Potential policy change could negatively impact U Sports men's hockey
U Sports men's hockey could face a major obstacle.
Hockey writers are wondering whether the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), which governs college athletics in the United States, may change its amateurism policy and make Canadian Hockey League (CHL) junior hockey players eligible. It's starting.
The agreement between the NHL and CHL requires NHL teams to send prospects who are not yet ready for the NHL back to CHL teams. So, at the junior level, there are a lot of top NHL prospects who have already signed entry-level contracts.
Players in the CHL are rewarded for their accomplishments, go head-to-head with players already under professional contracts, and the entire league is considered professional by NCAA standards. Therefore, a player will waive his NCAA eligibility if he plays only one CHL game.
Sportsnet's Elliott Friedman said in February, “We're moving toward a future where CHL players can play in NCAA hockey. The question is when.”
CHL players who fail to compete in the NHL or other professional leagues often turn to U Sports Hockey to continue playing hockey while pursuing higher education.
As a result, former CHL players make up the majority of U Sports' men's hockey roster. Twenty-one of the 25 members of the Concordia Stingers men's hockey team previously played in the CHL.
“[The current policy] That protects us a little bit from losing talent to American universities,” said Darcy Ryan, director of Concordia Athletics.
However, the NCAA's 2021 launch of name, image, and likeness (NIL) rules, which allow athletes to receive compensation for personal branding, sparked a change in permissiveness regarding athletes' amateur and professional status. Ta.
CHL players, if given the choice, would gravitate toward American universities over Canadian ones. The main reason for this is that there are differences in the scholarships that are accepted.
Ryan said U Sports only grants scholarships to cover tuition and other mandatory fees, which prevents Canadian universities from providing large sums of money to attract athletes. I explained that it means that. “Whereas in America, everything is covered, including housing, room and board. We can't match that,” he said.
However, changing NCAA policy is not as easy as it sounds. The earliest this policy could be discussed is at the annual college hockey coaches conference in April. By then, U Sports' 2024-2025 men's hockey recruiting cycle will be largely complete.
Adam Wodon reporter college hockey newsI'm skeptical that any adjustments will be made.
“I think there's a misconception among Canadians and hockey writers that this is a big problem for the NCAA. It's really not. No one outside of college hockey coaches thinks about it.” He said. “I think a lot of it was based on speculation.”
Furthermore, it will likely take some time before policies change. According to Jim Connelly of USA College Hockey Online, the decision must go through several different committees within the NCAA for approval and implementation.
“We'll be talking about this in April. We might vote on it in June, and next December there will be a meeting where someone else will hear it and vote on it.” “It would be,” he said, adding that the NCAA's operations mimic the mandates of Congress.
U Sports has declined. Link“We do not comment on media reports regarding a potential Coaches Association vote in the United States,'' he said in response to an interview request.
