QMJHL commissioner Mario Cecchini has been busy this off-season, implementing several league changes for the upcoming seasons.

Firstly, the QMJHL Draft will be reduced from 14 rounds to 12 rounds. starting in the 2024-25 season. 

“We made an administrative decision to reduce the number of rounds,” said league spokesperson Raphael Doucet to the Cape Breton Post who first broke this story.

Additionally, player scholarships will rise by 20 percent, starting in the 2025-26 season. The annual bursary will be increased to $7,200 each year for a total of $36,000 should the player play in all five seasons. Additionally, the league has extended the number of years players will have to access the bursaries at the completion of their career from two to three, giving even more flexibility to players.

Alongside an increase higher education funding for its players, the QMJHL will also provide more workshops for players from alumni on how to be the best player and person on and off the ice.

Lastly, this past QMJHL draft had concluded without the following QMJHL American Draft, wasn't a fluke as the event has been scrapped by the league. First established in the 2018 season, the American draft was an attempt by the league to lure American talent into the league from going the NCAA route. 

Despite the QMJHL's best efforts, the American draft has been a colossal failure. Of the 216 players who were selected across the six drafts, only one player has ever stepped foot in a QMJHL rink. Gatineau's 2019 2nd round pick Joe Fleming would come over in the 2022-23 season as a member of the Sherbrooke Phoenix and pot 27 points (5+22) over 63 games.

These changes should help streamline processes like the draft and reel in prospective players who might've been eyeing NCAA hockey.