The NCAA is set to add a fifth year of eligibility for athletes, including women's hockey players. The impact it will have on next year's PWHL Draft could be dramatic, and could be the final straw for the PWHL to continue their push for a four-team expansion.
On Monday, the NCAA Division I Board of Directors directed the Division I Cabinet to advance an "age-based eligibility," which will result in all NCAA athletes having a fifth year of NCAA eligibility.
Currently, NCAA players only have four seasons of eligibility, although many recent graduates gained eligibility during COVID-19.
The decision will also have a significant impact on certain professional sports leagues that remove eligibility from players when they declare for a professional draft. Primarily, this is the case for the WNBA and PWHL.
The NCAA's rules impacting eligibility for women's hockey players have been called inequitable, and it will now force players to risk losing the extra season of eligibility to enter the draft after four seasons, or choose remain in the NCAA and hold off on their professional aspirations.
While players who graduated this season won't be able to access the extra season of eligibility, those who graduate next season likely will.
The NCAA's release on the rule change states the NCAA will "Maintain existing rules -- allowing four seasons of competition in five years of eligibility -- for student-athletes competing in the 2025-26 academic year; new rules are not expected to retroactively apply to student-athletes whose eligibility is or will be completed by the spring of 2026."
The changes could have significant impacts on the PWHL's prospect pool over the next several seasons.
What Does It Mean For The PWHL?
The PWHL wants to expand by four teams. It means the league needs 92 full-time players, and another dozen reserves beyond the existing pool. This season, there will be no impact to their draft crop, but if the league can't make it to their four team goal this offseason, it could put a significant wrinkle in their plans.
With all NCAA women's hockey players receiving an extra season of eligibility starting next season, it could encourage a large number of players to stay in the NCAA to finish their degrees, or begin a graduate degree. It would create a one season gap where very few players declare for the draft. For most, the financial value of the NCAA scholarship, particularly with the opportunity to capitalize on NIL, is great than the value of rookie contracts in the PWHL where most first year players will make less than $45,000 USD per season. It may not change things for other athletes who want to turn pro, but there will be some who access the extra season, meaning there will likely be a temporary reduction in players entering the PWHL Draft the next two seasons.
If the PWHL does not find four markets this season, it could be enough to force the league to hold off an additional season until the 2028-29 campaign, rather than 2027-28 to complete their expansion.
2027 Draft Could Be Drained
If all players who recently completed their junior season enter next year knowing they can play their 2026-27 season as seniors, and 2027-28 season as graduates, it could significantly drain the 2027 draft.
There will still be players who choose to turn pro, but it's most likely that group of players will be those who didn't plan to pursue graduate school already.
The 2027 PWHL Draft was set to welcome players including Joy Dunne, Kahlen Lamarche, Eve Gascon, Ava McNaughton, Jocelyn Amos, Emma Pais, Kelly Gorbatenko, Laney Potter, Ava Murphy, Cassie Hall and others to the PWHL. With these players now looking at the opportunity to stay in the NCAA for an additional season, there's no telling what the 2027 Draft will look like.
It could push some of these players, if not all, back to 2028, which could in turn become a stacked draft.
The good news for some NCAA players who would otherwise have found themselves on the fringe of the draft, they'll now have a fifth season to continue their development in North America, before being forced to fight for a PWHL roster spot, of attempt to claim one of the few spots overseas.
Whether the PWHL likes it or not, the change to NCAA eligibility is coming. Without a change to the impact declaring for the PWHL Draft has on NCAA eligibility, the league is likely to experience a lag in their prospect pool following next season. With the need for a large incoming player cohort to satisfy expansion, it gives new importance to the PWHL reaching their four-team expansion goal now, rather than waiting for next season.