As you may be aware for years the NCAA has considered the CHL professional leagues due to the small living stipend teams give players. Now they are counting this junior league as an armature league and skaters who have played in the Canadian major juniors will be eligible for playing including scholarships for U.S. college hockey.
@GrindingGears @Denjin granted, even if you spend just 2 years in the NHL you can probably afford to pay for a college education yourself if you can’t play anymore. And that education would probably be better if you aren’t working 40 hours a week training for college hockey simultaneously.