The NCAA has been in talks about implementing new eligibility rules that they believe will serve as a one-size-fits-all approach to help clear confusion and criticisms regarding player eligibility.

The proposed “five-in-five” rule would grant every college athlete five years to complete five full seasons of eligibility with redshirt seasons no longer being granted except for in rare circumstances. The clock for the five years of eligibility would begin when a player graduates from high school or their 19th birthday (whichever comes first).

This new potential eligibility format is seemingly acceptable for sports like football, basketball and baseball. However, other collegiate sports are ringing the warning bells on the major changes this rule package would cause for their respective sports. Among these sports is ice hockey.

The main problem with the “five-in-five” rules’ impact on college hockey is that the beginning of the eligibility clock simply does not fit within the hockey ecosystem.

While sports like football, basketball and baseball recruit athletes straight from high school athletics, hockey recruits the grand majority of it’s athletes from various junior hockey leagues, including the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), Western Hockey League (WHL), Quebec Maritime Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), United States Hockey League (USHL), British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL), Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) and the North American Hockey League (NAHL), among others.

While each of these leagues have their own slightly different rules regarding the age of its players, the norm of junior hockey is a player age range of 16-21.

With the 19th birthday/high school graduation rule, the NCAA is asking young hockey players to forego the two-to-three years of development and accomplishments from their junior careers in order to maintain eligibility.

This problem is amplified for players coming from Quebec, as students in the province graduate at the age of 17. They will have even fewer developmental years in the junior ranks if they want to join an NCAA squad.

Basically, due to major eligibility arguments and lawsuits that have become routine in college football and basketball, the NCAA is making new rules that will majorly disturb the hockey development ecosystem.

This new rules package would majorly impact the level of competition and skill level of the players in college hockey that fans have come to expect. Players will simply arrive on their respective campuses with less experience.

These changes will not only impact college hockey but both professional leagues and junior leagues as well.

Junior leagues will be majorly affected as players who wish to play college hockey in the NCAA will be forced to leave their team early.

American professional leagues, such as the NHL, AHL and ECHL, will be affected as the player development ladder will be disrupted. This could lead to players having less time to fully develop their game before making the jump to professional hockey.

If this new eligibility rules package is not adjusted to better fit the hockey world, the NCAA will be setting the precedent that they value the more traditional and profitable sports, like football and basketball, over hockey.

According to reporting by College Hockey News, the NCAA Commissioners Association is presenting a counter proposal that would have college hockey’s five-year eligibility clock begin at age 18 or 19 with a four-year eligibility option beginning at age 20. Basically, this counter proposal would have college hockey eligibility be based on age alone and will remove the high school graduation rule to better fit the hockey development ecosystem.

Organizations signing approval of this counter proposal include the NCAA Commissioners Association, the NHL, USA Hockey, CHL (junior league made up of the OHL, QMJHL and WHL), USHL and the College Hockey Coaches Association.

The NCAA has an opportunity to preserve the balance between junior hockey, college hockey and professional hockey. It can ensure that NCAA hockey continues to be a stepping stone by developing talented players after their junior and before their professional careers.

The NCAA’s Division I Cabinet is meeting on May 22 to make the final decisions regarding the new eligibility rules, including the counterproposal from college hockey.