In the CCHA, a player is eligible for all-rookie team honors if he is in his first season of collegiate competition (originally came up when Michigan - Dearborn dropped hockey and a few players entered the CCHA). A couple of seasons ago a Western Michigan defenseman (Chris Belanger) broke his ankle in the second game of the season, but we still had him eligible for the Canstar/CCHA all-rookie team the following year. Last year, WMU had a forward (Derek Innanen) who had to sit out a year (transfer) because when he played junior hockey in New York, he took a couple of classes at a Division III school that had varsity hockey even though he had no contact with the hockey team. This year, Dale Crombeen at Bowling Green is eligible for all-rookie team honors if his coach places his name on the ballot. He had to sit out last season because of playing a couple of Major Junior "A" exhibition games.