2025-26 NHL discussion thread

[DON]

What Gavin McKenna’s commitment means for the NCAA, CHL, Penn State, NIL and more - The Athletic

 

"... Not that long ago, top NHL prospects were telling me they were getting branded sweaters and free meals at local restaurants as their NIL packages. McKenna’s package, all in all, is rumored to be upwards of $700,000 USD — or in and around a million CAD. (I haven’t been able to verify that number with people connected to McKenna, but it’s the biggest package ever given to a college hockey player.)

[Helmethead]

27 minutes ago, DON said:

What Gavin McKenna’s commitment means for the NCAA, CHL, Penn State, NIL and more - The Athletic

 

"... Not that long ago, top NHL prospects were telling me they were getting branded sweaters and free meals at local restaurants as their NIL packages. McKenna’s package, all in all, is rumored to be upwards of $700,000 USD — or in and around a million CAD. (I haven’t been able to verify that number with people connected to McKenna, but it’s the biggest package ever given to a college hockey player.)

The CHL can’t compete with NCAA money. 
 

Consider it dead. 

[dlbalr]

4 minutes ago, Helmethead said:

The CHL can’t compete with NCAA money. 
 

Consider it dead. 

 

Not necessarily dead but it might become the feeder league to the NCAA.  Go play there until you're out of high school and then see what's out there.  And there will still be those who prefer to play the 'closer-to-pro' schedule to prepare for the NHL.  But with there being rumblings that some 19-year-old CHL players could play in the AHL in the new CBA, the CHL is going to become more of a league for 16 to 18-year-olds rather than 16 to 20.

[Helmethead]

22 minutes ago, dlbalr said:

 

Not necessarily dead but it might become the feeder league to the NCAA.  Go play there until you're out of high school and then see what's out there.  And there will still be those who prefer to play the 'closer-to-pro' schedule to prepare for the NHL.  But with there being rumblings that some 19-year-old CHL players could play in the AHL in the new CBA, the CHL is going to become more of a league for 16 to 18-year-olds rather than 16 to 20.

Bingo. 
 

Gone are the days of the top 18yr olds playing in Canada. 
 

Free education and six figure payouts will lead them all south of the border. 

[Commandant]

CHL may not compete with 700k but not everyone is Gavin McKenna either.

 

Maybe the CHL should find a way to pay some of their players though.

[DON]

 

What Gavin McKenna’s commitment means for the NCAA, CHL, Penn State, NIL and more - The Athletic

 

"... That’s true in both the NCAA and CHL, where the developments of the last year are only positive for what they mean for the pockets of the players and the amenities and paths they’ll have available to them on either side of the border.

There’s fear within the CHL and the NCAA that the rich will get richer and smaller markets and schools will have an even tougher time competing with the likes of London in the CHL and the powerhouses in the Big Ten or Hockey East than they already do, but smart hockey and business minds will find niches and avenues forward.

[GHT120]

The "Gavin Games" in full force?

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

2 hours ago, GHT120 said:

The "Gavin Games" in full force?

 

If only Pittsburgh had some C to trade 🤔

[Prime Minister Koivu]

10 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

 

If only Pittsburgh had some C to trade 🤔

 

[Plutarch]

On 7/9/2025 at 7:51 PM, dlbalr said:

 

Not necessarily dead but it might become the feeder league to the NCAA.  Go play there until you're out of high school and then see what's out there.  And there will still be those who prefer to play the 'closer-to-pro' schedule to prepare for the NHL.  But with there being rumblings that some 19-year-old CHL players could play in the AHL in the new CBA, the CHL is going to become more of a league for 16 to 18-year-olds rather than 16 to 20.

I'm curious to see how people view goalie development. Playing more games and facing more shots in the CHL may be a better option for many goalies.

[DON]

1 hour ago, Plutarch said:

I'm curious to see how people view goalie development. Playing more games and facing more shots in the CHL may be a better option for many goalies.

What is track record of CHL vs NCAA goalies upon graduating to pros?

Seems most of best goalies are European, arnt they? Who do play more games/season than NCAA also.

 

[tomh009]

49 minutes ago, DON said:

What is track record of CHL vs NCAA goalies upon graduating to pros?

Seems most of best goalies are European, arnt they? Who do play more games/season than NCAA also.

OK, so I started with a list of the NHL starters (30 goalies who played at least 41 games) and narrowed it to the younger ones (more recent picks); I used 28 as the cutoff, which gave me 17 goalies.

 

Five Canadians, five Americans and seven Europeans (two Czechs, two Russians, two Swedes and one Finn)

 

Six from CHL (1 OHL, 1 QMJHL and 4 WHL), four from NCAA, three from Liiga, two from SHL and one each from ExtraLiga and KHL. Four out of five US goalies chose the NCAA route, in Europe Liiga was a popular option for young goalies.

