That's the thing though. Going from USHL to NCAA I get since that's the equivalent of playing high school hockey prior to entering college. When you're playing in the USHL you are also free to play elsewhere. But once you are officially in the NCAA program and started to play, you can't just go to another NCAA program without going through the transfer process (and sitting out a year). If you play in a "professional league" you lose your NCAA eligibility (USHL is an amateur league).
Given Covid, I would hope that NCAA would show some flexibility, as these players are returning to the same league that they played in prior to getting their NCAA scholarships. No different is someone returned to the BCHL to play.
Be different if he opted to play in the AHL or in Europe.
Malone had like 8/9 points in 27 games for Cornell. Not great production. So, he needs the games. No one knows for sure when or if the Ivy league will start back up this season.
What are the other players from Yale, Harvard, Princeton, etc. doing?