Recruits 2026 and Beyond

[BearLover]

Im so lost... tried looking this up a little while ago and couldn't find anything I could understand. So it's 4 years starting when you enter college? Then why would Castagna/Hoyts rights expire if they didn't leave this year?

Off the top of my head:

• They may have gotten better deals (money, playing time, etc.) at this season's end rather than waiting a year.
• They may feel their hockey development has reached its zenith in terms of what Cornell can provide, and it's time to take that next step.
• Maybe they've grown tired of the rigors of school. (Seems unlikely as both have made all-academic teams in the past, but you never know.)
• Winning championships would be nice, but maybe they see that as far less likely next season, even if they returned.

Edited to add: I guess I didn't really answer the question of would their rights expire. Their rights weren't expiring yet, but they still may have felt compelled to depart Cornell for any or all of my above listed reasons.

chimpfood is asking when their rights expire under the CBO, not why a player might leave early.

It's very hard to find the answer to this question, I agree. I've searched for it myself. I can't tell if a team's 4 years to sign a player start ticking upon the player being drafted, or upon them matriculating at college.

I believe, though I could be wrong, that the current rule is that a team has 30 days to sign a drafted player after their senior year is over. That means once a player is done with their senior year, they could easily wait it out and test free agency. That is, I think, why teams try to sign players after their junior year.

In practice, many players end up signing with the teams that drafted them after their senior year anyway. This has been the case for most Cornell players who were drafted.

[coz]

Im so lost... tried looking this up a little while ago and couldn't find anything I could understand. So it's 4 years starting when you enter college? Then why would Castagna/Hoyts rights expire if they didn't leave this year?

They wouldn't. They would expire at the end of next season.

If a player is drafted at age 18 their rights are held for 4 years. If they're 19 or 20 it's 3 years. That clock starts the moment they're drafted. The clock get's extended if they stay in school.


Here are 4 examples from this year's team (Though given how recent the CBA changes were none of them fall under this criteria, but if they did here's how it works.)

Castagna - Drafted at age 18, matriculated the same year. His clock would expire at the end of his senior year.

Walsh - Drafted at age 19, matriculated the same year. His clock would expire at the end of his junior year, unless he stayed in school, which would extend the clock another year.

Veilleux - Drafted at age 18, matriculated one year later. His clock would expire at the end of his junior year unless he stays in school.

Fisher - Drafted at age 18, matriculated two years later (Technically just one but he played two years of junior post draft). His clock would expire at the end of his sophomore season unless he stays in school.


Now in all practicality this changes very little for us as fans and for Cornell as a program. This mostly about giving the players more options. If Puglisi gets drafted and goes and plays junior, he can still stay at Cornell for 4 years, he just has the option to become a free agent after his junior year if he thinks he's ready and the team who drafted him doesn't want him or he wants to sign somewhere else.

Edit to say: All of our current drafted players fall under the old CBA rules which are practically the same except for the leaving early piece and signing deadline. Plus this change doesn't go into effect until the 2027 draft.

[BearLover]

Im so lost... tried looking this up a little while ago and couldn't find anything I could understand. So it's 4 years starting when you enter college? Then why would Castagna/Hoyts rights expire if they didn't leave this year?

They wouldn't. They would expire at the end of next season.

If a player is drafted at age 18 their rights are held for 4 years. If they're 19 or 20 it's 3 years. That clock starts the moment they're drafted. The clock get's extended if they stay in school.


Here are 4 examples from this year's team (Though given how recent the CBA changes were none of them fall under this criteria, but if they did here's how it works.)

Castagna - Drafted at age 18, matriculated the same year. His clock would expire at the end of his senior year.

Walsh - Drafted at age 19, matriculated the same year. His clock would expire at the end of his junior year, unless he stayed in school, which would extend the clock another year.

Veilleux - Drafted at age 18, matriculated one year later. His clock would expire at the end of his junior year unless he stays in school.

Fisher - Drafted at age 18, matriculated two years later (Technically just one but he played two years of junior post draft). His clock would expire at the end of his sophomore season unless he stays in school.


Now in all practicality this changes very little for us as fans and for Cornell as a program. This mostly about giving the players more options. If Puglisi gets drafted and goes and plays junior, he can still stay at Cornell for 4 years, he just has the option to become a free agent after his junior year if he thinks he's ready and the team who drafted him doesn't want him or he wants to sign somewhere else.

