Things have been done for decades. There were two main paths for players to pursue their professional hockey careers in North America. The first, and oldest, was playing in the major minor leagues in Canada. The second was to play in Junior A leagues in the US and Canada to stay eligible to play in the NCAA. But that looks set to change. As it stands, the NCAA does not allow Canadian Hockey League (CHL) players to cross over from a college game once they have dressed for a game, even an exhibition game, in the top junior league in North America.
The CHL allows players ages 16-20 to play, except for some 15-year-olds who are considered special, a full season, or the WHL, allows them to play up to 10 games. Meanwhile, NCAA hockey is usually from 18-25. Therefore, it was established so that CHL players can travel to the United States to pursue education and play hockey once their junior careers are over. This has already led to an antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA. Ryan Masterson has dressed in some exhibition games for the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Unfortunately, for Masterson, this cost him his NCAA eligibility. Despite his efforts to appeal to many teams, every coach refused a spot on their roster as it would be against NCAA rules.
The NCAA's case
This did not stop the young man since, according to Rick Westhead, Masterson filed a class action lawsuit and he and his legal team believe that the NCAA violated antitrust laws and anti-competitive laws by removing him and CHL players in general.
CHL players are considered “professional” because they receive a stipend of up to $600 per month. This is used for living expenses, and is not considered income for tax purposes. During that time, college players received scholarships worth more than $100,000 and now can receive money in terms of fees for the use of their name, image and likeness by the NCAA or their colleges.
The NCAA knew that the bylaws banning CHL players left them legally vulnerable, and there was an opportunity given to all Division 1 coaches to repeal or ignore the bylaw if they chose, however, enough votes to lift the bylaws, and the NCAA left them in place. Since the lawsuit was filed in August 2024, there have been rumors that the American college movement has moved on. There is already one CHL player who has verbally committed to the NCAA, as Braxton Whitehead of the Regina Pats has agreed to join the Arizona State University club in 2025-26, hoping the bylaws will be finalized by then.
The United States College Hockey site, USCO.com, reported the news that the NCAA will hold a vote soon to allow CHL players to be eligible for college hockey in the United States. This is a vote that will change the way NHL teams approach the draft, and how young players decide their futures.
Unintended Consequences
This vote will be easy enough, but failure will be anything. This will lift many of the ground rules that NHL, CHL and NCAA teams have built their programs and franchises on. For example, the CHL has many unique rules with the NHL, such as, a player drafted to a CHL team cannot play in the American Hockey League (AHL) until he is 20 years old if he does not make an NHL team. . Another thing is that NHL teams retain the rights of an NHL player for only two years, if they do not sign a contract during that time, they can enter the Entry Draft again.
In the NCAA, players are not allowed to be under NHL contracts. As soon as they sign an NHL contract, they forfeit their NCAA eligibility. However, NHL teams retain NHL rights to players for four years, giving them more time to develop and evaluate these players, but players become unrestricted free agents (UFA) if they are not signed at the end of those four years. That said, more and more NCAA players are using this rule, allowing them to decide where they will play.
The two organizations have been competing against each other for premier talent to develop before players begin their NHL or other professional hockey careers. As such there were several advantages to each method. The CHL offers players a fast track to the professional leagues, with players starting at age 16 and ending their four-year career at age 20 when they can move up to the professional ranks. The NCAA took senior players from Junior A and spent four years in the NCAA when they came out when they were 22 or 23 years old.
The college route has been seen as suitable for late bloomers, or players who need more time to develop. Not just their skills, but also physically. The NCAA plays a few games, usually two per weekend, and spends a lot of time practicing throughout the week. This gives players time to refine their game and work in the gym to build strength. While the CHL has a professional style program full of games, travel and a way of doing business where the focus is on hockey while allowing for the time needed to complete high school.
With this upcoming vote, what do the CHL and Jr A League and teams think? What is their plan moving forward if the rules are changed? At the moment it seems very dangerous for all those groups, groups, and communities as the system itself will need to be reset. Leagues like the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL), the United States Hockey League (USHL) and others have built their entire model as a preparation league for the NCAA. Some of their best players will now no longer have to make the difficult choice to leave the CHL career. However, the biggest impact will be on the NHL's Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
The NHL CBA
Craig Button asks a very important question, what about CHL players on an entry level contract (ELC), can they go and play in the NCAA?
Whether or not a player signed to the ELC will be eligible will depend on the outcome of this case. If the restrictions on “professional” athletes are removed, they should be able to play Division 1 Hockey. The impact on the NHL CBA will be profound and cause ripples throughout the feeder leagues. Currently, any player under contract in the CHL will have what is called a “slide,” so their three-year deal can slide for a season or two.
NCAA players use the CBA to their advantage, sometimes holding out until they are UFAs or, using that fact as leverage to sign after a season or two, usually waiting until the end of the NHL season to get a game or two. in the league, but they also “burned” their ELC season.
The next round of negotiations between the NHL and the NHLPA will need to focus on this new reality. There will need to be a significant review of the number of years a club can hold player rights. Are they reducing NCAA player franchises from four years to two? Are they going to do it everywhere and limit it to four years? More importantly, what about the NHL's contract limit currently set at 50? With teams turning 45 and over on a regular basis, that leaves general managers with even more difficulty in deciding who gets signed, and who doesn't. This may be the reason the NHL opted to drop the entry draft from seven rounds to four as suggested by Elliotte Friedman on his 32 Thoughts podcast last spring.
The way teams scout, manage player development, and more importantly manage team assets will be changed forever. The ripple effect of this single class action lawsuit has the potential to improve the NHL system from top to bottom. It falls to each management team to take this change seriously, as it could make their draft and development plans obsolete, and these GMs should be on notice to start planning ahead of the fact that CHL players are eligible for the NCAA.
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