Shopping for Ice Time: The New Reality Of Junior Hockey Recruitment

Christian Humphreys wasn't getting enough ice time at the University of Michigan. So the Colorado Avalanche prospect took matters into his own hands and pulled off the unthinkable: he left the NCAA mid-season to join the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers. 

One assist in 10 games in the NCAA became 11 goals and 22 assists in 28 games in the OHL. 

The difference? A rule change in late 2024 that has shifted junior hockey entirely. 

For the first time, players aren't choosing between pathways – they're shopping for the best opportunity. And CHL teams, long known for being the path to the NHL, are learning they have to earn recruits, not just draft them.

For Humphreys, the Avalanche's seventh-round pick in the 2024 draft, the decision came down to development. 

“All I wanted to do was play hockey,” Humphreys said. “I wasn't playing much at school, and I came here just to get my confidence back, be a big player and play a big role for a team.” 

The Rangers offered something the Michigan Wolverines couldn’t: meaningful minutes and high-leverage reps in a professional hockey setting. 

"I'd rather play a lot more than worry about money," Humphreys said. "In juniors, they treat you like a pro. At school, there's a lot of responsibilities with that."

Colorado Avalanche Prospect Christian Humphreys Confidence Rekindled After Leaving The NCAA For OHL's Kitchener Rangers Should OHL players leave for opportunities to play collegiate-level hockey in the NCAA? That is a conversation that is constantly being had since we are seeing more and more high-end players from the CHL leave their junior teams to play in the NCAA. 

The NCAA's name, image and likeness (NIL) rule change in July 2021 allows athletes to profit from corporate sponsorships. Gavin McKenna, the expected first overall pick in this year's NHL draft, is reportedly making around $700,000 in NIL money this season alone at Penn State, according to multiple sources.

This was a major contributor to a player's decision.

However, for players buried in the depth chart, NIL money doesn't matter if you are not on the ice. 

The rule change has opened a lot of options for players to tailor their hockey careers to benefit their development further. 

"It's opening a lot of options for players," Humphreys said. "100 percent."

It’s a change that more NCAA players may soon be making. 

"With that flexibility, I think within the coming months, you're going to see a lot of guys from school come," Humphreys predicts. "They burn a whole season just developing (on the bench). It's big, especially now."

And one already has made the move this season: Rylan Gould. 

On Oct. 28, Michigan Tech freshman Gould made the jump from the NCAA back to the WHL, joining the Everett Silvertips following a trade from the Swift Current Broncos. Through his first six games in the NCAA, he had one goal on two shots. 

Gould averaged between 13 and 15 minutes, with one game where he played 10:16, and another where he only had 1:22, according to collegehockeynews.com

Those stats were a stark contrast to his previous season with Swift Current, where he played in 60 games, scoring 29 goals and 66 points. 

For Everett GM Mike Fraser, acquiring Gould came easily to the Silvertips, as they have had a connection for a long time. 

"The way he plays and when you look at his body of work over the years in our league – he fits into our style," Fraser said. "He's quick, he plays quick, moves pucks quickly, is able to create some offense."

But Fraser admits the entire league is still figuring out how to navigate this rule change. 

"For me and probably a lot of GMs, we're all just kind of living through this as it's happening," he said. "With it happening kind of in the middle of the season last year, we were forced to go with the flow and learn on the fly."

Fraser expects more to make this shift in the short term. 

“You might see more of it in the short term,” he said. “Longer term, I don't know. Maybe just give it another year or two, and maybe it starts to become a little bit more clear how this shakes out. But in the end, the players tend to have more options, more opportunities. So I don't think it's going to be uncommon, put it that way.”

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