NCAA lifts eligibility ban in allowing Canadian Hockey League players to compete at US colleges

The NCAA Division I Council on Thursday approved a rule allowing players with Canadian Hockey League experience to compete at U.S. colleges starting next season, a landmark decision that has the potential of shaking up the NHL’s two largest sources of developmental talent.

The decision, effective Aug. 1, lifts the NCAA’s longstanding ban on CHL players who were previously deemed to be professionals because they received a stipend of up to $600 per month for living expenses.

The approval was expected after the council introduced a proposal to lift the ban last month. Players competing at the major junior ice hockey or on professional teams can retain NCAA eligibility as long as they are not paid more than actual and necessary expenses.

The decision also applies to skiing, bringing both in line with NCAA eligibility rules for other sports

In doing so, the council opened the door for a major change in how players approaching their 16th birthdays decide where to play. Rather than having to choose between one or the other, CHL players can now play NCAA hockey when they become college eligible.

“Everyone expected the rule to change. Now we will have to adapt," Central Collegiate Hockey Association Commissioner Don Lucia wrote in a text to The Associated Press. "There may be a few issues as we transition. But hopefully, in time, it will prove to be a positive change for all involved.”

NHL agent Allan Walsh called the ruling a “game-changer.”

“This revolutionary development is great news for young players and their families, who will no longer be faced with the momentous decision of playing Major Junior or going the NCAA route,” Walsh added in a text message to The Associated Press. “The young players and their families can now make decisions based on what’s best for them, not what’s best for the CHL or NCAA.”

The CHL oversees the Western Hockey, Ontario Hockey and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey leagues.

The decision could potentially spur the CHL to invest more toward player development and education to compete with the NCAA or risk losing its top 18-and-older talent to U.S. colleges. Meantime, an increase of of CHL players could eat up college roster spots previously filled by Americans.

One option the CHL is considering in response to the ruling is increasing its current limit of two non-North American important players per roster. Otherwise, the CHL called the decision “a positive development” in providing players more athletic and academic opportunities.

The NCAA’s ruling follows a class-action lawsuit filed Aug. 13 in U.S. District Court in Buffalo, New York, challenging the ban.

“It's long overdue, but this is a great result,” Stephen Lagos, one of the attorneys who filed the lawsuit, wrote in an email to the AP. “We’re looking forward to players and fans seeing the benefits of a more competitive and fair market, without the rule, beginning next season.”

Lagos said the attorneys will continue pursuing the lawsuit in seeking damages for players who join the class-action case affected by the ban dating to Aug. 12, 2020.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Riley Masterson of Fort Erie, Ontario, who lost his college eligibility two years ago when, at 16, he appeared in two exhibition games for the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires. It lists 10 Division I hockey programs, which were selected to show they follow the NCAA’s bylaws in barring current or former CHL players.

NHL agent Brian Bartlett hailed the decision for opening choices for players.

“Just like the transfer portal and NIL rule changes of recent years, there will be some growing pains and early chaos, but we expect it will be a positive development in the long term,” Bartlett wrote in a text. “With a larger player pool, hopefully more NCAA schools will consider adding hockey programs to provide opportunities for those additional players.”

In September, Braxton Whitehead said he had verbally committed to Arizona State, making him the first CHL player to attempt to play hockey at the Division I U.S. college level. The 20-year-old Whitehead said he plans to play this season for the WHL Regina Pats before playing for the Sun Devils in 2025-26.

The stipends CHL players receive are not considered as income for tax purposes. College players, meantime, receive scholarships and now can earn money through endorsements and other use of their name, image or likeness.

The eligibility change could have a trickle down effect by impacting Canada's various junior A leagues and the USHL's ability to attract talent for those pursuing plans to play at U.S. colleges. Two recent NHL No. 1 draft picks, San Jose forward Macklin Celebrini and Buffalo defenseman Owen Power, played in the USHL.

“The USHL remains the world’s premier development path. All aspects of the league are focused on preparing athletes for collegiate and professional hockey, inclusive of on-ice, academic and character development,” the USHL said in a statement after the NCAA ruling.

AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports

FILE - Cornell forward Kyle Penney, right, celebrates with forward Dalton Bancroft (17) after scoring during the third period of an NCAA hockey game against North Dakota on Nov. 2, 2024 in Ithaca, N.Y. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus, file)

FILE - Ohio St. forward Aiden Hansen-Bukata (20) and Lake Superior St. forward John Herrington (28) skate after the puck during an NCAA hockey game on Nov. 2, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Kirk Irwin, file)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has named Susie Wiles, the defacto manager of his victorious campaign, as his White House chief of staff, the first woman to hold the influential role.

Wiles is widely credited within and outside Trump’s inner circle for running what was, by far, his most disciplined and well-executed campaign, and was seen as the leading contender for the position. She largely avoided the spotlight, even refusing to take the mic to speak as Trump celebrated his victory early Wednesday morning. She resisted the formal title of campaign manager, avoiding becoming a target, given Trump’s history of cycling through people in that role.

Wiles’ hire is Trump’s first major decision as president-elect and one that could be a defining test of his incoming administration, as he must quickly build the team that will help run the massive federal government. Wiles doesn’t bring much federal government experience to the role, but has a close relationship with the president-elect.

On the campaign, Wiles was able to do what few others have been able to: help control Trump’s impulses — not by chiding him or lecturing, but by earning his respect and showing him that he was better off when he followed her advice than flouting it.

Trump went through four chiefs of staff — including one who served in an acting capacity for a year — during his first administration, part of a record-setting personnel churn. Many top aides were cast out by Trump in his first term, who resented being made to feel managed or condescended to, while others got caught up in ideological infighting within the factionalized West Wing.

“Susie is tough, smart, innovative, and is universally admired and respected. Susie will continue to work tirelessly to Make America Great Again," Trump said in a statement. "It is a well deserved honor to have Susie as the first-ever female Chief of Staff in United States history. I have no doubt that she will make our country proud.”

Successful chiefs of staff serve as the president’s confidant, help execute a president’s agenda and balance competing political and policy priorities. They also tend to serve as a gatekeeper, helping determine whom the president spends his time with and whom he speaks to — an effort Trump chafed under inside the White House.

The chief of staff is “absolutely critical to an effective White House,” said Chris Whipple, whose book “The Gatekeepers” details how the White House chief of staff role shapes and defines a presidency. “At the end of the day the most important thing is telling the president what he doesn’t want to hear."

“On the plus side, she’s shown that she can manage Trump, that she works with him and can sometimes tell him hard truths, and that’s really important," said Whipple. “On the minus side, she really has no White House experience and hasn’t really worked in Washington in 40 years. And that’s a real disadvantage.”

Wiles is a longtime Florida-based Republican strategist who ran Trump’s campaigns in the state in 2016 and 2020, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' successful bid for office in 2018. Before that, she ran Rick Scott’s 2010 campaign for Florida governor and briefly served as the manager of former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman’s 2012 presidential campaign.

Chris LaCivita, who along with Wiles served as a co-manager of the campaign, posted on X, “So Happy and proud of one of the fiercest and most loyal warriors i’ve ever had the pleasure of working with !!!”

Wiles was seen by Trump aides as someone who could guide his moods and impulses without necessarily restraining him. Trump often referenced Wiles on the campaign trail, publicly praising her leadership of what he said he was often told was his “best-run campaign.”

“She’s incredible. Incredible,” he said at a Milwaukee rally earlier this month,

At a rally in Pennsylvania where Trump made one of his last appearances before the election, he launched into a profane and conspiracy-laden speech. Wiles was spotted standing offstage and appearing to glare at him.

Later, at a rally in Pittsburgh, Trump seemed to acknowledge his adviser's’ efforts to keep him on message.

After complaining that men aren’t allowed to call a woman “beautiful” any longer, he asked if he could strike that word from the record. “I’m allowed to do that, aren’t I, Susan Wiles?” he mused.

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump brings Susie Wiles to the podium at an election night watch party Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

FILE - Trump co-campaign manager Susie Wiles is seen at Nashville International Airport as Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump arrives, July 27, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)