NCAA players have always been able to leave for the CHL if they have junior eligibility remaining. At least a couple of players leave at Christmas almost every year. This season, Christian Humphreys left Michigan for the OHL, and so did Ohio State forward Noah Powell.
But for the first time, former CHL players will be playing college hockey next season.
I wouldn’t call it a concern (yet), but some coaches are proceeding with caution regarding CHL players. They know they need to keep them happy — particularly the ones who have the option to go back to the CHL — or else those players could leave at Christmas.
Then what?
Until recently, most teams (that are opting into the House settlement) believed they could carry no more than 26 players. Expect rosters to be smaller next season (even if the judge grandfathered current players).
Even though it happens — Mikhail Yegorov, for example — it’s not always easy for NCAA teams to make mid-season additions. Players must be enrolled for the spring semester to be eligible, with enrollment closing at most schools in mid-January.
That’s why January 10 will be an important date for NCAA programs.
That’s the deadline for players to return to their CHL teams and still be eligible for the playoffs (think of it like the NHL trade deadline).
“The CHL is wondering if players will go, not find it to their liking, and then try to come back,” Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said on his latest 32 Thoughts podcast.
