL games have applied for and been granted NCAA eligibility, they have demonstrated they were not compensated and did not receive/accept/cash stipends or anything else within NCAA eligibility requirements. There are a few outlier cases. Austen Swankler, who played for Erie of the OHL, receiving accidental approval from the NCAA eligibility center and proceeded to play for Bowling Green of the NCAA. The NCAA was apparently unable/unwilling to reverse their approval but did make significant "personnel changes" to the group overseeing eligibility approval decisions. You can glean from those events whatever you want except for them allowing it because they intend to do it more frequently in the future.

If you do know someone who is considering the CHL but wishes to keep NCAA options open, the advice given by @AUS Fan is fantastic. Don't accept anything. The NCAA can even make rejections if they find out you accepted free equipment worth over a certain amount. Like any governing body, a surprising amount gets past them. They also catch an even more surprising amount. Don't leave it to chance.

The NCAA is rapidly changing and it's amateur model is in great flux. Consider the case of Aryom Duda. A player that has played in 28 professional games split between the MHL and the KHL. He has just accepted a scholarship from the University of Maine. Now there is some speculation that Duda may have to sit out a certain number of games due to playing in a professional league but the fact that Maine announced this signing leads one to believe that they are confident that he would make it through the NCAA clearing house and be deemed eligible. Even if he is not, the mere attempt of Maine trying to make him eligible speaks to the enormous recent changes of what is permissible to retain so called "amateur" status. There have already been many cases of Europeans playing in pro leagues and still retaining eligibility.

The argument that the respective college teams use is that the player was merely loaned to a pro team but remained on an amateur contract. Now of course only a naive fool would believe that these players did not receive some type of compensation, even in the form of free lodging and travel, but the NCAA does not seem to care.

In the age of NIL and the break down of "amateurism", it would be shocking to see a player denied eligibility simply because he remained at a CHL camp for more than two days. It should surprise no one that in the next year or so a player loaned by a OJHL or another various Junior A league to a CHL club for a certain number of games will easily retain his NCAA eligibility. The precedent has already been set.

 

[Barclay Donaldson]

The NCAA is rapidly changing and it's amateur model is in great flux. Consider the case of Aryom Duda. A player that has played in 28 professional games split between the MHL and the KHL. He has just accepted a scholarship from the University of Maine. Now there is some speculation that Duda may have to sit out a certain number of games due to playing in a professional league but the fact that Maine announced this signing leads one to believe that they are confident that he would make it through the NCAA clearing house and be deemed eligible. Even if he is not, the mere attempt of Maine trying to make him eligible speaks to the enormous recent changes of what is permissible to retain so called "amateur" status. There have already been many cases of Europeans playing in pro leagues and still retaining eligibility.

The argument that the respective college teams use is that the player was merely loaned to a pro team but remained on an amateur contract. Now of course only a naive fool would believe that these players did not receive some type of compensation, even in the form of free lodging and travel, but the NCAA does not seem to care.

In the age of NIL and the break down of "amateurism", it would be shocking to see a player denied eligibility simply because he remained at a CHL camp for more than two days. It should surprise no one that in the next year or so a player loaned by a OJHL or another various Junior A league to a CHL club for a certain number of games will easily retain his NCAA eligibility. The precedent has already been set.

I think you aren't quite seeing reality. The precedent you're claiming exists certainly doesn't. There have been a handful of players over how long? Certainly nowhere near the amount it is considered what you're claiming it is. There have been many cases of Europeans playing in pro leagues on junior contracts, not accepting compensation, and maintaining their eligibility.

Wait to see if Aryom Duda even plays a game. There might be something going on with compensation and proof he did not accept payment, which as you mentioned is how they get around it. Unless you have some sort of evidence they don't seem to care about the compensation, don't spread nonsense. I am on a college hockey coaching staff and I am fairly familiar with the process and if the people are competent then it is excessively thorough.

And for every case you can find of players getting through the NCAA vetting process, there are countless more that get caught accepting a full set of equipment and staying an extra 48 hours at an OHL main camp. It is pretty much any American who you see attend camp as a 17 year old, age out of juniors after, and then attend a Canadian college located near the team they attended camp with.

