The Great Quebec Talent Exodus: NCAA’s New Rules and Their Ripple Effects
Hold onto your hockey sticks, folks! It seems that the NCAA has decided to *spice things up* by taking a page from the recruitment playbook and eyeing our beloved Quebec juniors. Yes, you heard that right—the NCAA Division 1 Council is on the cusp of abolishing a rule that prohibits players from Canadian major junior leagues from donning the colors of an American university. It’s like they’ve just discovered that hockey players can *actually* go to school and play hockey—who knew?
Now, if this rule change comes to pass—which by all accounts, looks more likely than a Canadian content warning on a Drake song—it will be one of the most significant shake-ups in North American hockey development since someone suggested that the ice might be slippery. American university programs are already flooding junior hockey agents with calls, and it’s only a matter of time before the QMJHL becomes the hottest ticket in town. Grab your popcorn, folks, this is going to be a show!
As the Concordia Stingers’ head coach, Marc-André Élément, put it, “It’s a bit sad.” Sad? It’s positively tragic! The moment coaches from American universities start dialing up your players, you know the landscape is shifting faster than a puck off a rink wall.
And let’s not forget about the agents like Philippe Lecavalier, who must be waking up to a flood of phone calls from coaches desperate for fresh talent. Imagine him sipping his coffee this morning, glancing at his phone, and seeing more notifications than a teenager at a pop concert. It’s *Quebec* to the NCAA—or is it the other way around? Who knows? I bet he’s got 99 problems and NCAA eligibility rules are definitely one of them.
Lee Evans Fanfare: Oh! Can you imagine? You’re a 17-year-old kid in Quebec, fresh off winning the QMJHL scoring title, and suddenly the NCAA wants you! “A scholarship? Free education?” I mean, mate, who wants to stay and help out a small university team when being courted by the glitz and glamour of American collegiate hockey?
However, let’s not jump the gun. Lecavalier has wisely suggested that while there’s a parade of interest, the real exodus may not be as widespread as feared. Complicated eligibility rules? Yes, please! Because nothing says “you’ve made it” quite like paperwork that would make a tax consultant weep.
In this fascinating chess game of talent and educational opportunity, Canadian universities are feeling the heat. The likes of UQTR and McGill are staring down the barrel of a loss in talent that could make a bear hibernate in defeat. “Instead of developing our own structure, we send our world across the border,” Élément laments. And he’s right; if we don’t get our act together, Canadian schools will be left with gym classes and not much else.
Jimmy Carr Zinger: But hey, on the bright side, they always say hockey is the only sport where you can fight and get away with it! Maybe we need a *Cage Match* to decide who gets the players—university hockey or NCAA? And what a spectacle that’d be!
To sum it up: if you thought the hockey landscape couldn’t get any more *mercurial*, think again! With American programs rolling out the red carpet for Quebec’s finest, it’s a crucial time for Canadian development and education in sports. The question remains—will Quebec players opt for the NCAA dream, or will they stick around and fight for their roots? Whatever happens, keep your sticks on the ice, hockey fans—it’s going to be one hell of a season!
For American universities, the hunt for Quebec and Canadian hockey players is already on.
In the world of hockey, everyone expects the NCAA Division 1 Council to abolish, as of November, the rule prohibiting hockey players from Canadian major junior leagues from wearing the colors of an American university. .
If it comes to fruition, this new direction from the NCAA will cause one of the most significant reorganizations ever to occur in the development structure of North American hockey. However, several leaders of American university programs are so convinced of the imminence of this paradigm shift that they have already begun to gauge the interest of numerous QMJHL players.
Suddenly, junior hockey agents are receiving calls from coaches from NCAA programs. QMJHL coaches learn that their players are being courted. And coaches from Quebec university programs find it less easy to recruit athletes for the 2025-2026 season.
Normally, at this time of year, we begin to reach agreements with players who wish to commit to our team. But I see a lot of reluctance at the moment regarding U SPORTS programs. People are waiting to see what happens (with the NCAA). And from our point of view, it’s a little sad what’s happening right now,” says Concordia Stingers head coach Marc-André Élément.
Asked to comment on the situation, the head coach of an American program declined our interview request in a text message exchange. The new rules have not yet been adopted and I am not comfortable commenting publicly. On the other hand, we are probably one of the universities that solicit players in Quebec, he wrote.
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For around twenty years, agent and advisor Philippe Lecavalier has constantly counted among his clients Quebecers who, like Michael Matheson, Vincent Desharnais or Louis Leblanc, have chosen to continue their development in the NCAA.
Lecavalier says he recently received calls regarding four or five of his clients playing in the QMJHL. And these demonstrations of interest concerned both 17-year-old players and veterans like Antonin Verreault of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. The latter won the QMJHL scoring championship at age 19 last season and is back this year as a 20-year-old player.
Another 20-year-old player, Jonathan Fauchon (Blainville-Boisbriand), who ranks 2nd in scoring in the QMJHL, is also in the sights of NCAA programs. If we look into the future, we say that if they are good at school, players of this type will probably no longer play at the junior level at this age in the coming seasons. They are going to go to university, opines a QMJHL coach.
Veterans of the Chicoutimi Saguenéens were also approached, according to our sources.
Philippe Lecavalier notes that the imminence of a change in NCAA regulations raises a lot of concern in the world of Quebec hockey. However, his knowledge of the industry makes him believe that the exodus of players that many players in the industry fear will not occur.
I think the QMJHL will not lose as many players as the other two Canadian leagues because the NCAA eligibility rules for athletes from the Quebec school system are extremely complicated. People don’t realize how difficult it is, he explains.
According to Lecavalier, Quebec hockey players must generally avoid doing their secondary 5 in a Quebec school to maximize their chances of being eligible for the NCAA. To avoid problems, he therefore advises his clients to do their 11th and 12th years of schooling remotely in the Ontario school system.
Furthermore, students who attend CEGEP must do so full-time to meet the NCAA eligibility criteria. However, according to the agent, such a schedule arrangement is extremely difficult to make for a junior hockey player.
On the other hand, hockey players from the Maritimes will be able to transit more easily to the NCAA, he emphasizes.
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When representatives of university programs contact him, Lecavalier invites them to call him back when the NCAA has voted in favor of the new rules and when everyone knows if and how the NHL will adjust its collective agreement to this new reality.
In the eyes of the agent, there will be no sporting path that will systematically apply to all players who wish to pursue a career in hockey.
It will be necessary to do it on a case by case basis and individually determine which route is preferable for each player based on their talent, physical maturity and personal well-being. For some, it will be preferable to sign a professional contract at 20 years old. Others will be advised to give themselves development time and go play at university, argues Lecavalier.
While waiting for the picture to become clearer, the leaders of Canadian university programs are chomping at the bit and brooding. Everyone points to programs like those at UQTR, McGill and Concordia as the biggest victims of the coming changes.
I wonder if Hockey Canada is doing things the right way. The best Canadian juniors will go to play in the United States with the Americans. But given that there will be many more Americans in the NCAA network, Canada will help to further strengthen the American system and that pisses me off, confides Marc-André Élément.
Instead of developing our own structure, we send our world across the border. And we (Canadian universities) have no help, he laments.
Ricky Gervais Voice: You have to think—why would you stay in Quebec, where you might have to actually study for a degree, when you could move south of the border and still enjoy the thrill of running into a seven-foot-tall goalie all while being a little more Americanized? I mean, it’s not like every Canadian’s dream is to become an accountant—unless we’re talking about the one who does taxes during the playoffs!