Massive ruling made that impacts all 32 NHL teams and thousands of hockey players

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Daniel Lucente
November 7, 2024 (5:09 PM)

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The NCAA has voted to allow CHL players to be eligible for Division I college hockey as of next season, a massive change to the current rules in place.

Beginning with the next season, a change in NCAA eligibility will pave new roads for the players in the Canadian Hockey League to make their way into careers in American college hockey. The NCAA Division I Council has moved to change its rules and now will allow players of the CHL to retain college eligibility, which dissolves the longtime ban on those athletes.

Previously, any involvement in the CHL, encompassing the OHL, WHL, and QMJHL, made players unable to join the NCAA. But now, however, there will be an opportunity for the CHL players to move into the NCAA without losing their college eligibility.

A decision that has given athletes and activists hope, as they see this rule change as an opportunity for players of the CHL to decide about their future.

TSN's Director of Scouting Craig Button said the lifting of the ban empowers players by affording them more opportunities to weigh options between major junior leagues and college hockey. Now that the NCAA has opened its doors to CHL athletes, those aspiring professionals will have a choice as to whether the CHL or NCAA is better for development on an individual basis. For many players, this could mean having an opportunity for an education while training for possible future careers in professional leagues such as the NHL.

This is in part also a result of a shift in the legal environment. In August, former OHL player Rylan Masterson, a player who was taken away from his NCAA eligibility after taking part in just two exhibition games with the Windsor Spitfires, filed a class-action lawsuit against the NCAA.

Masterson's case called out how the harsh NCAA eligibility rules affect players such as himself who have permanent consequences from minimal involvement in the CHL. His lawsuit only surfaced the growing call for reform and may have influenced the decision of the NCAA. The NCAA is trying to move with the times in terms of youth hockey, where the trend seems to have become that of sampling a little bit from different leagues before deciding on which path to pursue.

The new change by the NCAA was hailed as a victory but it appears CHL officials and alumni are not very sure about the change. Mike Commodore, Stanley Cup champion and former NCAA player, said he agreed with the change but added that there was a concern about the negatives that might come out of this.

Commodore knows firsthand how complex the eligibility decision between the WHL and the University of North Dakota was to make, and revised rules could further complicate roster management in the NCAA as spots are taken up by CHL talent. Meanwhile, OHL Commissioner Bryan Crawford says he's confident the OHL will go on attracting elite players, despite this change.

This rule change represents one of the biggest expansions in options for junior hockey players in Canada, as they may choose an NCAA route even after previously playing in the CHL. Beginning next August, the CHL and NCAA will offer complementary yet different paths to develop players where players will have unprecedented flexibility in creating their athletic and academic futures.

The move makes the NCAA more attractive to Canadian athletes while falling in line with the broader evolution of sports eligibility that honors athletes' choices. The result is one inclusive and adaptable college hockey environment, allowing the CHL players to balance competitive hockey with a valued education.