USHL teams turn away from Canadians in drafts
May 6—GRAND FORKS — The United States Hockey League appears to have a defined strategy in its battle with the Central Hockey League for junior hockey players. The USHL held its Phase I and Phase II Drafts this week, and its teams largely abandoned pursuing Canadians, turning toward Americans and embracing Europeans like never before. In the first 10 rounds of the Phase I Draft — 2010-born players — 136 players were selected.
Only two were Canadians. That's a massive drop from recent years. In November 2024, the NCAA announced a rules change that allowed Canadian Hockey League players to retain their NCAA eligibility for the first time in about 50 years.
Prior to then, Canadians who wanted to go the college route bypassed the CHL and played in the USHL or Canadian Junior A to retain eligibility. Now, those players are largely staying closer to home and playing in the CHL before joining NCAA programs. In the four USHL Phase I Drafts before the rules change, there were 17, 13, 19, 20 and 25 Canadians taken in 10 rounds.
After the NCAA rules change announcement, that number slipped to seven last year and two this year. The draft expanded to 15 rounds the last two seasons. A total of nine Canadians were taken across the 15 rounds this season.
Prior to this year, USHL teams had never taken more Europeans than Canadians in the USHL Phase I Draft. This year, they took three times as many Europeans (27) as Canadians (nine), and more Czechs (13) than Canadians. It set a record for most Europeans and Czechs (only seven Czechs were taken in the last 12 drafts combined).