CHL to NCAA Recruiting Megathread

[Puckstopper467]

Are you that guy on X that comments on every commitment announcement asking if they're American? Saying all tax dollars should be cut off for the schools that award scholarships to non-American players.

I am absolutely NOT that person.. Do not do X..

 

[cinnamoroll]

This is a crime to allow these players in. The NCAA should be fined and broken up. How about the last 40 years and all the American kids who were not allowed to play in the CHL? Maybe all those kids should sue the NCAA and claim discrimination

The lawsuits are already in motion–those being filed was what finally forced the hold-out coaches to actually do something about this rule, despite the lawyers telling them this was an inevitable reality, and it would save everyone a lot of time and money to get this fixed sooner than later. Famously the NCAA is getting slapped around in court over plenty of more high profile situations. I'm no legal expert, but there is recourse of some sort.

Either way, that's another topic entirely...

 

[cinnamoroll]

On a lighter note, watching the London Knights v Guelph Storm game tuesday and got to hear the London color commentator do his best to pronounce Bemidji when mentioning the NCAA commitment of Storm forward Max Namestnikov eventually finished with "...it's in northern Minnesota." I'm sure as seasons go by and younger players get recruited earlier in their OHL tenure the announcers will get familiar with all the different schools

Announcers usually have factoids they throw in during play or during a stoppage, things like 'the <NHL team> draft pick from <year>' 'the <town> native' 'brother of <other player>' 'big piece of this trade' etc even for opposing players. They're starting to include info on NCAA commits in that, since it is now a point they can advertise on to prospective players and especially parents. The OHL appears to be the most consistent in that, usually has news updates about commitments on their website. Interesting to see how that has evolved so far.

 

[Sparkee]

On a lighter note, watching the London Knights v Guelph Storm game tuesday and got to hear the London color commentator do his best to pronounce Bemidji when mentioning the NCAA commitment of Storm forward Max Namestnikov eventually finished with "...it's in northern Minnesota." I'm sure as seasons go by and younger players get recruited earlier in their OHL tenure the announcers will get familiar with all the different schools

Announcers usually have factoids they throw in during play or during a stoppage, things like 'the <NHL team> draft pick from <year>' 'the <town> native' 'brother of <other player>' 'big piece of this trade' etc even for opposing players. They're starting to include info on NCAA commits in that, since it is now a point they can advertise on to prospective players and especially parents. The OHL appears to be the most consistent in that, usually has news updates about commitments on their website. Interesting to see how that has evolved so far.

Maybe they will have NCAA commitment on the player profiles on the site. So far none of the CHL websites do that. Whereas all of the junior A websites do that. Also, for BCHL and for USHL when teams provide line charts they usually put logos of the NCAA team the player committed too next to the name. This way if you are watching a game you can easily tell which school a player is committed too. Also for scouts they can see which players are uncommitted.

As time goes on these little things will happen. It used to be two competing path where there was a fork you had to decide either NCAA route or major junior. Now that no longer exists, so it will just take time for the mindset of coaches, management, fans to drop the competition aspect between NCAA and CHL. Now both can be part of the development path for that same player.

 

[cinnamoroll]

Divver reporting Henry Mews to michigan.

There has been rumors floating around on this one for a while (including potentially landing at BC), but if Divver is speaking on it appears to be crystallizing. If this is true, this is the real answer of the most high-end prospect going from CHL to NCAA.

Calgary Flames 2024 3rd rounder, offensive defenseman, Sudbury Wolves' big trade deadline acquisition. They're a bubble playoff team. Between Sudbury and Ottawa he has 80 points in 63 games.

Also the son of Northeastern Hall Of Famer Harry Mews. It was rumored that part of the trade from Ottawa came from disputes about him leaving to NCAA next year, but he's unlikely to need the scholarship as much when he's already NHL drafted and highly regarded. Not a perfect player by any means, and he could use the bump in talent around him since he can't go AHL and this level is easy for him.

