Quote:
Originally Posted by Sylvanfan
The big difference is that a Junior guy potentially leaves himself in a position where he really has nowhere to play for a year, maybe 2 depending on if he's drafted as a 2nd or 3rd year Junior player. They'd have to sign a ECHL or find an unaffiliated pro team to sign a deal with, or go play in Europe for a year or two. The NCAA guys finish out their college career and can turn pro.
For me if the players couldn't sign with a NHL team until the season after leaving school, than the Fox's of the world might need to sign with the team that drafted them.
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Further to your point, a junior player can easily be enticed to sign a contract sooner, get a nice signing bonus, and then be assigned back to junior. No risk for them and their living situation stays the same. A university player has to go pro as soon as they sign. There is a chance they were drafted by a junior team and could play there if they aren't NHL ready, but not a guarantee. Plus, if there are already going the university route, they obviously didn't want to play in junior.
Most of the time the "loophole" applies to late bloomers that already invested a lot of time in school and are close enough to free agency that it's worth the wait. With these types, the NHL team has to decide whether to let them develop or sign them sooner, burn a year, and potentially derail their progress.
I am curious though... Why is it junior players have to re-enter the draft but not university players? I am sure there is a good reason, but nothing is jumping out at me.