MAJOR JUNIORS WILL ELEVATE NCAA HOCKEY

The NCAA Division I council voted Thursday to make Canadian Hockey League players eligible for NCAA Division I hockey in 2025, a move that will reshape hockey’s ladder of development.

The council’s decision allows developing players to compete in the Ontario Hockey League, Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, and Western Hockey League without compromising their NCAA Division I hockey eligibility if their compensation is for NCAA approved expenses associated with their participation.

The rules change goes in effect August 1st, 2025, and does not apply to the NCAA Division III levels.

Players who sign National Hockey League contracts and return to major juniors will remain ineligible. Players will continue to be allowed to participate in NHL development camps if compensation for those events do not exceed necessary expenses.

"While we will take time to fully review this rule change, we believe this is a positive development that will provide our players with more opportunities to continue their hockey and academic careers following their time in the CHL," the statement said. "It will also give young players and their families more options in choosing their development path, which includes opening up the CHL -- the best development hockey league in the world for players aged 16-20 -- to more players worldwide."

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The change in policy between the NCAA and CHL has been anticipated among teams and coaches on both sides of the border -- especially after NCAA name, image, and likeness rules were loosened in 2021.

In September, Braxton Whitehead of the WHL's Regina Pats received a verbal commitment for the 2025-26 season from Arizona State University's Division I program -- the first NCAA commitment since a proposed class action suit was filed.

While competition for NCAA Division I roster spots has always been intense, I feel this change will dramatically enhance the entire spectrum of college hockey, not only at NCAA Division I, but also at the NCAA Division III and club levels of the game.

Look for leagues like the British Columbia Hockey League, United States Hockey League, and even the North American Hockey League make adjustments to their operational standards (and that also means enforcement of standards, finally) in an effort to remain relevant.

These changes will also mean that players from outside the top four leagues (WHL, OHL, QMJHL, USHL) will be forced to do more to enhance their personal level of hockey development. And that’s ging to be a good thing.

USA Hockey will have to do more to enhance development at the lower levels of play to prepare their athletes for a more competitive future. I feel that the super elite hyper leagues, with players flying in from all over to play the weekend, are the biggest developmental drain our game has ever encountered.

There is more to the concept of development than wherever a team is ranked. Teams should practice a minimum of three times a week. Players that can’t make it to practice should not be allowed to play that weekend. There are teams out there that may practice three times a month. That’s garbage.

We can do better, and we will.

As we move into the new era of college hockey, there will be a challenge to the status quo of AAA youth hockey. One that is economical and provides more of a structure than the stay-to-play tournament fiasco.

We are living in one of the most historical times of the game. There will be a lot of changes, and I promise you, they will be for the better.

MAJOR JUNIORS WILL ELEVATE NCAA HOCKEY The NCAA Division voted to make Canadian Hockey League players eligible for NCAA Division I hockey in 2025

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