 

[Corso]

. There have been many cases of Europeans playing in pro leagues on junior contracts, not accepting compensation, and maintaining their eligibility.

You make my point exactly when you state that there have been many cases of euros playing in pro leagues. What makes you think that a player from the AJHL who is "loaned" to a WHL club for half a dozen games would then be ineligible???? The precedent has already been set!

As for comensation are you joking?? You really think a players that played 4 games in the SHL (Sweden's top professional league akin to the AHL) was not given equipment? Like how would they even prove it? Even if they were what would it matter when the USHL provides FREE EQUIPMENT, TRAVEL and LODGING to all it's players! The only reason, and if you really are part of a college coaching staff, the NCAA see's the CHL as a professional league is because signed NHL/AHL players are able to play. Thus an unsigned CHL players is "contaminated" merely because he plays with professional players and is deemed ineligible.
Now that Euro players are allowed to play with professionals what is the rationale against CHL players doing the same?
It would be SHOCKING to see a player today declared ineligible because he stayed more than 48 hours at a CHL camp and received free meals, lodging and a couple of hockey sticks when college athletes are signing NIL deals, and are coming from Junior leagues that offered just as much!

I mean who here really believes that CHL are professionals? Right now only an archaic NCAA rule does and it will soon be challenged and discarded.

 

[AUS Fan]

Men's Ice Hockey announces the addition of Artyom Duda - University of Maine Athletics

The University of Maine men's ice hockey team has announced that Artyom Duda has signed a National Letter of Intent with the Black Bears. Duda, who was selected

goblackbears.com

This award is on the condition of acceptance to the University of Maine and meeting the initial eligibility and amateurism standards of the NCAA Eligibility Center.

 

[Barclay Donaldson]

You make my point exactly when you state that there have been many cases of euros playing in pro leagues. What makes you think that a player from the AJHL who is "loaned" to a WHL club for half a dozen games would then be ineligible???? The precedent has already been set!

As for comensation are you joking?? You really think a players that played 4 games in the SHL (Sweden's top professional league akin to the AHL) was not given equipment? Like how would they even prove it? Even if they were what would it matter when the USHL provides FREE EQUIPMENT, TRAVEL and LODGING to all it's players! The only reason, and if you really are part of a college coaching staff, the NCAA see's the CHL as a professional league is because signed NHL/AHL players are able to play. Thus an unsigned CHL players is "contaminated" merely because he plays with professional players and is deemed ineligible.
Now that Euro players are allowed to play with professionals what is the rationale against CHL players doing the same?
It would be SHOCKING to see a player today declared ineligible because he stayed more than 48 hours at a CHL camp and received free meals, lodging and a couple of hockey sticks when college athletes are signing NIL deals, and are coming from Junior leagues that offered just as much!

I mean who here really believes that CHL are professionals? Right now only an archaic NCAA rule does and it will soon be challenged and discarded.

They can play in pro leagues but not be professionally compensated. It is as simple as that. For compensation I am not joking. Look at the number of players who attend preseason skates at NCAA DI schools from European teams. They have plain, monocolour everything or their J20 equipment. Very rarely they have pro equipment. How would they prove it? "We have evidence you were given two sets of equipment and the team paid you a weeks wages per your bank account statements which you handed over to us. You're ineligible."

The NCAA sees it as a professional league for that and because the vast majority of teams compensate their players upwards of the mid-five figures. Not because players are staying an extra 24 hours at their WHL main camp because they made it past the first cut. It is the same reason why NCAA Olympic athletes can't be compensated. Euro players do the exact same thing the Americans who played a year of Major Junior do. They sit out a year and they show they did not receive professional compensation. Plenty of examples of that.

You are grossly uninformed if you don't know the number of players who used to be ineligible. The reason it isn't as frequent any more is because young players are more well informed.

Who here really believes the CHL are professionals? There is a lawsuit going on in Canada trying to define that at the moment. From nearly every angle, they are. And most are very compensated for it.

