Quote:
Originally Posted by getbak
It's an NCAA rule that players can't sign pro contracts and still be eligible to play in the NCAA.
The only way the NHL could "fix" it would be to make NCAA players ineligible for the Draft, or change the rule to be like the NFL and NBA where a college player must leave college and declare himself Draft-eligible. Doing that wouldn't really "fix" the problem that people are complaining about though.
You can complain about the Flames trading away Hickey and Fox because they thought there would be issues getting them signed, but if the Flames didn't have those players' rights to include in those trades, what else would the Flames have given up?
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A rule simply giving the drafting team that players rights for a year after they leave school regardless of the situation would be nice. We're seeing more and more guys opt to go free agency from college, it's going to be the next 'russian factor' in terms of making teams think twice about drafting these players.
Obviously I have no clue about the business side of things and wether or not the logistics of such a rule makes sense or is even possible, but seeing so many of these guys walk is frustrating.