Seismic Shift Occurred In Junior Hockey After NCAA Makes Rule Historic Change

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Ryan Hall
November 8, 2024 (1:56 PM)

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After months of rumors and reports, the NCAA has made a historic rule change which has lifted the ban on CHL players playing for their NCAA rivals.

Starting next season, players from the CHL will be eligible to retain their college standing and allowing them to play for NCAA teams. The previous rule stated that any player from the OHL, WHL an QMJHL would not be allowed to play in the NCAA.

This is a seismic shift in junior hockey as it will allow students to cast a wider net to many American schools which in turn could help build their hockey programs. This ruling will also allow the NHL to see more Canadian players playing for American schools which will give them a broader experience in the United States and understand how their society works will be coming a potential player that could be a household name in the future.

Another winning point to this ruling is the fact that these students will be allowed to have an American degree from a prestigious university or college which would help them down the road after their hockey careers are long over.

Many across the X platform weighed in on what they thought of this ruling and the reaction has been mixed. Many athletes applaud this move as it will help their chances and opportunities but others including former NHL player and NCAA alumni Mike Commodore warned of complications of CHL players being on these rosters.

As for the Canadian leagues, even though this ruling will favour players and their families, it's widely expected that these leagues will continue to push for people to join their league and continued to churn out top grade NHL players who will be recognized at the draft for many years to come.

I believe this is a great move for the game of hockey as it drops the barriers between the United States and Canada and allows these athletes to have more opportunity to grow as individuals and as players while getting an education and giving them choice instead of being told that they cannot participate in American school or vice versa.

After this rule is in place, it's widely expected that pundits across the NHL and through junior hockey will be watching the levels of players who will be joining these teams and how many will join the NCAA.

I believe both leagues can thrive without an issue because there's plenty of players to go around and not everybody can afford an American school especially with the current currency exchange between Canada and the United States.