CHL players can now play in NCAA: What does this mean for the Bears?
With CHL players eligible to play in NCAA, U Sports might see a change in players two years from now.
Fair FramesStarting in August 2025, the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) will allow former Canadian Hockey League (CHL) players to join the organization.
Previously, if a player chose to play in the CHL, including the Western Hockey League (WHL), they could not play in NCAA. In Canada, the WHL serves as a premier development league for 15 to 20-year-olds. Compared to the NCAA, which comprises all university athletics in the United States. Like many other things in the states, college sports are taken to the next level — much more so than U Sports in Canada.
Both programs produce top level hockey players. For example, the NCAA was home to the first overall 2024 National Hockey League (NHL) draft pick, Macklin Celebrini. Compared to the WHL, which fostered the first overall NHL draft pick in 2023, Connor Bedard.
Why couldn’t someone play for both programs?
The WHL was considered a professional league by the NCAA, despite its major junior status. This stemmed from some players signing entry level contracts with the NHL and caused issues with the NCAA’s amateur clause, which barred professional players.
In this new system, a well-rounded player could have years to develop in the WHL before heading down to the states. By the time they’ve joined NCAA, they’re already a top level player, and will only get better. This system will produce some next level draft picks.
What prompted such a change?
The NCAA used to be one of the top programs for first round NHL draft picks, and in some cases still is. However during the 2024 draft, only three NCAA players went in the first round. Compared to 14 players from the CHL, five of which played in the WHL.
The CHL has since released a statement saying that this decision “will also give young players and their families more options in choosing their development path.”
This decision will draw current CHL players to the NCAA, generating more draft picks from that program.
What does this mean for the Golden Bears?
The University of Alberta Golden Bears Hockey team currently has 20 WHL graduates on its roster. Some of which are drafted to NHL teams. This makes U Sports a reliable option for those that couldn’t join NCAA.
But now they can, and why wouldn’t they? On paper, NCAA is the better league.
On the other hand, tier two players who wanted to play in the states are now going to join major juniors without risking their NCAA eligibility. This means there are going to be more players joining the CHL, creating a higher caliber of competition.
As well, NCAA players cannot be compensated by any professional team. So if a player is good enough to sign with an NHL team, they were never going to play in NCAA or U Sports. The players that will head down to the states are the ones that know they won’t sign with a team and want to develop down there. That want is crucial, as some simply won’t.
There are also U.S. development leagues set up for future NCAA players. Players in those leagues will now have to compete with a higher level of CHL players, limiting the number of spots. The top level players that don’t go to the NCAA are the ones looking at U Sports.
The likely scenario is that U Sports will lose some recruitment potential, but not enough to drastically change the level of competition. Especially schools that sit pretty high in men’s hockey rankings, like the U of A.
However, current first years at the U of A cannot leave and go play in NCAA as most are already 21, a cut off for NCAA eligibility. The real winner here, is head coach Ian Herbers, who snagged 11 talented rookies this year.