 

[Sparkee]

Here is a link for a free stream to a WHL game tonight at 10 PM EST between two US teams: Everett Silvertips vs. Spokane Chiefs

Wednesday Night in The Dub: Everett Silvertips at Spokane Chiefs – March 12, 2025

It's a U.S. Division clash of titans as Nashville Predators prospect Austin Roest and the Everett Silvertips visit WHL goal scoring leader Shea Van Olm and t...

www.youtube.com

 

[cinnamoroll]

Here is a link for a free stream to a WHL game tonight at 10 PM EST between two US teams: Everett Silvertips vs. Spokane Chiefs

Wednesday Night in The Dub: Everett Silvertips at Spokane Chiefs – March 12, 2025

It's a U.S. Division clash of titans as Nashville Predators prospect Austin Roest and the Everett Silvertips visit WHL goal scoring leader Shea Van Olm and t...

www.youtube.com

List of commitments in this game:

Everett:
D Eric Jamieson, DU
F Shea Busch, PSU
G Raiden LeGall, BSU

Spokane:
F Shea Van Olm, PSU
D Brayden Crampton, BGSU

 

[Sparkee]

List of commitments in this game:

Everett:
D Eric Jamieson, DU
F Shea Busch, PSU
G Raiden LeGall, BSU

Spokane:
F Shea Van Olm, PSU
D Brayden Crampton, BGSU

I’m watching two Uncommitted ‘04’s in this game…

Dominik Rymon(Everett(WHL)), 5/29/04, LW, NZ 4.25, 5’10”, 160 lbs, amazing stick handling, nifty shooter with dekes, excellent straight line speed, explosive first few strides, cycles puck down low, plays through contact, strong edgework, strong 200-foot game

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1013965599309114&wtsid=rdr_0I64EA3ceJp8T4HGs

Rasmus Ekstrom(Spokane(WHL)), 10/4/04, RC, 6’ 190 lbs, NZ 4.0, two-way center, strong work ethic, versatile, strong skater, good speed and agility, good puck skills, dynamic player, plays top unit on pp and pk, keeps feet moving through contact, high shot volumes

OT winner: https://www.instagram.com/lets.talk.whl/reel/DBlMholRXgs/
Hat trick: https://youtu.be/M36_i8Ts7CA?si=QjnNUWWlp5owhMyH
2goals in 13 seconds: https://youtu.be/oU3sUurOVx4?si=pDWxccWFoQ5AJAs4
Prospect playing style video: https://youtu.be/gkhYPH4VHZw?si=L7qVvC03TNvYjUXc
Nifty stickhandling: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1095946814724120&wtsid=rdr_0epTDV6EAOxmdriAu

 

[cinnamoroll]

Maybe they will have NCAA commitment on the player profiles on the site. So far none of the CHL websites do that. Whereas all of the junior A websites do that. Also, for BCHL and for USHL when teams provide line charts they usually put logos of the NCAA team the player committed too next to the name. This way if you are watching a game you can easily tell which school a player is committed too. Also for scouts they can see which players are uncommitted.

As time goes on these little things will happen. It used to be two competing path where there was a fork you had to decide either NCAA route or major junior. Now that no longer exists, so it will just take time for the mindset of coaches, management, fans to drop the competition aspect between NCAA and CHL. Now both can be part of the development path for that same player.

Definitely agree. I do hope the commits get added to player profiles, but the logos on lineups I don't think will be released publicly... CHL lineup posts still don't even feature NHL team logos. The scouts might get those materials though.

There is still some of this competition when it comes to leaving CHL early to enroll in college, but maybe that will get sorted out somehow. That is another reason there's so many overagers committing- colleges know for sure that these players are available immediately with no question marks.

