One of the greatest and most heated competitions in the hockey world is the debate between NCAA DI in the United States and Major Junior (the CHL) in Canada, two mutually exclusive paths in North American Hockey development. At one point in time it wasn’t even close, Major Junior was the unquestioned king, and was in the dreams of every young hockey player in the world. In recent decades however, NCAA DI hockey 
has emerged as a worthy rival to the CHL, with great talents coming out of elite hockey colleges in the U.S. For example, Johnny Gaudreau (aka Johnny Hockey) was a star for Boston College and is now a key component of the NHL’s Calgary Flames, and is their franchise player. With more elite talent coming out of American Universities by the day, there are many reasons why college hockey is now the better choice for most young hockey players.
College Hockey
College hockey is growing and so is the talent. With the increasing number of commitments that players are making to college programs, they are becoming stronger and more competitive. Along with playing four years of elite hockey against some of the best young players in the world, players are also able to earn a degree to fall back on. Players choose this route are between the ages of 18-24 (age of entry varies), which are the prime years for development of not only in the body but also on the ice. Players are often on the verge of making it to the NHL (but not quite ready yet) when they leave or age out of juniors, but with the extra seasoning of playing a max of 4 years at a college years old, they are ready mentally and physically to make an impact at the NHL level. For those who don’t find their stride in pro hockey, they have a degree to fall back on, a key advantage over Major Junior.
The amount of players entering into the NHL from college has risen dramatically in recent years. Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks was a key member and a star at University of North Dakota. Pittsburgh’s Phil Kessel played for the University of Minnesota and provided the Golden Gophers with a fantastic season of hockey. Many players who are on the edge of being an NHL-ready player and should choose the college route so that they have all the time they need to hone their skills and get to the peak of their performance. The only major downside to NCAA hockey is that they don’t prepare their players as well as the CHL for the grueling grind of an NHL season, only playing around 40 games compared to around 70 in Major Junior and 82 in the NHL. Even with this in mind, you can only be a max of 21 years old in Major junior. This means they can’t even come close to matching college hockey in terms of the potential knowledge and experience it gives to players looking to make that final push into the National Hockey League.
Major Junior Hockey
Many young kids want the chance to live the junior hockey life at the top levels of hockey in Canada. Many would think there is no better way to do that than by playing junior hockey in the CHL. The WHL ( Western Hockey League), OHL (Ontario Hockey League), and the QMJHL (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League) are the top leagues in Canadian Junior Hockey and many players want to live the dream of playing in these elite leagues. Most of these players enter at the age of 15 or 16 they aren’t fully developed and have often lack the maturity to contemplate what will happen if they aren’t a top two pick and don’t make in the in NHL. For many, once they hit 20 or 21 years old they look back and ask themselves , “What if I had been patient, played at a lower level and earned my way onto a division 1 college hockey team.” A perfect example of this situation is Dylan Strome, captain of the OHL’s Erie Otters. He was drafted by the Arizona Coyotes 3rd overall in 2015 and at only 19 years old is too good for the OHL but not ready for the NHL.
Strome is also ineligible to play in the AHL for the Coyotes affiliate for the Tucson Roadrunners because the AHL and CHL have a rule that does not allow junior eligible players to play in the AHL, a problem he wouldn’t have if he never entered the OHL in the first place. This joint agreement lands Strome back in the OHL where he has nothing left to learn from the program and league because his high level of talent. Strome knows he should be at the pro level but has no way of getting there. Imagine if Strome played in the USHL or the OJHL, never entered the OHL and played NCAA DI college hockey. If he chose this path instead, Strome wouldn’t be stuck in this situation and would either be playing for a national championship with an elite DI college or be honing his skills in the AHL with Tucson. Given his current situation, wasting his time in the OHL it’s not hard to image a great young player like Dylan Strome reversing his decision to play in the OHL, given what he knows today.
College is the Best of Both Worlds
The evidence shows that you get the best of everything in NCAA DI Hockey. Clayton Keller, a freshman at Boston University, drafted 7th overall in 2016 by Arizona, was never a shining star in junior hockey. Clayton’s career however, took off playing for the U.S. National Team Development Program (NTDP) in Plymouth, MI. There, he finished his final amateur year of hockey playing for the NTDP, currently plays for Boston University and is poised to become a key piece in the future of the Coyotes organization. These days, the development system of U.S. Players has become a lot stronger and is quickly surpassing that of Canada. Auston Matthews is a shining star who went through the U.S. NTDP, much like NHL stars Jack Eichel, Patrick Kane, and Phil Kessel. Matthews is now an elite, young, rising star in the National Hockey League for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Though he never played College, instead opting to turn professional in the Swiss NLA for a season before going to the NHL, he kept his option open to play in college by playing for the U.S. NTDP.
Youth and immaturity doesn’t give young kids who are thirsting to play in the elite clubs of the CHL and NHL the foresight to truly contemplate the possible negative outcomes of playing Major Junior. Their desire to play in the World’s Top Junior leagues is understandable, especially considering the wealth of talented players who have chosen to go down this path. But why not take a step down from the WHL, OHL or QMJHL League and play Junior A or in the USHL given all the benefits NCAA DI hockey provides once you age out? Tyson Jost formerly of the BCHL’s (Junior A) Penticton Vees was a star and could’ve easily played in the WHL, but he stayed with the Vees, now plays for the University of North Dakota and even captained team Canada at the 2017 World Junior Hockey Championships.
The feeder leagues for NCAA hockey and CHL, are so similar in talent that the choice of where to play should be easy to make. The common consensus is that the USHL (United States Hockey League), the premier junior hockey league in America, has the same top-end talent of the CHL, only slightly lacking the depth seen in the Major Junior Leagues. The commitment rate from the USHL into NCAA DI college hockey is over 90%, and given that the talent difference between it and the CHL is only slight, why wouldn’t you keep your options open.
Conclusion
In conclusion, most players choose their desired path because of their hopes and dreams. Any player’s ultimate goal is to make it to the NHL and be a shining star, but some will inevitably fall short. So why not choose a more reasonable plan that gives you two plans; one to a successful hockey career in the NHL and a plan B that gives you a degree to fall back on. Unless you are a rare, generational talent who knows they are going to immediately make an NHL roster out of junior at 18, like Connor McDavid or Aaron Ekblad; don’t go the Major Junior route, give yourself the option of extra seasoning in college, go play, and make sure you’re ready to play with the big boys in the NHL.
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