RangerBoy said:
The NHL teams are going to push more and more to sign their college prospects before they become seniors because of the new CBA clause allowing college players who are graduating to become UFA's on August 15 if they have not been signed by that date
I don't think so. You may have the rare case where an NCAA player refuses to sign immediately, but we haven't seen to much of that in the past. Remember these players are ready to jump to the pro's in March/April if they are a senior. Thats almost 6 full months to sign a player from the end of his senior year until UFA status.
There would only be two reasons a senior is not signed within 6 month of Graduation; 1. He doesn't want to play for the team that has his rights 2. The team that has his rights doesn't want him. Either way its not that big of deal.
Speaking purely from a developmental point of view, some players need 4 years at the NCAA level others do not. Guys like Heatley, Tkachuk, and Guerin were better off leaving college early...Just my opinion, but it seems to me, the more "power forward" a player is the better off he is leaving college early. Powering over guys 5'9 165lbs doesn't do much for their development in my opinion. Honeing the "power" part of the game is much better served at the AHL level.