From The Silky Mitten State: Should CHL players be eligible for NCAA hockey? How would the sport change if they were included?
The Memorial Cup is underway in Saginaw, with the London Knights, Drummondville Voltigeurs, Moose Jaw Warriors, and host Spirit vying for the CHL crown.
Meanwhile, in the hockey community south of the border, a debate about the CHL rages on: Should CHL players (presently ineligible to participate in NCAA sports because of the stipends they receive) be allowed to play college hockey?
In the world of NIL and soon revenue sharing, the logic behind their prohibition has grown flimsy at best. And while some current collegiate coaches might not like it, there is a growing movement to allow CHL players to play college hockey. It was a topic of conversation at the post-season coaches' conference in Naples, and while there was no concrete action taken in that moment, a wind of change is blowing through college sports.
On the most recent episode of The Silky Mitten State, my co-host Connor Earegood and I discussed this dynamic—getting into our basic feeling that CHL players should be allowed to participate into NCAA sports as well as some of the potential unintended consequences of the change (e.g. damage to the integrity of the USHL and a change in the age profile most coaches care to recruit).
You can catch a sample of our conversation in the clip above, and the full episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify: