As USports players have crossed over from Canada, their production has gone down in the NCAA. We explore the reasoning and why the number of USports transfers will go down in years to come
In November 2024, Canadian Hockey League (CHL) players and their graduates were granted eligibility to play NCAA hockey. In the aftermath of the ruling, many former CHL players who were attending Canadian USports transferred to the NCAA. Following the 2025-26 NCAA Regular Season, I evaluated what impact these former USports athletes had for their new programs. The conclusion based on 11 of these transfers is that USports does not translate well to the NCAA.
The data shows that out of the 11 USports transfers, all one of them decreased in point production when playing a comparable amount of games. Within the ten players that had drops in production the, average wasn't just one or two points. Rather, this decline was 10.1 points per player through 30 games (+/- 5 games) compared to their 2024-25 USports totals.
However, that's just the average. There were two NHL draft picks among the 11 players that I studied. These two players, one selected by a team from each conference, actually led the pack in declining production, decreasing by 13 and 26 points.
Erie Otters defenseman Owain Johnston, center, skates between Kitchener Rangers Eduard Sale, left, and Carson Rehkopf, right, during an Ontario Hockey League Western Conference quarterfinal game at Erie Insurance Arena in Erie on April 4, 2024.I do want to highlight the one player that increased his point total by finding his niche at the College of the Holy Cross. Owain Johnston was a defenseman in 2024-25 at St. Francis Xavier University where he played in a limited role his freshman year. Upon his arrival at Holy Cross, Johnston used his expanded ice time leaning into the physicality the CHL teaches. Johnston more than tripled his USports point total from 3 to 10. His intensity and aggression allowed him to stay in the lineup most of the season, fleshing out his grinder style of play through an NCAA third 88 penalty minutes in 38 games.
After reviewing the play styles from the CHL and how they integrate into the NCAA, I have come to the following conclusion about USports and its translation to the NCAA. The number of USports transfers to the NCAA will significantly decrease in the coming years. We saw an influx of USports players in the NCAA this season due to the ex post facto nature of the CHL ruling. With the more skilled players going the CHL, they have no reason to pick USports over the NCAA. Players currently in the USports are on the whole physical and less skilled than the majority of NCAA players coming from the USHL, the exact inverse of what American college hockey is like.
As it stands, the USHL is without question the best holistic development path for players to the NCAA. This does not change the fact that the best of the best will go to the CHL before the NCAA. These players are the exception and not the rule. Looking at a broader perspective, most players interested in the NCAA will choose the USHL over the CHL. As the CHL becomes more skilled and less physical, player pathways to the NCAA may change. Irrespective of these changes, USports is less skilled, more physical and does not cross over well to the NCAA.