The CHL and USA Hockey have partnered to bring hockey fans a best-on-best two-game series of the top-ranked Canadian and American NHL prospects.
The 2025 NHL draft scouting season just got a lot more interesting.
The CHL and USA’s Hockey National Team Development Program announced an exciting three-year partnership to bring hockey fans a special event named the CHL-USA Prospects Challenge.
Starting next season, USA’s NTDP squad and the best first-year NHL draft-eligible prospects from the CHL’s three-member leagues — OHL, WHL, and QMJHL — will battle each other in a two-game series.
Another edition of the great rivalry on ice between Canada and the USA starts in November 2024, with specific details on the date, location, and event format to come at a later date. The assumption would be that one game will be played in the USA and another inside a CHL arena.
NHL scouts around the globe most likely let out a little cheer or fist-pump after hearing the news. This allows NHL personnel to view prospects eligible for the season’s NHL draft and see how they fare in a best-on-best competition. It will be the one of the only times during the hockey season outside of international tournaments that scouts will have this kind of opportunity to view the top-ranked North American prospects in the same setting.
“This event provides an exclusive advance look at these top prospects and is the perfect venue for the CHL and USA Hockey players to showcase their skills and attributes,” said director of NHL Central Scouting Dan Marr.
The NTDP has been on the rise for many years. We have seen franchise-altering players emerge from the program like Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel and recent Stanley Cup champion Matthew Tkachuk.
A product of the NTDP has been drafted in the top five in the last six NHL drafts. Everyone remembers the 2019 draft when seven players from the program went in the top 15, led by Jack Hughes selected first overall by New Jersey. Also, nine NTDP alumni were selected in the first round of the 2016 draft, led by the game's current best goal-scorer, Auston Matthews.
While hockey is still widely considered Canada’s game, the USA has greatly closed the gap between them and their neighbors from up north, particularly in their development of young hockey players.
The three CHL leagues are still considered the best development leagues, with the OHL being the most prestigious. In the first round of the 2023 draft, 11 players were selected from the CHL, including the generational talent Connor Bedard from the Regina Pats of the WHL.
This event has been a long time coming for NHL draft enthusiasts.
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