NHL sees benefits to changing landscape after NCAA allows CHL players to compete at U.S. colleges

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The NCAA’s decision allowing Canadian Hockey League players to compete at the U.S. college level for the first time won't alter how the NHL evaluates draft-eligible talent.

Wherever players are competing, the scouts will be there, NHL Central Scouting chief Dan Marr said.

What Marr envisions changing as a result of the NCAA's ruling is players having more freedom to chose their development path, which should benefit NHL teams.

"It’s going to be better for the game. It's certainly better for players that they have these options and these opportunities," Marr said. “And NHL teams now have more development options for the players, which they didn't have before.”

The NCAA’s ruling in November prompted a massive redistribution of talent across North America's junior and college ranks. College Hockey Insider reported that nearly 325 CHL players have committed to play at Division I college programs this year and beyond.

Highlighting the group is Gavin McKenna. The long-projected No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL draft left the Western Hockey League after two-plus seasons to play at Penn State this year. The Nittany Lions open the season Friday at Arizona State.

The NCAA’s ruling also opened a pool of players previously not available to CHL teams. Previously, teenagers had no choice but to play in the USHL or Canadian Junior A ranks to maintain their college eligibility. Now they're free to play in the CHL's three leagues — Western, Ontario and Quebec Maritime — without restriction.

The NHL has already responded by standardizing how long teams retain the rights to drafted prospects. The limit is now when the player turns 22. Previously, the rules differed, with teams having two or three years to sign CHL draft picks, and four years for USHL and high schoolers.

CHL players should benefit the most by having the chance to further their development in college. How many take advantage of the opportunity remains to be seen.

NHL teams are walking a careful line in advising prospects.

“It’s their career, their development. And a lot of time there isn’t a clear best path,” Chicago Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson said. “Of course, we’re going to have input into that, but we don’t push one way or the other. There’s benefits to both.”

New Jersey Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald said the college option for CHL players has the potential of altering his philosophy on late-round draft selections. Where before he mostly avoided CHL players because of the smaller signing window, Fitzgerald might target more under the new standard.

“I’ve got a couple of kids where college would have been great for them,” Fitzgerald said. “Go put your skills on display. Go get in the weight room and get pushed around by 24- and 25-year-olds. There’s a lot of value in that.”

Dallas Stars goalie Jake Oettinger worried how the influx of CHL players to the college ranks will reduce the number of roster spots previously reserved for U.S.-born players.

“I’m torn,” said Oettinger, who is from Minnesota and spent three years competing in the USHL with USA Hockey’s developmental team before moving on to Boston University.

“The junior thing, I think it’s great. He’s going to make college hockey really cool,” Oettinger said of McKenna. “But then, some of my best friends are the 20-year-old guys that played in the USHL that now won’t get a scholarship because all these young studs from Canada are coming in.”

With so many moving parts, the NHL is more than a casual observer, deputy commissioner Bill Daly said.

“Obviously, the who landscape has changed dramatically, and I think it will continue to be dynamic in terms of the changes that are happening,” Daly said. “There will be some normalcy at some point in time, and we’ll see what that produces.”

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AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno and AP Sports Writer Jay Cohen contributed.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl