How CHL ruling will impact UConn men's hockey

A major change is coming to college hockey. Last week, the NCAA Division I Council voted to adopt a proposal that will allow Canadian Hockey League players to participate in DI hockey. Previously, everyone in the CHL was considered a professional and therefore ineligible to compete at the college level.

The rule change will go into effect ahead of next season on Aug. 1, 2025.

There are still a few limitations. Players cannot be signed to NHL entry-level contracts and can only be paid for expenses, among some other minor restrictions. Still, it dissolves the divide between the “major junior” leagues — the Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Maritime Junior Hockey League, which fall under the CHL umbrella — and the likes of the USHL, BCHL and NAHL.

That means college hockey programs will have a significantly larger pool of prospects to recruit from. UConn head coach Mike Cavanaugh is cautiously optimistic about the change.

“My initial reaction is if we all work together, I think it could be beneficial for hockey in general,” he said.

Yet the coach’s concern is based on how the CHL reacted to the news. While they were outwardly supportive, they also spoke about college hockey being the next step for a player after “graduating” from the WHL, OHL or QMJHL at age 19 or 20. For comparison, players can leave the USHL or BCHL whenever they want — usually when their college team says it’s time.

If the CHL insists that players stay for the duration of their agreements, that could create friction between the three leagues and college hockey.

“If the CHL still tries to compete and keep kids longer than they should in junior hockey, then it's going to be a sticky situation,” Cavanaugh said.

The coach also wants to make sure the CHL will provide athletes with the necessary resources to ensure they can make a smooth transition to college.

“The CHL is going to get some American players that they normally wouldn't have gotten who wanted to go to college — and even Canadian players like Macklin Celebrini — they're going to go to play junior hockey in Canada or wherever before they go to college,” Cavanaugh said. “But the the problem is if they go to play Canadian hockey and they don't let them go to school and they don't let them get a diploma — those types of things — that's where we're going to have issues.”

Given the competing interests between the various levels of hockey, Cavanaugh wants the NHL to step in. The league would stand to benefit from improved player development, but only if the pyramid is clearly established with junior hockey at the bottom, college in the middle and the NHL at the top.

“Hopefully the NHL will jump in and and rectify it — because they can,” Cavanaugh said. “They're really the only ones who can step in and say, ‘Let's make sure everybody plays nice in the sandbox.’”

The impact on UConn

Zooming in to look at how the changes will impact UConn, the team has started to evaluate the new talent pool.

“We're looking at some players that could certainly help us,” Cavanaugh said.

While a handful of Division I programs have already landed commitments out of the CHL, the Huskies are still working on their first. Even though the rule change has long been expected to happen eventually, the timing of it was unclear until this past October. The Division I Council Coordinator Committee finally recommended it then, which was the final step before the formal vote.

Prior to that, UConn didn’t want to use precious resources on the CHL until they had more clarity about when they could bring any potential players in. Now that it’s officially happening, they can start recruiting in earnest.

The Huskies will still be plenty involved in the USHL, the top junior hockey league in the United States. It’s considered on-par with the CHL and there have rumblings about the USHL becoming a fourth league under the umbrella alongside the WHL, OHL and QMJHL.

The ruling could result in in UConn de-emphasizing its focus on the BCHL, though. While the program has been successful recruiting out of that league — on the current roster, Hudson Schandor, Tom Messineo, Ryan Tattle and Tristan Fraser all played there, as did notable alumni such as Jonny Evans and Carter Turnbull — it might be wise to turn their efforts towards the WHL, OHL and QMJHL.

“We're going to continue to look at the USHL,” Cavanaugh said. “There's a lot of CHL players are going to be eligible that are better than players in the BCHL. It's a better league, so you're going to get better players. That's something we're going to have to take a look at, for sure.”

Still, don’t expect a massive influx of recruits one way or another. The CHL ruling only answered one major question facing college hockey. The other has to do with the so-called “House Settlement” which, in the most basic terms, would cap hockey rosters at 26 players — two fewer than UConn has at the moment.

Those changes could begin as soon as next season, or they could be pushed into the future. There’s no definitive timeline at the moment. That leaves the Huskies — and most other programs — in a tough spot.

“Right now, we're still trying to figure out where the roster limits are going,” Cavanaugh said. “It's a little frustrating because you're trying to build your team for next year, but you don't know what the rules are yet. So we're all kind of in limbo right now.”

There’s widespread agreement throughout college hockey that 26 players isn’t enough. Most teams would likely opt for 15 forwards, eight defensemen and three goaltenders, meaning all but five players would dress for every game. It would only take a handful of injuries for a roster to be decimated.

Take UConn’s current team for example. The Huskies have two players out on extended absences: Defenseman Kevin Fitzgerald (torn ACL) and goaltender Callum Tung (upper body). While the Huskies have plenty of blue liners to fill in for Fitzgerald, they’re left with just two healthy goaltenders and had to add Nico Gamarra as a practice player.

Had this happened with a 26-man roster, UConn would be down to seven defensemen for the rest of the season and might not have been able to bring in an extra net-minder to help out in practice.

“I don't think it's safe for college hockey to have 26 roster spots,” Cavanaugh said. “I mean, look at our team right now. We have three players out, so that means we'd be practicing with 23 players and only two goaltenders. If we were stuck and it was a hard 26, that number — I don't know what you do if you had two goaltenders out, which we did at one point this season. Is that 26 a hard, fast 26 or can you have replacement players? I don't know. These are the things we need to get answered.”

College hockey is set to undergo some major changes in the near future, staring with the CHL ruling. As for the rest, UConn — along with the rest of the sport — is still waiting to see.