European Draft Rules

[HFNHL Red Wings]

So that everyone has the same information I wanted to pass along a decision that was recently made.

There appears to be an obscure exception rule related to the signing of undrafted European born players as FA’s. The case identified related to a European player that had played college hockey.

As we do not understand the exact rules and related conditions that apply to this exception it has been decided that we will not incorporate the exception into the HFNHL rules at this time.

The rule remains that any European born player that has not played in North America at least one season prior to the year of their first draft eligibility (18 yo) must be drafted regardless of age and may not be signed as a FA.

Click to read more...

 

[Tampa GM]

Was Petr Sejna an exception? I remember I tried to draft him last summer but I wasnt allowed, dont remember why though.

I also drafted Toni Söderholm and I believe according to nhl rules he could have signed as a free agent(since ha had played colleage hockey or something like that). Söderholm has later been traded to Colorado and thats another story.

 

[Hossa]

Was Petr Sejna an exception? I remember I tried to draft him last summer but I wasnt allowed, dont remember why though.

I also drafted Toni Söderholm and I believe according to nhl rules he could have signed as a free agent(since ha had played colleage hockey or something like that). Söderholm has later been traded to Colorado and thats another story.

Sejna is what I thought of immediately after hearing this. It would seem Drew that the Sejna ruling is the exact opposite from this new rule? Am I correct?

 

[HFNHL Red Wings]

Sejna is what I thought of immediately after hearing this. It would seem Drew that the Sejna ruling is the exact opposite from this new rule? Am I correct?

Sejna was playing in NA as of the start of his draft eligibility (played in the USHL in 98/99 season before going to college) and his first year of draft eligibiliy was 1999.
As a result Sejna was playing in NA one year prior to his draft eligibility and therfore fell under NA rules.

 

[Tampa GM]

Sejna is born October 5th 1979. Doesnt that means that his first year of draft eligibiliy should have been 1998? His first season in USHL was 98/99 which was after his first draft. Doesnt that mean that Sejna belongs to Tampa ?

btw Sejna had 63 points back in 98/99 and was the 2nd best scorer on the team, only Peter Fregoe had more points and he scored amazing 103. Mr Fregoe still doesnt have a HFNHL contract, will someone sign him this off season?

 

[HFNHL Red Wings]

Doh. I never actually checked his b-day, for some reason I had it stuck in my head that St. Louis had drafted him in 1999. Obviously I was incorrect.
I'm trying to find a CSB list for 1998 or 99 but no luck so far (wanted to see if he was listed as NA or Euro).
It is possible that a mistake was made but as to who would have gotten his rights it's hard to say. I know several teams tried both drafting him and signing him as a FA before he left college. The underlying reason was he was considered an NA ... I just can't confirm why atm

 

[HFNHL Red Wings]

Well that didn't help. I couldn't find the 1998 CSB but I did find the 1999 CSB for which he should have been on. I guess he was under the radar at the time as he was not on either the Euro or NA list for 1999 so that doesn't help at all

I'm guessing, and I mean guessing, that it was believed he was (for draft considerations) considered an NA player by the HFNHL representatives. There have been a number of people in that Admin role and it is unlikely they were all wrong. It is more likely that I'm overlooking something and it's going to drive me nuts until I figure it out

See what happens ... I pass along a decision that was given to me (i.e. I'm just the messenger in this case) and I end up answering for historical anomalies. How do I get myself into these things.

 

[kasper11]

Can somebody please place Drew's explination above with Matt's recent decree regarding Pock?

According to what Drew posted he would be draft eligible. Are we disregarding this rule?

 

[Tampa GM]

I also ask the same question. Thomas Pock was born on the 2nd of December 1981. His first draft that he could have been taken was in 00 and he didnt sign with UMass-Amherst in the NCAA until the start of the 00/01. Can someone please explain why he cant be choosen in the draft? Maybe I should keep my mouth shout since I could get him as a free agent but I just wanna make the rule very clear. If Pock had played in NA 99/00 he should have been a free agent but not now according to the rules Drew set up a few days ago.

 

[HFNHL Commish]

The rule, as posted in this forum, now appears to be a bit backwards.

If a European player plays a season in North America prior to his 18th birthday, and never plays in North America thereafter, he must still be drafted.

However, if a European player plays a season in North America AFTER his 18th birthday, and never plays in North America thereafter, he is eligible for free agency once he turns 21.

 

[Hossa]

I also ask the same question. Thomas Pock was born on the 2nd of December 1981. His first draft that he could have been taken was in 00 and he didnt sign with UMass-Amherst in the NCAA until the start of the 00/01. Can someone please explain why he cant be choosen in the draft? Maybe I should keep my mouth shout since I could get him as a free agent but I just wanna make the rule very clear. If Pock had played in NA 99/00 he should have been a free agent but not now according to the rules Drew set up a few days ago.

I think at this point we need to just make a rule and stick with it, but for Pock, just let him be a free agent. Because I asked at least one admin team member at the draft what Pock's status was, and was told he was going to hit free agency. Had I known that was not the case, I would have tried to draft him.

 

[HFNHL Red Wings]

Further investigation has proven the original statement to be invalid.

http://letsgopens.com/nhl_cba.php

A European born player has to be drafted if he has not played in North America between his 18th and 20th birthdays.

Keep in mind that a European born player who does play in NA during the required age does fall into all NA FA rules including not being able to sign them until they have completed their studies if they are in college.

In effect it has been validated that the Sejna rulings were correct.

What appears to have happened, and created the initial confusion, is
there's a difference between how CSS defines a player (NA vs. Euro) and
what rules a player falls under.

In short CSS defines a player as NA if he has played in NA the season prior
to his first draft eligibility whereas even if they are Euro they fall into
the NA draft eligibility/FA status if they played in NA at least one year
between their 18th and 20th birthdays.

It does introduce some interesting scenarios. An example brought up was
Lasse Pirjeta. He played in NA as a 17yo and so would be listed by CSS as
a NA player but b/c he went back to Europe the following year he could not
be signed as a FA and had to be drafted.