Recruits 2026 and Beyond

[BearLover]

McMahon on Twitter:

Breaking: The NCAA D1 Cabinet met and further discussed the hockey model today.

Sources say the NCAA will adopt hockey's proposed model, where the eligibility clock begins the season following an athlete's 19th birthday or college enrollment, removing HS graduation.

Just got done reading this from Jane's post.
I think it's a good decision compared to the original deal put forth- but nothing is perfect-how do others feel?

I think BL is overselling it lol. This is way better for junior hockey and consequently the level of play at the NCAA level. The fifth year thing I think is the main sticker, and I suspect not that many students will be using it. But we'll see.

For any number of reasons, lots of kids just aren't ready for college at 18- or even 19. I think in this compromise at least addresses guys burning 3+ years in Juniors and then coming to the NCAA and also, to a degree, encourages College Hockey or at least the decision to continue on that route. I'm doubtful the impact of of graduate school players will make a huge difference. Now, at least, traditional high schoolers can go play a season or two in Junior Hockey and still play 3-4 at a college or university- which is good for the sport.

Precisely.

The fifth-year grad thing may have been big for Quinnipiac, but gotta recognize as well that those grads were impacted by Covid and didn't get to play for a year or two. With a new environment where everyone can take a grad year after doing 4 years of college, things will likely normalize. Again, I feel like most of the current teams that win (Denver, WMU) do it on the back of high-pedigree talent more than old player talent.

That's not what happened - the fifth years (on Quinnipiac and elsewhere) didn't miss a season at any point. They simply played five full seasons in college after a normal junior hockey career.

I think it's very clear that this new rule puts us at a significant disadvantage. You just need to look at what happened a few years ago during COVID five year eligibility. Every program except the Ivies had the option to retain some great players for a fifth year or bring in a grad transfer for a fifth year. Quinnipiac was the most noteworthy beneficiary, but almost every team (except for the Ivies) had a few fifth years. Several Cornell players, including good ones like Zack Tupker and Jack Malone, we would have welcomed back for a fifth year, but we couldn't, so they went to play at Quinnipiac and BC, respectively. Consider Jacob Kraft: great college player, little shot at a real pro career. Another school could get him to stay for a fifth year, or get him to transfer in. We don't have that option. So we lose one of our better players, and another program gains him. It happened countless times the last time there was five-year eligibility and it will be the norm going forward.

Yes, schools like Denver focus on younger, high draft picks. But there's nothing stopping them from supplementing those with fifth year players. In fact, Denver had multiple older players on their championship teams who played big roles. This option is available to Quinnipiac, Denver, and everyone else - except for a small number of Ivies and similarly situated schools.

[Pghas]

McMahon on Twitter:

Breaking: The NCAA D1 Cabinet met and further discussed the hockey model today.

Sources say the NCAA will adopt hockey's proposed model, where the eligibility clock begins the season following an athlete's 19th birthday or college enrollment, removing HS graduation.

I would think it's age 19 or college enrollment, whichever comes first.  Since many players repeat years in prep school or need at least one year of junior hockey I don't think it changes much.  How many 19 year olds are playing college hockey and staying 4-5 years.  I agree for those kids ivies are at a disadvantage if there is no mechanism to play a fifth year but wouldn't 5th year players need to matriculatecdonegow wherever they play? This can't be a tough problem to solve