The NCAA Division I Council approved a rule on Thursday (Nov. 7) to all players with Canadian Hockey League (CHL) experience to compete at U.S. colleges starting next season. This landmark decision has the potential to shake up the NHL’s two largest sources of developmental talent.
The decision, effective Aug. 1, 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 NCAA has officially voted to allow CHL players to be eligible for Division 1 college hockey, beginning next season 🚨 pic.twitter.com/AFnBI039vF
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) November 7, 2024
The approval was expected after the council introduced a proposal to lift the ban last month. Players competing at the major junior ice hockey level or on professional teams can retain NCAA eligibility if they are not paid more than actual and necessary expenses.
The decision also applies to skiing, aligning with NCAA eligibility rules for other sports. The decision could potentially cost the CHL top 18-and-older talent or flood U.S. college rosters with Canadians.
The NCAA’s ruling follows a class-action lawsuit filed on Aug. 13 in U.S. District Court in Buffalo, New York, challenging the ban of players from the CHL’s Western Hockey League (WHL), Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL).
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Riley Masterson of Fort Erie, Ontario, who lost his college eligibility two years ago when, at 16, he appeared in two exhibition games for the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires. It lists 10 Division I hockey programs selected to show they follow the NCAA’s bylaws in barring current or former CHL players.
In a separate development in September, Braxton Whitehead said he had verbally committed to Arizona State, making him the first CHL player to attempt to play hockey at the Division I U.S. college level. The 20-year-old Whitehead said he plans to play for the WHL’s Regina Pats this season before playing for the Sun Devils in 2025-26.
The stipends CHL players receive are not considered income for tax purposes. Meanwhile, college players can receive scholarships and earn money through endorsements and other uses of their name, image, or likeness (NIL).
Sign up for our NHL Prospects & Draft Substack newsletter
