Ready Or Not, Like It Or Not
by Adam Wodon/Managing Editor (@CHN_AdamWodon)
It would be shocking at this point if the NCAA did anything other than eliminate restrictions on Major Junior players joining NCAA teams.
The NCAA’s Division I Management Council is holding its regularly-scheduled meetings today and Wednesday. It comes on the heels of a meeting with college hockey’s conference commissioners, where it recommended to the Council that the restrictions be lifted.
The working theory is that this puts hockey in line with all other NCAA sports.
But it’s been out of line for decades.
What’s different now is the stark anti-NCAA atmosphere in the courts, and pending litigation.
Last April, when the hockey coaches chose to form a committee to study the issue, rather than come to any conclusions at their annual meetings in Florida, I said how useless that would really be. Given that the NCAA keeps losing court case after court case, with the concepts of amateurism more or less completely out the window, there was no way college hockey could stop the freight train.
Then, over this past offseason, Rylan Masterson sued multiple schools, saying he was being unfairly restricted from playing college hockey. Later, Braxton Whitehead made a verbal commitment to Arizona State, even though he’s played major junior and is not currently eligible. Anyone who knows anything is aware that college hockey teams are already scouting Major Juniors.
At this point, it’s all just a matter of time, no matter what the NCAA Management Council does. This announcement that there would be “emergency legislation” put on the table this week, is nothing more than getting very slightly out ahead of a situation the NCAA can no longer control.
For better or worse, Major Junior players are coming to college hockey.
In the grand scheme of all that’s happening — with the NCAA crumbling before our very eyes — this is probably not all that bad. In fact, it may help “the little guy” somewhat. College hockey coaches — and myself — have been on the fence on this topic for a long time. The age-old argument goes — on one side, “why not allow more talent in,” and on the other side, “high-end talent that would’ve gone to the NCAA, may give Major Junior a try first, and never go to college.” (see Celebrini, Fantilli, etc…)
At…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at College Hockey News from CHN…