19-year-old players could have more options for development going forward.
During the “Saturday Headlines” segment on Hockey Night in Canada, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the NHL, CHL and AHL are nearing an agreement that will allow 19-year-old players who have been selected in the first round to play in the AHL.
The change could come into effect as soon as next season, and there will be no limit on the amount of 19-year-olds each team can designate to the AHL.
“People don’t think there’s going to be a ton of them, but teams don’t want to limit it, if they had more than one, they wanted to be able to send more than one,” Friedman said.
“The NHLPA still has to approve, but that’s what they’re working on.”
The current NHL-CHL rule doesn’t allow teenage players from the Ontario Hockey League, the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League or the Western Hockey League who have been drafted into the NHL to play in the AHL if they are 19.
A change to the rule would allow NHL teams to offer more specific and catered development options for players. Zayne Parekh’s developmental struggles with the Calgary Flames are a recent example of the issue.
The 19-year-old was drafted out of the OHL and is therefore ineligible to join an AHL team for more than a two-week conditioning stint, which he already fulfilled in January. He was instead taken directly to the NHL roster, where he’s struggled to adapt.