 

[Sparkee]

Here is the link to the free OHL game tonight between the Saginaw Spirit and the London Knights:

LIVE - Saginaw Spirit @ London Knights - OHL Friday Night Faceoff - March 14th, 2025

It’s a Memorial Cup rematch and one of the best rivalries in the OHL as the Saginaw Spirit take on the London Knights in a can't-miss showdown! 🔥This game i...

www.youtube.com

 

[cinnamoroll]

Here is the link to the free OHL game tonight between the Saginaw Spirit and the London Knights:

LIVE - Saginaw Spirit @ London Knights - OHL Friday Night Faceoff - March 14th, 2025

It’s a Memorial Cup rematch and one of the best rivalries in the OHL as the Saginaw Spirit take on the London Knights in a can't-miss showdown! 🔥This game i...

www.youtube.com

Gonna be a great matchup. These teams have recent history- London swept every team in their championship run except for the Eastern Conference Finals vs Saginaw, which ended in 6. They again met in the Memorial Cup twice- London won big in the round robin and then lost in a last minute heartbreaker goal in the finals.

Commits in this game:
London Knights:
G Austin Elliott - UMass Lowell
D Andoni Fimis - UVM
F Blake Montgomery - Wisconsin
F Evan Van Gorp - Maine

Fimis and Montgomery were prior commits who made the jump to OHL after rule change. Montgomery is also an Ottawa draft pick. The other overagers for London are F Landon Sim and F Jacob Julien. Julien just signed his ELC with Winnipeg so he isn't an option, Sim has been rumored with a few teams but has a few asterisks with his, er, history.

Saginaw Spirit:
G Andrew Oke - LSSU
D PJ Forgione - UVM
F Calem Mangone - LSSU

This is all three of the Spirit's overage players. I believe LSSU only has those two commits from the CHL so far. They're a location that could appeal to a lot of OHL players hoping to stay close to home. Mangone is from Sault Ste Marie (Ontario's version) and Oke is from Shelby Township, Michigan. Forgione being a UVM commit also makes sense- he was born in Burlington and his older brother Thomas played there from 2013-2017. We have seen a few of the sibling connection commitments, like Portland's Diego Buttazzoni joining Mirko at UML.

 

[Sparkee]

Gonna be a great matchup. These teams have recent history- London swept every team in their championship run except for the Eastern Conference Finals vs Saginaw, which ended in 6. They again met in the Memorial Cup twice- London won big in the round robin and then lost in a last minute heartbreaker goal in the finals.

Commits in this game:
London Knights:
G Austin Elliott - UMass Lowell
D Andoni Fimis - UVM
F Blake Montgomery - Wisconsin
F Evan Van Gorp - Maine

Fimis and Montgomery were prior commits who made the jump to OHL after rule change. Montgomery is also an Ottawa draft pick. The other overagers for London are F Landon Sim and F Jacob Julien. Julien just signed his ELC with Winnipeg so he isn't an option, Sim has been rumored with a few teams but has a few asterisks with his, er, history.

Saginaw Spirit:
G Andrew Oke - LSSU
D PJ Forgione - UVM
F Calem Mangone - LSSU

This is all three of the Spirit's overage players. I believe LSSU only has those two commits from the CHL so far. They're a location that could appeal to a lot of OHL players hoping to stay close to home. Mangone is from Sault Ste Marie (Ontario's version) and Oke is from Shelby Township, Michigan. Forgione being a UVM commit also makes sense- he was born in Burlington and his older brother Thomas played there from 2013-2017. We have seen a few of the sibling connection commitments, like Portland's Diego Buttazzoni joining Mirko at UML.

I’ll be watching Landon Sim, since he is an ‘04 and rumored as Maine being interested. As you mentioned, he is the only ‘04 in the game not yet committed. Here is some info I complied on him:

Landon Sim(London(OHL)), 7/17/04, LW, NZ 3.75, 5’10”, 190 lbs, tenacious pest, good speed, good puckhandling, high energy, plays in all situations, solid defensively, versatile forward, plays with an edge, goes to the net hard, likes to hit, responsible 200 ft player, doesn’t give opposing players a chance to breath

