I really think the solution is to make the first 3 rounds for players who turn 18 by september 30th of the year they are drafted, and rounds 4-9 players who turn 19 by October 31st of the draft year. Add a lowering of the AHL age to match (19 by Octeber 31st) and you have a viable system, imo.
You still leave the door open for your phenoms to enter the league at 18 (which is a *good* thing), but on the flip side you don't have to worry about teams throwing away draft picks on 18 year olds in the 9th round that no one has a *clue* if they are NHL material or not.
I posted this a while ago as part of a CBA proposal, but here is my ideal entry level system:
III. Entry level system
Entry level contracts will be 4-year mandatory two-way contracts, regardless of entry-level player's age. A player's rights will belong to the original drafting team indefinitely until his first NHL contract is signed (at which time he will be subject to free agency rules). A player can never "re-enter" the draft.
In order to be elligible for the draft players drafted in the first 3 rounds must reach 18 years of age by September 30th of the year in which they are drafted. Players drafted in subsequent rounds must reach age 19 by October 31st of the year in which they are drafted.
Maximum Base Salary structure
1st Round Maximum base salary: $850,000
2nd Round Maximum base salary: $750,000
3rd Round Maximum base salary: $650,000
4th-6th Round Maximum base salary: $550,000
7th-9th Round Maximum base salary: $450,000
Signing and performance bonuses
Maximum signing bonus (Entry-Level): $850k total
Maximum performance bonuses (Entry-Level): $425k/contract year signed, $75k/bonus achieved (+)
(+ Entry level performance bonuses to follow NHL approved schedule
http://nhlcbanews.com/news/attachment_a020205.html)
Exemption from waivers
Waiver elligibility will be uniform, both for pre-season waiver draft and in-season waiver claims. Only players under an entry-level contract will be exempt from waivers and only if they have played fewer than 60 NHL games (20 for goalies) at the time they are sent down or left unprotected.