Faceoff Factor

NCAA vs. CHL - How young is too young?

David | Juniors

Jul 10, 02:28 PM | Hype this story!

Mike Cammalleri, Sidney Crosby and John Tavares sound like elite company, but to many hockey minds, they are just the exceptions to a horrific trend. The debate of NCAA vs. CHL is heating up, and at a younger age year after year. Cammalleri was recruited at 16, Crosby at 15 and Tavares at 14. How long will it be before agents and teams are putting their logos on diapers?

Toronto Sun writer Steve Simmons outlines one side of the story where the number of Canadian players in the NCAA is rapidly declining. The issue? The CHL’s decision to allow exceptional players, with agent advisors, to enter the league. The NCAA does not allow teams to talk with players until they are senior’s in high school. The CHL has no such provision, giving them a step ahead in recruiting.

Leave it like this, any player drafted in the first few rounds of the CHL draft is going to get a good school package. They will have the chance to play professionally and make some money. If the player is good enough, it doesn’t matter what route they take, they will “make it” eventually. Now where does that leave the players who have to muck and grind their way to the top? Their options are closing fast as they get older, if they didn’t choose the CHL route, now what? NCAA teams are less likely to recruit a Tier II player, especially if they have never had the chance to educate them on a pro-NCAA option.

Every year, the OHL has its Priority Draft and every year there is an allegation of tampering with an elite player. The London Knights and Kitchener Rangers have been examples in the past of teams who have landed NCAA bound players. These players, in some cases, tell 19 teams they are going to an NCAA school, and tell one OHL team they will report. This creates a whirlwind of allegations and arguments, well I have a solution.

Why doesn’t the NCAA allow players to be educated on their options much like the CHL does? The high percentage of hockey players who do not end up playing professionally need as many options for school and life as possible. It doesn’t make sense for the NCAA and CHL to have different provisions. You can look at the debate and garner a number of positives and negatives for each route. What shouldn’t be debated are the ages in which players can be recruited. Hockey is turning into a scary business, and one has to wonder when the next Gretzky, Lemieux, or Crosby will be discovered, recruited, and educated while they are learning the alphabet.