Canadian Hockey League players will be eligible to play NCAA Division I hockey starting in 2025-26. Jiawangkun/Dreamstime.com

By Canadian Press, Associated Press, Jesse Gill

SPORTS

NCAA lifts eligibility ban in allowing CHL players to compete at U.S. colleges

Nov 7, 2024 | 5:00 PM

The NCAA Division I Council has cleared the way for players with Canadian Hockey League experience to compete at U.S. colleges starting next season.

It is a landmark decision that has the potential of shaking up the NHL’s two largest sources of developmental talent.

The decision, effective Aug. 1 of 2025, lifts the NCAA‘s longstanding ban on CHL players who were previously deemed to be professionals because they received a stipend of up to $600 per month for living expenses.

The approval was expected after the council introduced a proposal to lift the ban last month.

Players competing at the major junior ice hockey or on professional teams can retain NCAA eligibility as long as they are not paid more than actual and necessary expenses.

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The decision also applies to skiing, bringing both in-line with NCAA eligibility rules for other sports.

In doing so, the council opened the door for a major change in how players approaching their 16th birthdays decide where to play.

Rather than having to choose between one or the other, CHL players can now play NCAA hockey when they become college eligible.

The decision has the potential of costing the CHL top 18-and-older talent or flooding U.S. college rosters with Canadians.

CHL players are still not eligible to play for NCAA Division III teams at this time.

The CHL said in a statement on Thursday, that they are aware of the announced changes and will take time to fully review this rule change.

“We believe this is a positive development that will provide our players with more opportunities to continue their hockey and academic careers following their time in the CHL,” the statement read.

“It will also give young players and their families more options in choosing their development path, which includes opening up the CHL, the best development hockey league in the world for players aged 16-20 to more players worldwide,” it added.

“We remain strongly committed to carrying on that tradition of success on the ice while embracing the enhanced academic options that this rule change will present off the ice.”

The Brooks Bandits, now playing in the British Columbia Hockey League have recruited players over the years based on their ability to help players move on to the NCAA Division I level while keeping their eligibility in place.

With players in the CHL on teams like the Medicine Hat Tigers now eligible for that same opportunity.

The B.C. Hockey League said in a statement Thursday that it “remains committed to its development model of preparing student athletes for college hockey, on the ice, in the classroom and in the community.”

“The BCHL has been around for 63 years and has been a pipeline to the NCAA for decades, with league alumni currently making up 25 per cent of all Division I players, which is more than all other Canadian leagues combined.”

The Brooks Bandits and several other teams joined the BCHL earlier this year after defecting from Alberta Junior Hockey League.