 

List, sorted by games played:

 

Rank	Country	Name	League	Team	Age	Games	GAA	SPCT
3	CA	Samuel Montembeault	QMJHL	MTL	28	62	2.82	0.901
6	SE	Filip Gustavsson	SHL	MIN	26	58	2.56	0.914
7	US	Jake Oettinger	NCAA	DAL	26	58	2.59	0.909
8	US	Jeremy Swayman	NCAA	BOS	26	58	3.12	0.892
9	CZ	Karel Vejmelka	ExtraLiga	UTA	28	58	2.58	0.904
11	US	Joey Daccord	NCAA	SEA	28	57	2.75	0.906
13	CA	Mackenzie Blackwood	OHL	COL	28	56	2.55	0.912
14	FI	Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen	Liiga	BUF	25	55	3.2	0.887
16	CZ	Lukas Dostal	Liiga	ANA	24	54	3.1	0.903
17	US	Dustin Wolf	WHL	CGY	23	53	2.64	0.91
20	CA	Stuart Skinner	WHL	EDM	26	51	2.81	0.896
22	CA	Adin Hill	WHL	VGK	28	50	2.47	0.906
24	RU	Alexandar Georgiev	Liiga	SJS	28	49	3.71	0.875
25	RU	Pyotr Kochetkov	KHL	CAR	25	47	2.6	0.897
27	SE	Samuel Ersson	SHL	PHI	25	47	3.14	0.883
29	CA	Logan Thompson	WHL	WSH	27	43	2.48	0.91
30	US	Joseph Woll	NCAA	TOR	26	42	2.73	0.909

[DON]

Quite a grouping of XXXL teenager d-men at start of 2nd round.

All small compared to that 7-footer than just joined the OHL i suppose.

[GHT120]

I have heard/read it said that Crosby won't leave Pittsburgh until Malkin does ... wonder what Dufus could expect to get if the two of them asked to be traded to the same team?

[Commandant]

4 hours ago, GHT120 said:

I have heard/read it said that Crosby won't leave Pittsburgh until Malkin does ... wonder what Dufus could expect to get if the two of them asked to be traded to the same team?

 

Finding a team that is 

 

1) a contender short term with those two adds

2) has the cap space to fit them both.

3) has the assets to trade for them.

 

Is going to make this extremely difficult 

[GHT120]

1 hour ago, Commandant said:

Finding a team that is 

 

1) a contender short term with those two adds

2) has the cap space to fit them both.

3) has the assets to trade for them.

 

Is going to make this extremely difficult 

Bundled, and only teams both would accept likely strips Dufus of any real bargaining power ... but if they ask I expect Dufus would gladly McTank for McKenna

[Commandant]

9 minutes ago, GHT120 said:

Bundled, and only teams both would accept likely strips Dufus of any real bargaining power ... but if they ask I expect Dufus would gladly McTank for McKenna

 

I think he'd love to tank. 

 

I just don't know a team with cap space to take both and is a contender.

[JoeLassister]

15 hours ago, Commandant said:

 

I think he'd love to tank. 

 

I just don't know a team with cap space to take both and is a contender.

If we move Gallagher, Matheson, Anderson and Carey... 😅

[GHT120]

26 minutes ago, JoeLassister said:

If we move Gallagher, Matheson, Anderson and Carey... 😅

Price, Gallagher and Anderson would do the trick for cap purposes ... but Gallagher and Anderson would not help with the tank ... but Laine would work both for the cap and the tank.

[tomh009]

3 hours ago, GHT120 said:

Price, Gallagher and Anderson would do the trick for cap purposes ... but Gallagher and Anderson would not help with the tank ... but Laine would work both for the cap and the tank.

Yeah. Power play goals don't win games.

 

/s

[GHT120]

3 hours ago, tomh009 said:

Yeah. Power play goals don't win games.

 

/s

he scored 15 PPG and was -14 ... he is a wash 

[Commandant]

How many of those -14 were when he was on the ice at the end of a game in a 6 on 5 situation and they are empty netters for the other team, cause those are not "a wash" with goals scored on the PP. 

 

A goal in the last 2 or 3 minutes that is an empty netter and changes the opponents lead from 1 to 2 or 2 to 3, has little effect on the standings as it was a hail mary to try and tie the game anyway, but it counts in that minus column the same as a goal when its tied in the first. 

 

Which is why +/- is shit and can be especially misleading on guys like Hutson, Caufield and yes, Laine, who are used in the 6 on 5 situations a lot. 

[Commandant]

this also doesn't get into the fact the PPGs are only the ones he scores and not what he contributes to by being on the ice and being a threat and someone else scores with more time and space. 

 

the minuses are every one when he is on the ice, regardless if it was his mistake or someone elses leading to a goal against. 

[Commandant]

I'd obviously trade him as part of a Crosby package but don't think he's a wash. 

[tomh009]

1 hour ago, Commandant said:

this also doesn't get into the fact the PPGs are only the ones he scores and not what he contributes to by being on the ice and being a threat and someone else scores with more time and space. 

 

the minuses are every one when he is on the ice, regardless if it was his mistake or someone elses leading to a goal against. 

naturalstattrick has more detailed on-ice data (Laine, 2024-25 regular season):

• Even strength: 23 GF, 34 GA
  • Leading: 3 GF, 5 GA
  • Tied: 8 GF, 11 GA
  • Trailing: 12 GF, 18 GA
• With empty net: 3 GF, 7 GA
• Power play: 24 GF, 3 GA
• Penalty kill: 0 GF, 0 GA (and almost zero minutes_

This isn't even really advanced stats, just more detail on the scoring, but it helps us understand why the numbers are what they are.