OMG67
Registered User
- Sep 1, 2013
- 11,435
- 7,392
Maybe it's just me, but if a 21 year old can't make it in a pro league or CIS, maybe they should be thinking about hanging up the skates?
I’m not sure it is about making the leagues etc. I think it is about exposure to the point that opportunities are fully maximized.
For example, any OHL player that wants to play CIS should get an opportunity. I don’t know of any regular OHL players not capable of playing at that level to be honest. I guess from that perspective, it would be about which program they want to go to?
From a professional perspective, it may be the difference between getting an AHL deal or an ECHL deal and we all know that is a big compensation gap. That OA year can have a lot to do with that type of offer. IMO, any player offered an ECHL contract that has scholastic ability should say, “Yeah, no thanks.” But, they do have the opportunity to give it a shot without killing their scholarship.
All that said, I do agree. I really cannot see the 21 year old significantly benefitting by returning. Of course, there will be a handful that would benefit but not enough to simply open the floodgates and allow 3 of them! That would be absurd IMO. If the CHL were to allow two 21 year olds play per team, that would pull over 100 players away from graduating to the other programs available to them. That is a significant number of players not filtering into other programs and refuelling them. That may cause a significant negative ripple effect.