The BCHL has released a lengthy paper suggesting changes to Hockey Canada91裸聊视频檚 junior development path.
The junior A league believes the governing body for Canadian hockey has fallen behind the times, failing to recognize the rise of NCAA as a route to the National Hockey League. The BCHL says Hockey Canada91裸聊视频檚 Canadian Development Model (CDM), which was implemented in 2006, hasn91裸聊视频檛 taken into account the growth of top junior A leagues like the BCHL and Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL).
It favours major junior and 91裸聊视频減enalizes elite players for choosing to play college-tracking junior hockey.91裸聊视频�
91裸聊视频淥ur development model penalized players by placing discriminatory regulatory restrictions on their movement and participation in Canada,91裸聊视频� the 35-page paper observes. 91裸聊视频淭his forces many players into decisions to leave the Canadian system entirely.91裸聊视频�
That91裸聊视频檚 the crux of the matter for the BCHL, which wants to be able to recruit talented 16 and 17-year-old players from out of province, but cannot. Those players, the paper posits, will pursue a college hockey path regardless, and end up playing in the United States in the USHL or North American Hockey League (NAHL).
91裸聊视频淭hese young men choose to play junior A to maintain NCAA college eligibility, which would be lost to them the moment they signed with a team in major junior,91裸聊视频� the paper notes. 91裸聊视频淭he NCAA considers the Canadian Hockey League (CHL, encompassing the three major junior leagues) a professional league with some of its players signed to professional contracts, which disqualifies all of their athletes from attending college in the United States.
91裸聊视频淭his makes junior A the only path in Canada for those who want to play hockey at a US college.91裸聊视频�
There are junior A leagues across the country, but the two western circuits (BCHL and AJHL) lap the field in terms of getting players NCAA scholarships.
The paper cites the example of Owen Power, the first overall pick in the 2021 National Hockey League entry draft. The Ontario product wanted to pursue the college hockey path, but he couldn91裸聊视频檛 leave Ontario at age 16 to play in the BCHL or AJHL. Instead, he spent his 16 and 17-year-old seasons with the USHL91裸聊视频檚 Chicago Steel before joining the University of Michigan Wolverines.
91裸聊视频淎s Owen Power could not have transferred to a college-tracking junior program with a proven record of preparing players for US college within his own country, like the AJHL or BCHL, he had no choice but to go to the United States.91裸聊视频�
There are other bones of contention, including Hockey Canada and the NHL compensating major junior teams when a player is drafted. The BCHL doesn91裸聊视频檛 receive any money, despite producing a handful of draft picks each year.
The BCHL claims to have approached Hockey Canada many times with its concerns, and the decision to withdraw from the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) in 2021 was intended to remove the middleman and give the league a direct voice to Hockey Canada.
But the BCHL suggests Hockey Canada91裸聊视频檚 tight relationship with major junior (CHL) is the biggest obstacle to change.
91裸聊视频淭he CHL has a vested interest in convincing players to stay away from the US college hockey path and play major junior,91裸聊视频� the paper says. 91裸聊视频淲e welcome fair competition for players, but, if Hockey Canada is truly representing all players in Canada, both paths should be promoted to and by our federation, not one over the other.
91裸聊视频淔or Hockey Canada to extol the virtues of major junior as the single development path for Canadian players and ignore the potential benefits that college-tracking junior can provide players is short-sighted, biased and wrong.91裸聊视频�
With the recent appointment of former Supreme Court of Canada Justice Thomas Cromwell to conduct an independent review of Hockey Canada91裸聊视频檚 governance structure, the BCHL hopes the time is right to push for reforms.
91裸聊视频淥ur objective is to have a frank, open and constructive discussion on the future of college-tracking junior hockey with the board of Hockey Canada as part of that review.91裸聊视频�
eric.welsh@theprogress.com
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