IT IS TIME FOR ABSOLUTE FREE AGENCY IN JUNIOR HOCKEY Players can simply avoid substandard clubs.

In a world where junior hockey players have more choices than in any time in history, why are leagues still holding on to the chains of locking up players’ rights season to season and the fantasy that is the draft system?

Enough already.

As a consumer, if I had a bad experience at the Walmart in Kissimmee, I could elect to use a different Walmart in Orlando. What if the Orlando store must compensate Kissimmee for the right to sell me their produce? That does not make any sense, but that is exactly what is happening in some junior hockey leagues.

I’ll say it, leagues should grant absolute free agency because doing so is the right thing to do.

The North American 3 Hockey League could be the best path to the NAHL, yet they continue to let the poop festival clubs to continue.  

Unfortunately, NA3HL teams retain the rights to veteran players for the following season, forcing players to request a trade or move to another league entirely. No wonder the non-sanctioned leagues are doing so well.

Pay-to-play customers from the USPHL Premier and Elite levels are free agents at the end of the season.

It’s amazing how a free market can force operators into taking the concept of customer service seriously. Now that Tier Standards have been taken out of USA Hockey’s Annual Guide, the governing body of the game should allow players to move freely to the team of their choosing, without penalty or compensation to the previous team.

What about the free-to-play North American and United States Hockey Leagues? Those players should be allowed to do the same thing. The exception is if the team (and player) wants to gamble on longer-term contracts that do promise playing time. Also of note, if an NAHL or USHL player is no longer utilizing a stall, practice ice, or billet space, that player should also be declared a free agent. There have been players sent home, and unable to play for a month or more, because the team was trying to sell the rights to that player to another team. Are we about development or simply money? Don’t answer that question out loud.

There are questionable operators within the free-to-play levels. There are glaring issues within the NAHL that nobody seems to want to address. How much did Kenai River trying to charge players this season? The bigger question: how many players is the NAHL willing to lose to other leagues because players simply refuse to return to any of the league’s weakest operators?

The fastest way to get every operator in line is to eliminate the drafts and declare every player a free agent upon the conclusion of the season. Force operators to retain prospects the old fashioned way, by earning it.