Teddy bear goal: https://youtu.be/jhuhjbZWsRw?si=-gNkL6S3bS3Je5Mg
Hat trick: https://youtu.be/Xg8-R7zPrF8?si=GwrMhGkhnvWMLmR5
Score on a rush: https://youtu.be/VkWr2vMMADw?si=tBWmwHN-uVpWuL44
Strips puck, then a give-and-go goal: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1630699244482598&wtsid=rdr_0pgKCyQl8pncGhojV
Deflection OT goal: https://youtu.be/AwSA5XzEh2Q?si=m439hHyoJwKhYtdt
First OHL goal: https://youtu.be/Szk08Ki_ft4?si=fYfT1tDCrWvnb8KB
One-timer high slot: https://www.instagram.com/londonknights/reel/DB2RHTKxAOl/
Tip in goal in OT: https://www.tiktok.com/@ohlhockey/video/7353461004799560966

 

[Sparkee]

Sim deserves the 1st star in that game. Even on their first goal he lined up a guy and ran him when guy was in short handed. That took that guy out of the play so they had numbers the other way. Sim sprints back, gets shot off, that created rebound, takes down a defensemen in front, leaves Bonk with the rebound and a goalie out of position to bury it. Then he scored two goals after that. High energy player that definitely is looking to hit every shift.

 

[cinnamoroll]

That was the tamest game i've ever seen these 2 teams play, wow. Elliott looked good, as did Papineau, who is younger and hasn't gotten a ton of consistent ice time.

Elliott especially did well in holding the top line off the scoresheet. Saginaw plays Epperson-Misa-Chernyshov a lot. Igor Chernyshov in particular had some good looks and he spent most of last season in the KHL and has 44 points in 19 OHL games. Michael Misa speaks for himself, he's going in the top 3 this June. No shame in getting beat by Zayne Parekh, the first OHL defenseman to have a 100 point season since 2011. Lotta skill in Hockey East, and Elliott displayed that he can stand tall against some high-end offense.

And yes, welcome to Landon Sim hockey. He's normally on the 2nd power play, but with Barkey and O'Reilly out he gets pp1 time and first line minutes. Him being able to step up in the lineup when needed is part of why he's so important to this team.

 

[Sparkee]

Lindenwood picked up a very good player - Louis-Philippe Fontaine of Shawinigan(QMJHL)

Here is my info on him:

Louis-Philippe Fontaine(Shawinigan(QMJHL)), 8/12/04, NZ 3.75, LC, 5’9″, 205 lbs, sturdy frame, protects pucks, wins board battles, good net front, kills penalties, active defensive stick, versatile, plays any situation, heavy hits, unafraid of contact

Nose for the net: https://youtu.be/Do0w9aHOvs8?si=jg1cpBk5N2axLpYX
Wheels from behind the net and snipe: https://youtu.be/ArLbSY3wJNo?si=hbWOMeZD9_sBVDrQ
Scores on breakaway: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=9181254815302099&wtsid=rdr_0AYYnD2SBSIUcydgr

 

[cinnamoroll]

Elliotte Friedman reported on his Saturday Headlines spot on Hockey Night in Canada, the NHL is bringing a meeting of junior leagues together next week. Might clarify a few different remaining questions about the changing landscape. The NHL has a lot of influence in this whole deal and has their own questions to answer in regards to the length of draft rights (currently shorter for CHL draft picks vs NCAA draft picks). That will need to be included in the upcoming CBA.

It seems CHL leagues and USHL are included, I doubt the NCAA will be beyond maybe a few representatives. The NHL has also requested CHL teams slow down on expansion. I'd guess the Penticton one is far enough down the pipeline it will have to go through but other rumored ones are likely postponed.

If you aren't familiar with him, Friedge is a very very reliable source in all things NHL. He hosts the podcast 32 Thoughts and is part of Sportsnet's Canadian hockey coverage. Worth a follow on twitter if you want to keep up with some of this news.Another Canadian based reporter who is also uniquely knowledgable about CHL news is his former 32 thoughts co-host Jeff Marek. Also worth a follow.

