From bus leagues to big campuses, the path to the NHL is changing

EAST LANSING, Michigan – For Canadian hockey players, the CHL has always been the main path. If you wanted to make it to the NHL, you went to play major junior. Now, that map is being redrawn in real time.

With the NCAA opening its doors to CHL players this season, the floodgates have opened. What started as a few older players looking to continue playing post-junior eligibility has turned into a true migration.

And it’s not fringe names.

Porter Martone. Cayden Lindstrom. Jackson Smith. Cole Reschny. Roger McQueen. All first-round picks who chose to leave the CHL early for the NCAA. 

Then there's Gavin McKenna and Keaton Verhoeff, two players who could hear their names called at the very top of the draft next June, deciding to play their NHL draft-eligible seasons in college.

They’re not outlie