Jack Berenzweig wrote:
>
> Presently, many incoming college freshman hockey players have already been
> drafted by NHL teams, since the NHL draft age was 18.  Under the new NHL
> settlement, the draft age has been changed to 19, "with 18 year olds having
> the right to elect to be drafted".
>
> NCAA Rule 12.2.4 states: "An individual loses amateur status in a particular
> sport when the individual asks to be placed on the draft list or supplemental
> draft list of a professional league in that sport..."  An exception to this
> rule was enacted in 1994 for the NBA basketball draft, but for no other
> sport.
>
> It therefore appears that an 18 year old hockey player who intends to play
> college hockey will not be able to "elect to be drafted" as an 18 year old,
> but instead will now have to wait another year to be drafted.
>
> I wonder if the NHL and the NHLPA had recognized this when they changed the
> draft age.
>
 
This seems to be a non-issue for college hockey players.  Presumably a player
is heading to college to at least play for a year, so the player can play
college hockey until he gets (potentially) drafted as a nineteen year old and
then can decide to stay in college or go to the pros.  I can't see any reason
why a player headed to college would opt to be drafted as an eighteen year old
rather than the new norm.
 
So I don't see any impact at all on college-bound hockey players.  The players
in the juniors are the ones who will see *some* change but *very* few of them
leave juniors at age 18.
 
 
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