WHL Commissioner Defends League After High-Profile Departures
by Mike McMahon, Adam Wodon/CHN Staff
Now that CHL teams are being eliminated and seasons are ending, a slew of high-end CHL players have announced NCAA commitments over the last week.
The opening of Major Junior players to be NCAA eligible, has changed recruiting already, in many ways. One of those ways, is that underage players who may want to come to the NCAA, will wait until after their season ends to make a decision, so as to not upset the applecart. That’s a late commitment, relatively speaking, in the college hockey world.
While, rumors of Gavin McKenna’s interest in NCAA hockey continue to fly, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft has not yet said anything. But others have.
Michigan added 18-year-old goaltender Jack Ivankovic, who is projected to go in the late first or second round of the NHL Draft in a few weeks. Ivankovic had a .903/3.05 season for the Brampton Steelheads (OHL) and was lights out (.967/0.75) for Canada’s U18 team at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
North Dakota landed two top recruits from the Victoria Royals (WHL), Cole Reschny and Keaton Verhoeff.
Reschny is a forward projected to go in the middle of the first round in the 2025 draft. He had 92 points (26 goals, 66 assists) in 62 games for the Royals this season and wore an “A” for the team. Sixteen-year-old defenseman Verhoeff (he’ll turn 17 years old in a few weeks) is one of the top prospects available for the 2026 NHL Draft (most outlets have him going No. 2 behind McKenna).
WHL commissioner Dan Near was asked about those players specifically on Saturday.
“I’d be lying if I said I’m surprised that some players are electing to move on to the NCAA,” he said. “We talk about this every single day. The rules that changed have had a cascading effect that we’re all still learning about. We know and have authorized NCAA scouts to attend our games and to be in our buildings. We know they’re watching and they’re interested in our players. We aren’t surprised by that. We are the best development environment in the world. … You’re going to have to judge this over a multi-year period.”
Penn State, fresh off a Frozen Four appearance, is close to adding Jackson Smith, according to a report…
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