Is college hockey better than major junior hockey? It's tough to say. Tony Ferrari explains why. The NCAA's national championship men's hockey trophy. [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjA4NTQwMTI2NzQ0MjI0OTQx/usatsi_23016214.jpg] The NCAA's national championship men's hockey trophy. A new lawsuit was filed regarding the restriction of player movement from the CHL to the NCAA. The case alleges the NCAA is violating federal antitrust law by banning players who have appeared in a CHL exhibition or regular-season game. Freedman Normand Friedland LLP filed the suit on Aug. 12 to the United States District Court in western New York on behalf of former junior hockey player Rylan Masterson. The 19-year-old alleges the NCAA and member teams block the movement of CHL players to the NCAA not because of their perception of amateurism but because they intend to deter top players from choosing the CHL altogether. The Hockey News received a copy of the lawsuit. The NCAA has looked at removing restrictions [https://www.sportsnet.ca/juniors/article/nhl-preparing-for-possible-chl-ncaa-rule-change/] preventing players with CHL experience from competing in collegiate hockey, particularly in the wake of NCAA athletes being able to collect wages for their play and through name, image and likeness (NIL) agreement. As The Hockey News’ Tony Ferrari explained [https://thehockeynews.com/news/potential-changes-to-chl-ncaa-player-eligibility-could-be-monumental-for-development-streams] in February, “the NCAA deemed CHL players ineligible because the three leagues that make up the CHL – OHL, WHL and QMJHL – have players in them who have signed professional contracts with NHL teams.” As a result, the NCAA views the CHL as a professional league. Masterson played two exhibition games for the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires when he was 16. “As a result of the illegal conspiracy in violation of the U.S. antitrust laws alleged herein, (Masterson) lost his eligibility to play Division I hockey for any institution that is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association,” the suit alleges. Masterson never played a regular-season game in the OHL and instead played out his junior hockey career in the GOJHL with the Fort Erie Meteors, which he captained last season, scoring 39 points in 45 games from the blueline. As a result of the NCAA’s current restrictions, players entering their CHL draft eligibility are often made to declare their intentions to play in one league or the other and are restricted from attending CHL camps for longer than 48 hours or playing in any exhibition games with CHL teams without forfeiting their NCAA eligibility. As NCAA Bylaw 12.2.3.2 states, “An individual shall not be eligible for intercollegiate athletics in a sport if the individual ever competed on a professional team.” It is only men’s ice hockey and skiing, per NCAA Bylaw 12.2.3.2.1, where athletes are not allowed to play in a league deemed professional before initial full-time collegiate enrollment as well. NCAA Bylaw 12.2.3.2.4 explicitly considers major junior hockey leagues as classified by the Canadian Hockey Association (now Hockey Canada) as professional. That being said, the suit alleges that individuals who played professional hockey in other countries are allowed to play Div. I hockey, specifically mentioning Vancouver Canucks prospect Tom Willander, who played for Rogle in the Swedish League before playing for Boston University. Players who choose the CHL route at a young age might play only a handful of games, but any appearance results in NCAA ineligibility two to three years prior to those players graduating from high school. “This scheme (referred to herein as the 'boycott') prevents competition between the CHL and NCAA for top-end players and thus artificially suppresses compensation for players and artificially creates less competitive leagues,” the antitrust lawsuit alleges. “Not only that, the boycott also puts 16-year-olds in the impossible position of deciding, at that young age, whether they will ever want to play Div. I hockey. It is per se illegal under the antitrust laws, including because it constitutes a group boycott.” Recently, more top NHL draft prospects from Canada have chosen the NCAA route over the CHL, including 2025 first-overall pick Macklin Celebrini and 2023 third-overall pick Adam Fantilli. This is not Freedman Normand Friedland LLP’s first foray into antitrust class action lawsuits. It recently challenged an Ivy League agreement not to pay athletic scholarships, as well as a separate suit against elite American universities [https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2024/02/23/more-colleges-settle-financial-aid-lawsuit/] for allegedly “colluding to limit financial aid for admitted students.” That suit resulted in a $166-million settlement. The allegations have not been proven in court. The Hockey News contacted the NCAA for comment Tuesday morning. This article will be updated if there is a response. Get the latest news and trending stories right to your inbox by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here [https://info.thehockeynews.com/mail/microsites/951/1/gTeQVf?_gl=1*ustlbj*_ga*NjkyMzUxMy4xNjYzNjIwMzQ3*_ga_PK63FB1PME*MTcxMzUwOTExNi40NDguMS4xNzEzNTA5MjA5LjU5LjAuMA..]. 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