NCAA should consider eligibility change that could allow CHL players to play college hockey

The NCAA Division I council is expected this week to consider a historic change in eligibility rules that would allow Canadian Hockey League players to compete at U.S. colleges, American Hockey’s executive director said Monday Coaches Association.

Forrest Karr, who is also Minnesota-Duluth’s athletic director, oversaw a committee that submitted recommendations on changing CHL player eligibility rules at the request of the NCAA. According to the NCAA calendar, the council is expected to meet early this week.

“If a decision is made to update the legislation, there will likely also be discussions about the most appropriate implementation date,” Karr wrote in a text to The Associated Press. Karr said the board would at the same time consider changing ski eligibility rules, which also exclude athletes who competed on a professional team or were reimbursed beyond necessary expenses.

The ruling follows a class-action lawsuit filed Aug. 13 in U.S. District Court in Buffalo, New York, challenging the NCAA’s ban on players in the CHL’s Western Hockey League, the Ontario Hockey League and the Quebec Maritime Junior Hockey League.

“We hope the NCAA will do the right thing at future meetings and vote to end the ban on CHL players playing NCAA Division I hockey,” wrote Stephen Lagos, the one of the lawyers who filed the suit, in an email to The AP. “We believe that all players, and hockey in general, would benefit from this change. »

A change in NCAA legislation could be far-reaching and could increase competition for college-age talent between the CHL and the NCAA, the two primary North American producers of NHL draft-eligible players.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Riley Masterson, of Fort Erie, Ont., who lost his university eligibility two years ago when, at age 16, he played in two exhibition games for the Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League. It lists 10 Division I hockey programs, which were selected to show they are following NCAA regulations by banning current or former CHL players.

Online court records show the NCAA has made no response to the suit since it was filed.

In another development last month, Braxton Whitehead said he had verbally committed to Arizona State, making him the first CHL player to attempt to play hockey at the Division’s college level I from the United States. Whitehead, 20, said he plans to play this season for the WHL’s Regina Pats before playing for the Sun Devils in 2025-26.

All three CHL leagues are classified as professional under NCAA statutes, prohibiting their players from participating in competition.

CHL players receive an allowance of up to $600 per month for living expenses, which is not considered income for tax purposes. College players receive scholarships and can now earn money through endorsements and other uses of their name, image, and likeness (NIL).