It might not be long before Canadian Hockey League players are eligible to play in the NCAA.
NCAA conference commissioners are scheduled to meet Monday, with one item on the agenda being a proposal to allow CHL players permission to compete in the NCAA, Sportsnet can confirm.
The item then will go to the NCAA Division I Council later in the week. If the proposal passes, CHL players will be eligible to play in the NCAA.
An email about the issue was sent to coaches on Friday.
USCHO.com was first to report the news.
Rumours of this kind of rule change have been circulating for months.
A class-action lawsuit was filed in August challenging the NCAA’s ban on CHL players.
The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Buffalo, N.Y., on behalf of Rylan Masterson by the New York City firm of Freedman Normand Friedland. Masterson, of Fort Erie, Ont., lost his college eligibility two years ago when, at 16, he appeared in two exhibition games for the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires.
The CHL’s three leagues (the OHL, QMJHL and WHL) are categorized as professional leagues under NCAA bylaws, barring their players from competition. The idea of the proposal is to remove that professional designation.
CHL players receive a stipend of no more than $600 per month for living expenses, which is not considered as income for tax purposes. College players receive scholarships and now can earn money through endorsements and other use of their name, image and likeness (NIL).
Then, last month, Braxton Whitehead of the Regina Pats verbally committed to attend Arizona State University.
He became the first member of a CHL team to attempt to play the sport at the Division I U.S. college level since the lawsuit was filed.
Whitehead posted on social media he plans to play for the Sun Devils beginning in the 2025-26 season.
If the NCAA does allow CHL players to play, the landscape for elite hockey will see dramatic changes. How and when players can switch leagues will have to be determined and NHL Draft rules also could be impacted.
— with files from AP.