Edit to say: All of our current drafted players fall under the old CBA rules which are practically the same except for the leaving early piece and signing deadline. Plus this change doesn't go into effect until the 2027 draft.

I know this rule was discussed, and perhaps even enacted, as part of the recent CBA, but I was told that it does not apply to kids in college. Which is to say, for kids in college, the drafting team's signing rights still don't expire until 30 days after their senior year, regardless of their age when drafted.

That's the part I'm trying to confirm - does the new CBA rule actually apply to college kids, or or college kids treated the same as they were under the old CBA?

[stereax]

Im so lost... tried looking this up a little while ago and couldn't find anything I could understand. So it's 4 years starting when you enter college? Then why would Castagna/Hoyts rights expire if they didn't leave this year?

They wouldn't. They would expire at the end of next season.

If a player is drafted at age 18 their rights are held for 4 years. If they're 19 or 20 it's 3 years. That clock starts the moment they're drafted. The clock get's extended if they stay in school.


Here are 4 examples from this year's team (Though given how recent the CBA changes were none of them fall under this criteria, but if they did here's how it works.)

Castagna - Drafted at age 18, matriculated the same year. His clock would expire at the end of his senior year.

Walsh - Drafted at age 19, matriculated the same year. His clock would expire at the end of his junior year, unless he stayed in school, which would extend the clock another year.

Veilleux - Drafted at age 18, matriculated one year later. His clock would expire at the end of his junior year unless he stays in school.

Fisher - Drafted at age 18, matriculated two years later (Technically just one but he played two years of junior post draft). His clock would expire at the end of his sophomore season unless he stays in school.


Now in all practicality this changes very little for us as fans and for Cornell as a program. This mostly about giving the players more options. If Puglisi gets drafted and goes and plays junior, he can still stay at Cornell for 4 years, he just has the option to become a free agent after his junior year if he thinks he's ready and the team who drafted him doesn't want him or he wants to sign somewhere else.

Edit to say: All of our current drafted players fall under the old CBA rules which are practically the same except for the leaving early piece and signing deadline. Plus this change doesn't go into effect until the 2027 draft.

I know this rule was discussed, and perhaps even enacted, as part of the recent CBA, but I was told that it does not apply to kids in college. Which is to say, for kids in college, the drafting team's signing rights still don't expire until 30 days after their senior year, regardless of their age when drafted.

That's the part I'm trying to confirm - does the new CBA rule actually apply to college kids, or or college kids treated the same as they were under the old CBA?

Pretty sure BL is right here.

From my understanding, they changed the CBA rule to apply retroactively. Hence why a guy like Wiebe, if he doesn't sign with CGY after 30 days from NoDak hopefully losing in the Frozen Four, would be a UFA, as he completed his degree in three years and thus "expedited" that process. (You can declare being done with school early, at which point your 30-day clock starts.)

So Casty, Stanley, etc - their teams would still hold their rights after their senior year for those 30 days. It's supposed to incentivize (especially fringe) players to complete their degrees (to help them start their post-hockey careers) and teams to let them do so. Same idea for Walsh and Fegaras.

Fisher is a weird case, because he did play a full season at Northeastern, then dropped back down to the BCHL the next season. I don't know if the clock starts at NEU (and thus San Jose would lose his rights after his junior year) or if it gets "reset" for the BCHL stint and SJ keeps him until after his senior year here.

[BearLover]

Im so lost... tried looking this up a little while ago and couldn't find anything I could understand. So it's 4 years starting when you enter college? Then why would Castagna/Hoyts rights expire if they didn't leave this year?

They wouldn't. They would expire at the end of next season.

If a player is drafted at age 18 their rights are held for 4 years. If they're 19 or 20 it's 3 years. That clock starts the moment they're drafted. The clock get's extended if they stay in school.


Here are 4 examples from this year's team (Though given how recent the CBA changes were none of them fall under this criteria, but if they did here's how it works.)

Castagna - Drafted at age 18, matriculated the same year. His clock would expire at the end of his senior year.

Walsh - Drafted at age 19, matriculated the same year. His clock would expire at the end of his junior year, unless he stayed in school, which would extend the clock another year.

Veilleux - Drafted at age 18, matriculated one year later. His clock would expire at the end of his junior year unless he stays in school.

Fisher - Drafted at age 18, matriculated two years later (Technically just one but he played two years of junior post draft). His clock would expire at the end of his sophomore season unless he stays in school.


