Is the New CBA the Death of the NCAA Free Agent?

[Brock]

I was just thinking today, with the North American draft age raised to 21, will this spell the end (for the majority) of the NCAA UFA? Because if you think about it, the players who get signed as UFA's can often be guys who were late bloomers, or didn't recieve much playing time in their draft year, or whatever the circumstance was that prevented them from being drafted in the first place. Now teams will have a couple extra years to check out these college players, and by a players junior year, you can usually tell what type of prospect he could be.

I mean you can still get the players who come to the NCAA late on scholarship (20 year old freshman), and put up awesome numbers and eventually get signed, or the players who break out in their senior season.

But I would suspect that most of the talent in the NCAA will now be scooped up in the draft, rather then kids skipping by the radar and eventually being signed by NHL teams. I guess not that it really matters in terms of kids in the NCAA getting their chances because if they get drafted, its the same as being signed essentially. But I just thought it to be interesting none the less.

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[Hedberg]

I was just thinking today, with the North American draft age raised to 21.

The draft age is only being raised to 19.

 

[Seachd]

The draft age is only being raised to 19.

The minimum draft age isn't being raised at all.

I'm not sure I quite understand the original question, though.

 

[Hedberg]

The minimum draft age isn't being raised at all.

So that was only a rumour?

 

[Brock]

The minimum draft age isn't being raised at all.

I'm not sure I quite understand the original question, though.

Not a question, but more of a thought really.

With the max draft age being set to 21, it was meant to stir discussion. Was trying to see if any of the NCAA experts agreed.

 

[Seachd]

Not a question, but more of a thought really.

With the max draft age being set to 21, it was meant to stir discussion. Was trying to see if any of the NCAA experts agreed.

Oh, okay. What was it before? I thought it was always at 21 for North Americans?

 

[Brock]

Oh, okay. What was it before? I thought it was always at 21 for North Americans?

Any NA player over the age of 20, or passed over in two entry drafts had to be signed as a UFA.

 

[Oilers Chick]

I don't think so. While the NCAA continues to be welll represented in the draft every year (and this includes the kids drafted BEFORE the get to the NCAA from leagues such as the NTDP and the USHL) there are always players that end up getting missed at the draft. Some of those players end up becoming better as upperclassmen and in turn really start gaining the interest of various teams around the league. If you look at a player like San Jose's Tom Preissing for example, he was virtually non-existent on the radar of most scouts when he was draft eligible then when he had that awesome senior season, everyone it seemed took notice of him. San Jose just had the presence of mind to sign him first.

Also, many NHL teams such Atlanta and New Jersey are run and/or coached by former NCAA guys who keep tabs on the NCAA constantly and not just on their prospects there either. These guys are always on the lookout for who's hot and could be added to their team to address a need. Sometimes the best player to address that need may not necessarily be a player who is in your current system (prospect pipeline) and if he's available through free agency, why not take a shot at him? Especially one who is new to the league.