It's interesting to see how tempted people are by the Jr. A-NCAA model.
The CHL has a pretty good value proposition, you play junior and go pro, but if you don't make it to the next level, you get a year of post-sec (I assume Canadian, but does it have to be?) for every year in junior. The idea is you go to school after your pro hockey aspirations have ended.
So what exactly is it about the Jr. A-NCAA model that is more appealing? The idea that you go to school while you are still in the hockey developmental system of NCAA hockey? I guess that is nice, so if you finish a few years of college hockey you have a degree at 23 or whatever and move on to the workforce if you don't make it to the pros. You get to pick which college you play for so that's a plus if you don't want to move 1,500 km away to whichever WHL team happened to draft you. Is it one of those things, or is it something else that I'm missing?
I believe the CHL Education Package is roughly $8500 per year that can be used towards schooling. Whether that's tuition, books, residence, etc. It does expire 18 months after that player is out of the WHL, so they have essentially one season where they can try and play pro to see if they want to go that route, or if pro hockey isn't right for them (at that time) so they can go to school for x amount of years.
As for why the NCAA route is appealing, the education is a big part of it. Let's not pretend like a four-year degree from Yale isn't extremely attractive on a resume. But from a hockey perspective, it gives players an additional four years to develop their on-ice skill.
I'm going to preface this as someone who prefers the CHL route.
Say Player A was drafted out of the WHL in their first draft-eligible season, so in 2023's sake it would be an 05-born player. He's a 6th round pick after a solid but not spectacular season. Because he's drafted out of the CHL, the NHL team that picked him would have two seasons to decide if they want to give him an ELC. Of course, it's not as if his NHL dreams are finished if he doesn't get one by then, but the pressure is on for that player to perform over the next two seasons to try and get one. If he doesn't get one within those two years, he needs to have a
huge 20-year-old season and hope that another NHL team gives him a shot with an ELC, or else he has to grind his way through on AHL/ECHL contracts, or go to a Canadian University. There have not been a lot of players to make it to the NHL from Canadian Universities.
Now Player B was taken a few picks later, out of the BCHL. He almost certainly has an NCAA commitment already, but unless he exploded offensively that season there's a solid chance he would be back playing in the BCHL again in his 18-year-old year so he could be the go-to guy for his team. Now he goes to the NCAA in his 19-year old season and performs just fine. Decent minutes, decent production, nothing huge. While Player A is sweating at this time, hoping he gets a contract from his draft team, Player B has
three more seasons to keep playing and try to earn that contract. There's likely other players on his NCAA team that graduate or sign professionally to create bigger opportunities for him, and by the team he's finished his third year in the NCAA, he might be ready to play professionally. That's four years after he's been drafted, and the team that took him still has his rights, whereas Player A is now graduated from junior hockey, and either on an AHL/ECHL contract, or finishing his first year at a Canadian University.
Player B may not have been ready to play professional two years after he was drafted, but with two (or three) additional years to get stronger in the NCAA, now he's ready. While Player A
needs to show his draft team within two seasons that he's ready.
Both routes have their merits. I
firmly believe that elite, elite talent should go to the CHL. I think the CHL better prepares kids for a professional schedule. But kids who aren't high-end talents at that same age can be better suited by going to the NCAA, because it gives them additional time to get to that level.
There is also the fact that players drafted out of Junior A can go play professionally immediately after signing. For example, a guy who was a first-round pick out of the BCHL can go to the NCAA for one season and then sign with his NHL team, and is eligible to play in the AHL at 19 years old. But players drafted out of the CHL have to return to junior for their 19-year-old season if they aren't ready for the NHL.