 

[Hollywood3]

USports backup goaltenders generally appear in the NHL on "ATOs", i.e. amateur try-outs. The NCAA does not allow those, otherwise instead of accountants those emergency backups would be NCAA goaltenders.

 

[MiamiHockeyII]

Make no mistake, the NCAA's rules on compensation were designed to justify their own unwillingness to pay student-athletes so executives could keep the money for themselves. Coaches get paid millions, NCAA event organizers get paid hundreds of thousands (google "Bowl Game CEO salary"), and players get paid nothing. It's a grift.

Rant aside, this WILL change as has the NLI (Names, Likeness, and Image) compensation ruling that enables NCAA athletes to get paid. The only question is WHEN.

 

[CrazyEddie20]

Who here really believes the CHL are professionals? There is a lawsuit going on in Canada trying to define that at the moment. From nearly every angle, they are. And most are very compensated for it.

Not to mention the abuse, hazing, and general awfulness of the Major Junior culture... Anyone who sends their kid to play Major Junior if the kid isn't a sure-fire first round NHL draft pick is a fool. The education package is seldom comparable to an NCAA scholarship, it's difficult to use, and only gets a former player tuition at a good university if the university happens to be near the Major Junior team's city. So if you didn't play in Kingston, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and a handful of other places... good luck.

 

[BadgerBruce]

Not to mention the abuse, hazing, and general awfulness of the Major Junior culture... Anyone who sends their kid to play Major Junior if the kid isn't a sure-fire first round NHL draft pick is a fool. The education package is seldom comparable to an NCAA scholarship, it's difficult to use, and only gets a former player tuition at a good university if the university happens to be near the Major Junior team's city. So if you didn't play in Kingston, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and a handful of other places... good luck.

This isn’t completely accurate.

The CHL uses a domicile rule (home address of parents, fees at post-secondary institutions closest to home address of parents ) to determine the yearly dollar value of a player’s post-secondary education scholarship. The scholarship money can be used at any institution the former player chooses.

Example: CHL Player #1 is from Burlington, Ontario. The maximum dollar value of his scholarship is based on the domestic student fees charged at McMaster University in Hamilton. CHL Player #2 is from Ann Arbor, Michigan. The maximum dollar value of his scholarship is based on domestic student fees charged at University of Michigan.

Yes, there are many possible complications, including such things as international student fees. Americans who opt to remain in Canada and attend a Canadian post-secondary institution are financially fine — the international student fees charged by Canadian post-secondary institutions are typically lower than domestic student fees at US institutions, so the CHL scholarships are more than enough to pay the freight. But the opposite obviously isn’t true, so Canadians are highly unlikely to attend American institutions. The international student fees are too high and the guys are not NCAA eligible.

Is the CHL a professional league? Of course it is — even if one wants to argue that a 16 year-old CHL rookie isn’t a professional player, he’s hitting the ice with and against players (Shane Wright, Brandt Clarke, etc.) who absolutely are paid professionals, so the argument quickly falls apart.

While I don’t see former CHL players becoming NCAA eligible anytime soon (if ever), it’s interesting to note that these players, up until 1981, were NCAA eligible. It’s a fascinating story (won’t detail it in this thread).

 

[MiamiHockeyII]

Not to mention the abuse, hazing, and general awfulness of the Major Junior culture... Anyone who sends their kid to play Major Junior if the kid isn't a sure-fire first round NHL draft pick is a fool. The education package is seldom comparable to an NCAA scholarship, it's difficult to use, and only gets a former player tuition at a good university if the university happens to be near the Major Junior team's city. So if you didn't play in Kingston, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and a handful of other places... good luck.

Your comment reveals your complete ignorance.

The CHL scholarship provides tuition to ANY post-secondary institution, including trades programs, anywhere. It's a much better option than the NCAA for two types of athletes
1) Those who prefer to become tradesmen (e.g., electrician, pipefitter, etc.) because they don't waste four years pursuing a low-value bachelor's degree.
2) Those who want to pursue their Master's / PhD, because they can get up to 5 years of tuition covered. If you have a diligent student taking university courses while they are playing CHL hockey, they can actually get both their undergrad and graduate programs paid for by the CHL. You won't find that in the NCAA.
When you factor in the low tuition, athletic and academic scholarships, and job opportunities (e.g., coaching at hockey camps) available at Canadian universities, a large number of former CHL players are actually generating positive income while getting their degrees.

