Quote:
Originally Posted by CKPThunder
Maybe this has been discussed before and I apologize. Why are players who use the Schultz loophole allowed to become free agents earlier than those who play 4 years in college? Basically, why was Schultz allowed allowed to sign with a new team in June and why must Hayes wait until August?
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When a team drafts a College player (or a player who becomes a College player within two years of being drafted), they retain his draft rights until August 15, following his senior year.
If the player declares his intentions to leave college prior to his senior year, he no longer has a graduation date, so his draft rights expire on June 1, four years after the year he was drafted (or 30 days after declaring his intentions to leave college, whichever is later).
So, there are three possible scenarios:
- The player has already played at least one year of College hockey prior to being drafted (John Gilmour is an example of this). Gilmour played his freshman year in 2012-13 and was drafted in 2013. If he were to leave College prior to his senior year (2015-16), the Flames would retain his rights until June 1, 2017. If he plays his senior year, then the Flames will need to sign him prior to August 15, 2016, or they'll lose his rights.
- The player starts his freshman year the fall after he was drafted (Mark Jankowski is an example of this). Jankowski was drafted in 2012 and started his freshman year that same fall. If he were to leave College prior to his senior year (2015-16), the Flames would retain his rights until June 1, 2016. If he plays his senior year, then the Flames will need to sign him prior to August 15, 2016, or they'll lose his rights.
- The player is drafted one year but doesn't start his college career until a year later (Justin Schultz is an example of this). Schultz was drafted in 2008, but didn't start his freshman year until 2009. Had he played in his senior year, the Ducks would have held his rights until August 15, 2013. Instead, he declared that he was leaving college in late May, 2012. This invoked the 30 day out clause and the Ducks' draft rights expired in late June, 2012.