The NCAA Division I Council voted Thursday to make Canadian Hockey League players eligible for NCAA Division I hockey in 2025, in a decision that could reshape the landscape of both college and university hockey. of major youth hockey.
The board ruled that players can compete in the CHL, which comprises the Ontario Hockey League, Western Hockey League and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, without jeopardizing their eligibility for Division I hockey. the NCAA, as long as they are not “paid more than actual and necessary expenses.” as part of that participation.”
The effective date of the rule change is August 1, 2025. The new eligibility for CHL players does not apply to NCAA Division III; CHL players are not yet eligible for NCAA Division III hockey.
Previously, the NCAA had deemed anyone who played in the CHL ineligible because there are players who have signed professional contracts with NHL teams that play in those leagues. CHL players also receive a monthly stipend capped at $250.
NCAA bylaw 12.2.3.2 states that “an individual shall not be eligible for intercollegiate athletics in a sport if he or she has ever competed on a professional team.”
Despite the rule change, players who sign contracts with the NHL and return to the CHL are still not eligible to play NCAA Division I hockey. However, players can participate in NHL training camps, as long as those teams do not compensate the player “beyond actual and necessary expenses.”
The CHL supported the rule change in a statement issued Thursday.
“While we will take the time to fully review this rule change, we believe it is a positive development that will provide our players with more opportunities to continue their academic and hockey careers following their time in the CHL,” the statement read. “It will also give young players and their families more options to choose their development path, including opening the CHL, the world's best developmental hockey league for players ages 16 to 20, to more players around the world. world”.
It's a decision that should send shockwaves through the NCAA and CHL. Although removing restrictions will deepen the talent pool for NCAA hockey across the board, some NCAA coaches fear that elite talent will opt out of playing college hockey without the current pressure point of losing eligibility if they choose. to the Canadian juniors instead.
“It's forced kids at a young age to decide what path they want to take,” WHL commissioner Dan Near told ESPN.
Former NHL stars such as Hockey Hall of Famer Paul Kariya and Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews were Canadian-born players who chose to play in the NCAA. Since 2016, there have been 15 Canadians who played in college and were selected in the first round of the NHL draft. That list includes Colorado Avalanche superstar Cale Makar (UMass), Buffalo Sabers defenseman and 2021 No. 1 pick Owen Power (Michigan), and 2024 No. 1 pick Macklin Celebrini (Boston University ), who was drafted by the San Jose Sharks.
The NCAA's ruling alters its view of the CHL as a “professional” league, but under strict compensatory guidelines for players. The NCAA defines “necessary expenses” as those “necessary or required for your participation in practice or competition, including, but not limited to: meals, lodging, transportation, clothing, equipment, supplies, training, ice time, medical treatment (insurance doctor) and entrance fees.”
The rules include any team apparel the player may receive after being drafted into the CHL.
“To ensure there are no issues with NCAA eligibility, an individual must return or pay for any celebratory items sent to them by a professional club that selects the individual,” the NCAA ruling states.
The policy change between the NCAA and CHL has been anticipated among teams and coaches on both sides of the border, especially after the NCAA's name, image and likeness rules were relaxed in 2021.
“Anyone who loves hockey and developmental leagues has been watching what's been happening in the NIL space and in the transfer portal space, trying to imagine if this will have implications on the future of how hockey players develop. junior,” Near said. “I think this might be the first domino to fall that way.”
Supporters of changing the NCAA's CHL rules pointed to well-compensated athletes in other sports, such as Olympic swimmers, who had retained their NCAA eligibility. They also noted that some college hockey programs welcomed players who had played professional games overseas without being banned from playing in college by the NCAA.
In August, OHL player Rylan Masterson challenged the rule by filing a proposed class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Western New York against the NCAA and 10 universities for what the lawsuit called a “group boycott.” of Canadian youth players.
He said the boycott “prevents competition between the CHL and the NCAA for high-level players and therefore artificially suppresses compensation for players and artificially creates less competitive leagues,” which he argued was “illegal under antitrust laws.
The proposed class action lawsuit was not unexpected for the NCAA. In 2023, during a review of its policies, the NCAA determined that a legal vulnerability existed in a potential “group boycott” by Canadian youth players. But the programs' coaches never took formal steps to eliminate the rule before the lawsuit was filed.
In September, Braxton Whitehead of the WHL's Regina Pats received a verbal commitment for the 2025-26 season from Division I program Arizona State University, the first commitment from the NCAA since a proposed class-action lawsuit was filed.
“[ASU’s] The motto is 'Be the Tradition' and I think they love the idea of me being a pioneer in all of this and paving the way for relationships between the NCAA and the CHL,” Whitehead told ESPN at the time. “I have many hopes that [the rules] “It will be delivered before the 2025-26 season.”
ESPN's Ryan S. Clark contributed to this report.