As for your comment about hazing and culture ... get your head out of the sand
"According to the NCAA, 74 percent of student-athletes experience hazing while in college."

Lawsuit alleges sexual assault by UMN hockey coach, cover-up

A 1980s University of Minnesota hockey recruit is among five men suing a former Gophers assistant coach and the school.

www.twincities.com

Harvard women's hockey hazing allegations timeline

The program has been under scrutiny following a report that alleged abusive behavior by coach Katey Stone.

theathletic.com

Greg Heiar controversy, explained: Why NMSU fired coach, canceled season amid alleged hazing, shooting scandals | Sporting News Canada

NMSU basketball fired Heiar less than one season into the job in Las Cruces, N.M.

www.sportingnews.com

Northwestern launches investigation into football program over hazing allegations reported after 2022 season

The school has called on the services of an independent law firm to lead the investigation into the allegations

www.cbssports.com

 

[CrazyEddie20]

Your comment reveals your complete ignorance.

The CHL scholarship provides tuition to ANY post-secondary institution, including trades programs, anywhere. It's a much better option than the NCAA for two types of athletes
1) Those who prefer to become tradesmen (e.g., electrician, pipefitter, etc.) because they don't waste four years pursuing a low-value bachelor's degree.
2) Those who want to pursue their Master's / PhD, because they can get up to 5 years of tuition covered. If you have a diligent student taking university courses while they are playing CHL hockey, they can actually get both their undergrad and graduate programs paid for by the CHL. You won't find that in the NCAA.
When you factor in the low tuition, athletic and academic scholarships, and job opportunities (e.g., coaching at hockey camps) available at Canadian universities, a large number of former CHL players are actually generating positive income while getting their degrees.

As for your comment about hazing and culture ... get your head out of the sand
"According to the NCAA, 74 percent of student-athletes experience hazing while in college."

Lawsuit alleges sexual assault by UMN hockey coach, cover-up

A 1980s University of Minnesota hockey recruit is among five men suing a former Gophers assistant coach and the school.

www.twincities.com

Harvard women's hockey hazing allegations timeline

The program has been under scrutiny following a report that alleged abusive behavior by coach Katey Stone.

theathletic.com

Greg Heiar controversy, explained: Why NMSU fired coach, canceled season amid alleged hazing, shooting scandals | Sporting News Canada

NMSU basketball fired Heiar less than one season into the job in Las Cruces, N.M.

www.sportingnews.com

Northwestern launches investigation into football program over hazing allegations reported after 2022 season

The school has called on the services of an independent law firm to lead the investigation into the allegations

www.cbssports.com

To pick three abuse incidents over 30 years and compare it to what happens in the CHL, a for-profit business that exploits the labor of teenagers and has multiple hazing and abuse incidents seemingly every year, is rich.

How come the vast majority of CHL players don't use their education packages? Is it because the packages are useless? Is it because they're difficult to actually realize the benefits? Or is it because the CHL doesn't really do much to help the players use the education packages so they don't have to pay out the money?

 

[MiamiHockeyII]

To pick three abuse incidents over 30 years and compare it to what happens in the CHL, a for-profit business that exploits the labor of teenagers and has multiple hazing and abuse incidents seemingly every year, is rich.

How come the vast majority of CHL players don't use their education packages? Is it because the packages are useless? Is it because they're difficult to actually realize the benefits? Or is it because the CHL doesn't really do much to help the players use the education packages so they don't have to pay out the money?

Larry Nassar
Jerry Sandusky
Richard Strauss
Abuse exists everywhere. The NCAA just covers it up for longer.

You are only kidding yourself if you think the NCAA is non-profit. The difference with the NCAA is it's the coaches and administrators getting rich.