Now in all practicality this changes very little for us as fans and for Cornell as a program. This mostly about giving the players more options. If Puglisi gets drafted and goes and plays junior, he can still stay at Cornell for 4 years, he just has the option to become a free agent after his junior year if he thinks he's ready and the team who drafted him doesn't want him or he wants to sign somewhere else.

Edit to say: All of our current drafted players fall under the old CBA rules which are practically the same except for the leaving early piece and signing deadline. Plus this change doesn't go into effect until the 2027 draft.

I know this rule was discussed, and perhaps even enacted, as part of the recent CBA, but I was told that it does not apply to kids in college. Which is to say, for kids in college, the drafting team's signing rights still don't expire until 30 days after their senior year, regardless of their age when drafted.

That's the part I'm trying to confirm - does the new CBA rule actually apply to college kids, or or college kids treated the same as they were under the old CBA?

Pretty sure BL is right here.

From my understanding, they changed the CBA rule to apply retroactively. Hence why a guy like Wiebe, if he doesn't sign with CGY after 30 days from NoDak hopefully losing in the Frozen Four, would be a UFA, as he completed his degree in three years and thus "expedited" that process. (You can declare being done with school early, at which point your 30-day clock starts.)

So Casty, Stanley, etc - their teams would still hold their rights after their senior year for those 30 days. It's supposed to incentivize (especially fringe) players to complete their degrees (to help them start their post-hockey careers) and teams to let them do so. Same idea for Walsh and Fegaras.

Fisher is a weird case, because he did play a full season at Northeastern, then dropped back down to the BCHL the next season. I don't know if the clock starts at NEU (and thus San Jose would lose his rights after his junior year) or if it gets "reset" for the BCHL stint and SJ keeps him until after his senior year here.

right but is it going to still work this way going forward? i know castagna and others who were drafted under the prior CBA are grandfathered into the old rules. but going forward, is a different rule now in place? or is it still "nhl team holds draft rights for 30 days past graduation"?

[coz]

Im so lost... tried looking this up a little while ago and couldn't find anything I could understand. So it's 4 years starting when you enter college? Then why would Castagna/Hoyts rights expire if they didn't leave this year?

They wouldn't. They would expire at the end of next season.

If a player is drafted at age 18 their rights are held for 4 years. If they're 19 or 20 it's 3 years. That clock starts the moment they're drafted. The clock get's extended if they stay in school.


Here are 4 examples from this year's team (Though given how recent the CBA changes were none of them fall under this criteria, but if they did here's how it works.)

Castagna - Drafted at age 18, matriculated the same year. His clock would expire at the end of his senior year.

Walsh - Drafted at age 19, matriculated the same year. His clock would expire at the end of his junior year, unless he stayed in school, which would extend the clock another year.

Veilleux - Drafted at age 18, matriculated one year later. His clock would expire at the end of his junior year unless he stays in school.

Fisher - Drafted at age 18, matriculated two years later (Technically just one but he played two years of junior post draft). His clock would expire at the end of his sophomore season unless he stays in school.


Now in all practicality this changes very little for us as fans and for Cornell as a program. This mostly about giving the players more options. If Puglisi gets drafted and goes and plays junior, he can still stay at Cornell for 4 years, he just has the option to become a free agent after his junior year if he thinks he's ready and the team who drafted him doesn't want him or he wants to sign somewhere else.

Edit to say: All of our current drafted players fall under the old CBA rules which are practically the same except for the leaving early piece and signing deadline. Plus this change doesn't go into effect until the 2027 draft.

I know this rule was discussed, and perhaps even enacted, as part of the recent CBA, but I was told that it does not apply to kids in college. Which is to say, for kids in college, the drafting team's signing rights still don't expire until 30 days after their senior year, regardless of their age when drafted.

That's the part I'm trying to confirm - does the new CBA rule actually apply to college kids, or or college kids treated the same as they were under the old CBA?

Pretty sure BL is right here.

From my understanding, they changed the CBA rule to apply retroactively. Hence why a guy like Wiebe, if he doesn't sign with CGY after 30 days from NoDak hopefully losing in the Frozen Four, would be a UFA, as he completed his degree in three years and thus "expedited" that process. (You can declare being done with school early, at which point your 30-day clock starts.)

So Casty, Stanley, etc - their teams would still hold their rights after their senior year for those 30 days. It's supposed to incentivize (especially fringe) players to complete their degrees (to help them start their post-hockey careers) and teams to let them do so. Same idea for Walsh and Fegaras.

