The NCAA Division I Council is considering making a landmark change in eligibility rules this week that would allow Canadian Hockey League players to compete at U.S. colleges, as long as they are not paid more than actual and necessary expenses as part of that participation.
The council on Tuesday introduced a proposal that will be considered at its November meeting and, if approved, would go into effect Aug. 1.
“This proposal, focused on a singular issue, represents a pragmatic step in aligning skiing and men’s ice hockey with other sports in terms of allowable pre-enrollment activities,” said council chair Josh Whitman, who is also the athletic director at Illinois.
The development comes on the heels of a class-action lawsuit filed Aug. 13 in U.S. District Court in Buffalo, New York, challenging the NCAA’s ban of players from the CHL’s Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League.
“We’re hopeful that the NCAA will do the right thing at the upcoming meetings and vote to end the ban on CHL players from NCAA Division I hockey,” Stephen Lagos, one of the attorneys who filed the lawsuit, wrote in an email to the AP. “We believe that all players, and hockey more generally, would benefit from this change.”
A change in NCAA legislation could be far-reaching with the potential of increasing competition for college-age talent between the CHL and the NCAA, North America’s two top producers of NHL draft-eligible players. The lifting of the ban also has the potential to create an influx of Canadian players and displace college roster spots previously held by Americans.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Riley Masterson of Fort Erie, Ontario, who lost his college eligibility two years ago when, at 16, he appeared in two exhibition games for the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires. It lists 10 Division I hockey programs, which were selected to show they follow the NCAA’s bylaws in barring current or former CHL players.
Online court records show the NCAA has not made any response to the lawsuit since it was filed.
In a separate development last month, Braxton Whitehead said he verbally committed to Arizona State, making him the first CHL player to attempt to play hockey at the Division I U.S. college level. The 20-year-old Whitehead said he plans to play this season for the WHL Regina Pats before playing for the Sun Devils in 2025-26.
The CHL’s three leagues are categorized as professional under NCAA bylaws, barring their players from competition.
CHL players receive a stipend of no more than $600 per month for living expenses, which is not considered as income for tax purposes. College players receive scholarships and now can earn money through endorsements and other use of their name, image and likeness.
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