 

[AUS Fan]

To pick three abuse incidents over 30 years and compare it to what happens in the CHL, a for-profit business that exploits the labor of teenagers and has multiple hazing and abuse incidents seemingly every year, is rich.

How come the vast majority of CHL players don't use their education packages? Is it because the packages are useless? Is it because they're difficult to actually realize the benefits? Or is it because the CHL doesn't really do much to help the players use the education packages so they don't have to pay out the money?

I agree with you that there has been (and may still be) abuse in the CHL, but there is abuse everywhere and some places keep it quiet. The whole point of this thread was CHL players not allowed to play NCAA and we seem to have gone off course a bit.
As far as CHL players not using the package, there are 180 over-agers each year from 60 CHL teams. Perhaps not all of them meet academic standards, some will play minor pro, some aren't "good enough" to play CIS hockey, so we really don't know if they're at school because they're ordinary students.

These 180 are the obvious ones as they're finished Junior hockey. There may be a few who leave CHL at 18 or 19, but I think they would be the exception.

I recall reading something from the WHL site where they talk about number of players using the school package and it was a lot of players.

 

[BadgerBruce]

How come the vast majority of CHL players don't use their education packages? Is it because the packages are useless? Is it because they're difficult to actually realize the benefits? Or is it because the CHL doesn't really do much to help the players use the education packages so they don't have to pay out the money?

This isn’t an opinion I can support with any published data, so make of it what you will.

A kid drafted into the CHL is just finishing up grade 10. If (and it is a BIG “if”) he graduates from high school with his birth year cohort, he’s just completed his second season of CHL hockey. If the kid is playing in the province of Quebec, where high school goes to grade 11 instead of grade 12, he’s just completed his first season of CHL hockey.

So a kid is now finished high school and still has at least half of his CHL career left before he ages out. Depending on the jurisdiction, he could have 4 years (in Quebec) or 3 years in the other Canadian provinces and US states during which he has no secondary school obligations and only plays hockey.

In my experience as a post-secondary educator in Canada and Europe since 1988, a kid who has been out of school for 3-4 years and only playing CHL hockey might not be all that interested in returning to school after so much time away from it. If he is interested, he might not be successful in a post-secondary setting. The irony here is that the CHL likes to call the players “Amateur Student-Athletes,” even though many finished high school after their second season and are full-time hockey players for the rest of their time in the league. When that CHL time ends, becoming a REAL amateur student-athlete at the post-secondary level can be extraordinarily challenging. Even former players who hang up the blades and intend to focus solely on their studies often find the transition challenging. The CHL proudly announces the number of scholarships the league funds each year, but they don’t publish the post-secondary graduation rates for alumni. They likely don’t even track it, but if a kid with four years of scholarship funding stops drawing it after one year … . Anecdotally, I’ve personally had 20-30 former CHL players in my courses over the years, and their graduation rate, while not horrible, is still less than inspiring. Obviously, small sample size.

Now, there’s no question that allowing former CHLers to use their scholarship funding for skilled trades training is a very good thing, but we do need to keep in mind that becoming a licensed red seal electrician in Canada requires 5 years of apprenticeship, and college-level programs are technically “pre-apprenticeship,” and taking them does not shorten the 5 year apprenticeship requirement. That’s not the CHL’s fault, but only a handful of skilled trades in Canada allow licensing on the basis of completing a college program. Even graduates of college-level Chef training programs still need to formally apprentice after they graduate. Lots of people take motive power training programs but still need to apprentice for years before becoming licensed mechanics. Actual apprenticeships aren’t funded by the CHL scholarships. These facts matter.

 

[CrazyEddie20]

Larry Nassar
Jerry Sandusky
Richard Strauss
Abuse exists everywhere. The NCAA just covers it up for longer.

You are only kidding yourself if you think the NCAA is non-profit. The difference with the NCAA is it's the coaches and administrators getting rich.

When did I ever say anything about the NCAA's tax status?

Keep deflecting. The reality is that most CHL players don't use their education packages, and the education package is not at all comparable to the value of an NCAA scholarship.