What effect would a rule change have on the game?
It could change entry-level contracts in the NHL, for one; when teams draft a player out of the CHL, they hold his rights for two years. For NCAA players, it’s four years.
It would fundamentally alter the talent pool in the NCAA, maybe most directly due to an influx of older players who’d join college teams after their CHL careers end. It’d be specifically interesting to see which Division I teams benefit most; would low-end programs use CHL veterans to close the gap, or would talent continue to coalesce at top schools? It would certainly devastate Junior A leagues like the USHL, the current default home for high-school-aged players who want to maintain their NCAA eligibility.
Macklin Celebrini, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, is a perfect example. He played a season with the USHL’s Chicago Steel before heading to Boston University. In a different world, players like him would have the option to spend a year or two with a CHL team before they were college-aged — and then, NCAA coaches would have to convince them to leave their CHL team. Avoiding that, along with more generally making changes during what has been a profitable and positive run for college hockey, would seem to be the reason the rule is still on the books in 2024.
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