College Hockey:
Proposed NHL draft rule change supported by Kelly

USCHO Staff Report • Oct. 26, 2011

In an article on Canadian website Sportsnet.ca this week, College Hockey Inc. executive director Paul Kelly said that he supports Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson’s proposed rule change regarding the annual NHL draft process.

Nicholson has suggested that the NHL should change the age of draft eligibility from 18 to 19, excluding players chosen in the first round.

This would affect college players having to play at least their freshman year if they enter college as an 18-year-old and could possibly fix the issue of players committing to NCAA schools and then going the Major Junior route.

“I do think there (are) a few teams that are doing something which is off the books and not in compliance with their league rules. I don’t think any of the other owners approve of that,” Kelly said. “From our perspective in NCAA hockey, if a kid commits and then he breaks that commitment for, among other reasons, the fact that somebody’s giving him a big bag of cash, that just shouldn’t happen.

“On behalf of the colleges in the United States, the 58 programs that I represent, they strongly favor the proposal advanced by Bob Nicholson.”

Kelly and Canadian Hockey League commissioner David Branch will meet in Toronto in two weeks from now for further discussion.

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Nhlfreak2003
i think if they commit to college they should have to at least play 2 out of the 4 years by rule
Anonymous
Won’t happen. NHL is a Business and are not going to bend over for anyone. Money talks and thats the way it is.
AAP
I think the NHL needs to help college hockey out making it more popular. This would in turn improve the NHL’s popularity. Anything that can be done to create hockey fans at any level will help the NHL. Gaining fans from a fan base that is loyal to a school and not necessarily a sport should expand it’s horizons.
Yooper
I don’t think the NHL should be allowed to tamper with scholarship given players in college until they have completed four years. If a player pays his own way, fine,
then he can go where and when he wishes. But if the tax payers supporting the american university are forking out many thousands of dollars to educate and to hone the skills of a gifted player than they are entitled to some expectations from that player to enhance their hockey program. If he leaves before finishing his senior year ( unless of course because of injury or other unforeseen issue) then the NHL that signed that player should include in his contract a REIMBURSEMENT to the university for the money spent for his scholarship. The 30 or 40k is paltry to the hundreds of thousands or perhaps millions of dollars he will earn in the NHL anyway.
College hockey programs are expensive the way it is and certainly could use some
fair treatment.
FD8
If you put commitment guidelines on college, they don’t show up at all.

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