NCAA lifts eligibility ban in allowing Canadian Hockey League players to compete at U.S. colleges
CTV
The NCAA Division I Council on Thursday approved a rule allowing players with Canadian Hockey League experience to compete at U.S. colleges starting next season.
The NCAA Division I Council on Thursday approved a rule allowing players with Canadian Hockey League experience to compete at U.S. colleges starting next season, a landmark decision that has the potential of shaking up the NHL’s two largest sources of developmental talent.
The decision, effective Aug. 1, lifts the NCAA’s longstanding ban on CHL players who were previously deemed to be professionals because they received a stipend of up to $600 per month for living expenses.
The approval was expected after the council introduced a proposal to lift the ban last month. Players competing in major junior ice hockey or on professional teams can retain NCAA eligibility as long as they are not paid more than actual and necessary expenses.
The decision also applies to skiing, bringing both in line with NCAA eligibility rules for other sports.
The council’s decision opened the door for a major change in how players approaching their 16th birthdays decide where to play. Rather than having to choose between one or the other, CHL players can now play NCAA hockey when they become college eligible.
The decision has the potential of costing the CHL top 18-and-older talent or flooding U.S. college rosters with Canadians.
The NCAA’s ruling follows a class-action lawsuit filed Aug. 13 in U.S. District Court in Buffalo, New York, challenging the ban of players from the CHL’s Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League.
