SEISMIC CHANGE

Major-junior players aren’t eligible to suit up in the NCAA – but that might be about to change. If it does, it could cause a massive, and potentially devastating, ripple effect throughout junior leagues across North America

BY JOSH BERKMAN

THERE WAS A TIME when Canadian players represented a critical mass in NCAA men’s hockey. In the early 1970s, Canadians comprised more than half of the players in NCAA dressing rooms. But everything changed in 1972, when the NCAA ruled that players who have accepted room, board and a stipend to play junior hockey are professionals and therefore ineligible. The participation of Canadians in NCAA hockey plummeted. Since 2021, the Canadian player base has hovered around 27 percent, even though 12 Canadians – including Paul Kariya, Cale Makar, Adam Fantilli and this year’s winner, Macklin Celebrini – have won the Hobey Baker Award since it was introduced in 1981. A low-volume whir of college coaches calling for an end to the prohibition has lurked in the background for years – though…

You're reading a preview of

The Hockey News (Digital) - 1 Issue, Draft Preview 2024

DiscountMags is a licensed distributor (not a publisher) of the above content and Publication through Zinio LLC. Accordingly, we have no editorial control over the Publications. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including those made in Publications offered on our website, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of DiscountMags. DiscountMags does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, or usefulness of all or any portion of any publication or any services or offers made by third parties, nor will we be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in any Publication, or your use of services offered, or your acceptance of any offers made through the Service or the Publications. For content removal requests, please contact Zinio.