This board is a trip sometimes.
It's not the 1970s anymore and players have more options. The USHL and (to a much lesser extent) the NAHL offer good development options for budding players. The BCHL, now bolstered by a handful of former AJHL teams, is trying to open up yet another window.
But this is not going to lead to a flood of players abandoning the CHL, which everyone can see is still churning out talent. This is not going to lead to the death of the AJHL or SJHL, as someone posited, nor will it make a marked difference on the quality play on the long run. The three CHL leagues are still attracting top recruits and young players (and their agents) are still going to see that and want to go there.
There are multiple streams through which players can develop. In general, players develop well playing against their peers, which is why the junior system exists. Players that need a few more years to develop are better off going Junior A and then moving on to college. Players that are going to be NHL-ready at 18 or 19 are probably best suited for junior. But there will be exceptions to both those scenarios.
The situation with the BCHL remains fluid. There were 18 teams last year, then 17 to start this year. The five Alberta teams made it 22, and then one left and the rumours are that there may be a couple more that bail before next season. Perhaps others will join from Alberta or elsewhere or others may leave. I guarantee the 21 teams they have now will not be the same 21 they have at the start of 2025-2026.
At the end of the day, you have a firehose of players coming out of minor hockey looking for a place to play. The suggestion that all the top talent are going to end of playing for the Chicago Steel is ludicrous. When Sidney Crosby went to Shattuck, everyone talked about how this was the most fierce condemnation of Canadian elite minor hockey and made the same declarations.
A few folks here have an obvious axe to grind with the CHL and with Hockey Canada, and both those institutions are going to have to adapt to make their programs more attractive, but whatever. The junior hockey landscape is wildly in flux. Save your declarations for a few years after things have settled.