Quote:
Originally Posted by codynw
Okay, but a CHL player can sign immediately if they want to. An NCAA player can't until after they finish (or leave) school. Plus, a CHL player goes back into the draft instead of becoming an UFA.
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You're acting like the last time teams are allowed to talk to their college draft picks is when they hand them the hat and jersey on draft day (which is the only thing the NCAA allows the player to keep from the NHL team as long as the player remains NCAA eligible). College players participate in prospects camps. College players can be offered contracts at any time, and they're free to sign them (as we saw with Jooris). The only condition is that once they sign an NHL contract, they lose NCAA eligibility.
NHL teams can discuss the player's options with the player, his family, and his "advisor". They can tell the player where he fits in the team's plans and they can offer a contract (in 2013, Feaster basically told Gaudreau that there was an NHL contract waiting whenever he wanted to sign it), or they can tell the player they think he needs another year in college (which is apparently what Burke told Gillies last year). Some teams have even convinced players to drop out of college and move to junior to continue their careers.
On one hand, teams take a risk in drafting a college player because they can't get him signed to a contract while he's still playing in college, which opens the door for the player to make this move. On the other hand, the NCAA player also assumes the risk of not progressing as expected (or getting injured) and not being offered a contract when he graduates (which happens a lot more than players choosing to not sign with the team that drafted them).