 

[Sparkee]

Elliotte Friedman reported on his Saturday Headlines spot on Hockey Night in Canada, the NHL is bringing a meeting of junior leagues together next week. Might clarify a few different remaining questions about the changing landscape. The NHL has a lot of influence in this whole deal and has their own questions to answer in regards to the length of draft rights (currently shorter for CHL draft picks vs NCAA draft picks). That will need to be included in the upcoming CBA.

It seems CHL leagues and USHL are included, I doubt the NCAA will be beyond maybe a few representatives. The NHL has also requested CHL teams slow down on expansion. I'd guess the Penticton one is far enough down the pipeline it will have to go through but other rumored ones are likely postponed.

If you aren't familiar with him, Friedge is a very very reliable source in all things NHL. He hosts the podcast 32 Thoughts and is part of Sportsnet's Canadian hockey coverage. Worth a follow on twitter if you want to keep up with some of this news.Another Canadian based reporter who is also uniquely knowledgable about CHL news is his former 32 thoughts co-host Jeff Marek. Also worth a follow.

It would be interesting if USHL could compete for the memorial cup.

 

[TalonsUpPuckDown]

List of commitments in this game:

Everett:
D Eric Jamieson, DU
F Shea Busch, PSU
G Raiden LeGall, BSU

Spokane:
F Shea Van Olm, PSU
D Brayden Crampton, BGSU

Where are you finding the schedule for the GOTW? I've searched all over and can't seem to find the right combo of keywords.

 

[Sparkee]

Where are you finding the schedule for the GOTW? I've searched all over and can't seem to find the right combo of keywords.

For WHL you can click here and scroll down to see schedule. This week it is the Victoria Royals vs. Kelowna Rockets on Wednesday starting at 10:05 PM EST or 7:05 PT https://chl.ca/whl/whl-freeview/

Where I look for OHL is here: https://chl.ca/ohl/friday-night-faceoff/

But it does not seem like they updated it to reflect the game this week yet for the OHL free game. It is on Friday night usually around 7 to 7:30 PM EST for start time.

 

[cinnamoroll]

For WHL you can click here and scroll down to see schedule. This week it is the Victoria Royals vs. Kelowna Rockets on Wednesday starting at 10:05 PM EST or 7:05 PT https://chl.ca/whl/whl-freeview/

Kelowna is dead in the water with some key injuries, focus is next year when they host the Memorial Cup. Sick logo though. They only have 2 overage players and a lot of rookies/young players.

Victoria Royals have clinched home ice and are 2nd in the BC Division. Made a few key adds at the deadline. They aren’t considered as formidable as Medicine Hat, Everett, Spokane, and Calgary, but definitely a contender.

Royals Commits:

C Brayden Boehm Michigan Tech
C Brandon Lisowsky Colorado College
G Johnny Hicks, Tennessee State

Hicks is an 05 who came from the BCHL in january. The remaining overager is the high-scoring winger Kenta Isogai, an import player from Japan. He was one of the Royals’ big deadline adds along with Lisowsky. He played in the USHL with Youngstown from 2020-2023, helped them win the 2023 Clark Cup, then went WHL. Not sure where his aspirations/opportunities lie in terms of pro interest vs college.

Kelowna Commits:
C Michael Cicek Michigan Tech (injured, out for season)
D Gabriel Guilbault Quinnipiac (26-27 enrollment)

Cicek is the only overager in that group. He recently suffered a laceration during a game that required surgery. They only have one other OA- Max Graham, their captain, but he was drafted by the penguins only just last year as a double overager, so they still have his rights. Pittsburgh’s prospect pool is very shallow so they might want him in their farm system sooner. Guilbault joined in December from the BCHL and is an 07.

Worth noting that another 07 Levi Benson was previously committed to ASU but signed with Kelowna in June. That automatically voided his commitment at the time of course, but there’s no current news about his potential college plans. His brother is Sabres forward Zach Benson.