This past week, it was announced that Major Junior players in the CHL (OHL/QMJHL/WHL) will now be able to play NCAA D1 Hockey starting in 2025! This is the biggest news in the modern era of hockey, which will completely disrupt the hockey landscape moving forward. We’re here to help break it all down for you, starting from the new rules and their impact on you as a hockey player!
New Rules
- Any player playing as high as the Major Junior level who didn’t receive more than reasonable expenses in their career.
- Reasonable expenses still to be clearly defined by the NCAA.
- A player can sign a pro contract, but only remains eligible if they don’t receive more than reasonable expenses.
- As of now, NIL/sponsorship rules remain the same. However, this will likely evolve with time as more specific rules are released.
- Effective August 1st, 2025! Players who play Major Junior can commit before this date, with some already doing so.
- Other eligibility rules have not changed as of now.
- Academic standing, doping, gambling rules, etc. apply as before.
- Note that if you play Major Junior, you cannot play at the NCAA D3 or D2 level as of now.
Why Did This Happen?
- NCAA facing lots of pressure and lawsuits about amateurism status.
- Most impactful one was a class-action lawsuit filed on Aug. 13th 2024 in Buffalo, New York, challenging the CHL players’ ban.
- The suit, filed by Riley Masterson (who lost NCAA eligibility after playing 2 OHL exhibition games), lists 10 NCAA D1 hockey programs.
- Tides turned more in Sept. 2024, where Braxton Whitehead verbally committed to Arizona State, becoming the first CHL player to attempt NCAA D1 hockey in the U.S.
- Hockey Canada wanting to re-establish control.
- Hockey Canada pushed for the rule as it was starting to lose control with leagues like the BCHL leaving its structure and others attempting to leave.
- Top Jr. A leagues had a lot of power because they were the main feeders to NCAA Hockey.
- With this new rule in place, Jr. A leagues have much less power because they will now be overshadowed by the Major Junior Leagues governed by Hockey Canada, allowing them to regain dominant control.
Impact on Junior Leagues
- Major Junior teams will benefit from this.
- Elite players who previously held back and played Jr. A to maintain their NCAA eligibility will mostly all play Major Junior now since it’s the highest level.
- More players from Quebec will be exposed to NCAA Hockey to further their development, as most elite players from Quebec played Major Junior in the past.
- Jr. A league calibre and NCAA D1 commitments will likely experience a trickle down effect.
- Jr. A calibre will still be good, and top leagues like the USHL, BCHL, and NAHL will continue to produce good players. But, the elite players they used to have will likely end up playing Major Junior.
- Therefore, commits will likely end up trending in this direction:
- Major Junior: NCAA D1 & Pro feeder, bottom-mid players go USports.
- USHL, NAHL, & BCHL: Top players D1, others NCAA D3 & USports.
- Remaining Tier 2 CJHL Leagues: Mainly NCAA D3 feeder.
- Low End Tier 2 leagues & Tier 3 Jr. A leagues: Mainly ACHA feeder.
Impact on Players
- Great rule change for the best players as they won’t have to make career altering decisions at 15-16 years old.
- Have the NCAA option in their back pocket if not ready to jump to pro at 18-19 years old.
- Trickle down effect for remaining players. You’ll probably end up playing in a league and committing to a school that’s a tier down from before the rule passed.
- Tough for certain players who got recent D1 commits or were talking to D1 schools as they will likely get left behind.
- USports and NCAA D3 options being their new reality.
- Tough for certain players who got recent D1 commits or were talking to D1 schools as they will likely get left behind.
Impact on College Hockey
- NCAA
- NCAA D1 calibre will likely increase, as many of the best players will go there for development before going to pro.
- More programs will likely be created due to the increased demand.
- Maybe we’ll see the rise of a significant NCAA D2 division due to the increased demand.
- NCAA D3 calibre will likely increase due to trickle down effect.
- ACHA
- Similar principle as above, calibre will likely increase due to trickle down effect.
- USports
- Calibre will likely decrease.
- Reason why it was good is because Major Junior players who didn’t have great pro options or valued education would default to USports.
- These players will likely go play NCAA D1 as better option.
- USports will have to produce a better product to attract the top players now.
- That being said, D1 will likely be saturated with the best players, so middle of the road Major Junior players who value education will likely still go play USports.
- Major Junior teams will probably dial back their spending on USports packages
Impact on NHL & Other Professional Leagues
- More good (not elite) Major Junior players will go play NCAA D1 now to develop vs going to play ECHL or an equivalent pro league.
- Players who value education playing Major Junior will be more hesitant to sign a pro contract because they won’t want to end their NCAA Eligibility hence pro signings will occur later on average.
- Elite players probably will still leave for pro early, not much of an impact.
Overall, this marks a major shift in the hockey landscape. The rushed implementation and unclear guidelines, however, leave many unanswered questions for players and coaches. Keep an eye out for future videos and newsletters for updates!
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