Fisher is a weird case, because he did play a full season at Northeastern, then dropped back down to the BCHL the next season. I don't know if the clock starts at NEU (and thus San Jose would lose his rights after his junior year) or if it gets "reset" for the BCHL stint and SJ keeps him until after his senior year here.

right but is it going to still work this way going forward? i know castagna and others who were drafted under the prior CBA are grandfathered into the old rules. but going forward, is a different rule now in place? or is it still "nhl team holds draft rights for 30 days past graduation"?

Based on what I've read, the language in the new CBA reads as  "If the player is a bona fide college student, the exclusive rights extend until 30 days after the player notifies the NHL they're leaving college hockey". I'm sure there's more than one way to "leave college hockey"

All this changes is that the rights of the players drafted out of the CHL are held longer, and drafted players who don't enter college at 18 have more options if they want to leave early.

[stereax]

Im so lost... tried looking this up a little while ago and couldn't find anything I could understand. So it's 4 years starting when you enter college? Then why would Castagna/Hoyts rights expire if they didn't leave this year?

They wouldn't. They would expire at the end of next season.

If a player is drafted at age 18 their rights are held for 4 years. If they're 19 or 20 it's 3 years. That clock starts the moment they're drafted. The clock get's extended if they stay in school.


Here are 4 examples from this year's team (Though given how recent the CBA changes were none of them fall under this criteria, but if they did here's how it works.)

Castagna - Drafted at age 18, matriculated the same year. His clock would expire at the end of his senior year.

Walsh - Drafted at age 19, matriculated the same year. His clock would expire at the end of his junior year, unless he stayed in school, which would extend the clock another year.

Veilleux - Drafted at age 18, matriculated one year later. His clock would expire at the end of his junior year unless he stays in school.

Fisher - Drafted at age 18, matriculated two years later (Technically just one but he played two years of junior post draft). His clock would expire at the end of his sophomore season unless he stays in school.


Now in all practicality this changes very little for us as fans and for Cornell as a program. This mostly about giving the players more options. If Puglisi gets drafted and goes and plays junior, he can still stay at Cornell for 4 years, he just has the option to become a free agent after his junior year if he thinks he's ready and the team who drafted him doesn't want him or he wants to sign somewhere else.

Edit to say: All of our current drafted players fall under the old CBA rules which are practically the same except for the leaving early piece and signing deadline. Plus this change doesn't go into effect until the 2027 draft.

I know this rule was discussed, and perhaps even enacted, as part of the recent CBA, but I was told that it does not apply to kids in college. Which is to say, for kids in college, the drafting team's signing rights still don't expire until 30 days after their senior year, regardless of their age when drafted.

That's the part I'm trying to confirm - does the new CBA rule actually apply to college kids, or or college kids treated the same as they were under the old CBA?

Pretty sure BL is right here.

From my understanding, they changed the CBA rule to apply retroactively. Hence why a guy like Wiebe, if he doesn't sign with CGY after 30 days from NoDak hopefully losing in the Frozen Four, would be a UFA, as he completed his degree in three years and thus "expedited" that process. (You can declare being done with school early, at which point your 30-day clock starts.)

So Casty, Stanley, etc - their teams would still hold their rights after their senior year for those 30 days. It's supposed to incentivize (especially fringe) players to complete their degrees (to help them start their post-hockey careers) and teams to let them do so. Same idea for Walsh and Fegaras.

Fisher is a weird case, because he did play a full season at Northeastern, then dropped back down to the BCHL the next season. I don't know if the clock starts at NEU (and thus San Jose would lose his rights after his junior year) or if it gets "reset" for the BCHL stint and SJ keeps him until after his senior year here.

right but is it going to still work this way going forward? i know castagna and others who were drafted under the prior CBA are grandfathered into the old rules. but going forward, is a different rule now in place? or is it still "nhl team holds draft rights for 30 days past graduation"?

Based on what I've read, the language in the new CBA reads as  "If the player is a bona fide college student, the exclusive rights extend until 30 days after the player notifies the NHL they're leaving college hockey". I'm sure there's more than one way to "leave college hockey"

All this changes is that the rights of the players drafted out of the CHL are held longer, and drafted players who don't enter college at 18 have more options if they want to leave early.

Precisely this. Helps the CHL->NCAA pipeline and simplifies the rules all around.