Reverberations from the NCAA's rule change in November 2024 allowing CHL players to play U.S. college hockey still are being felt today.
The annual trade deadlines in the WHL, OHL and QMJHL this week produced even more blockbuster deals than usual.
With the statuses of players so unclear because of the possibility of moves to the NCAA, CHL teams with a shot to win in the current season have to feel an extra amount of pressure to go all in.
The NHL also wants to have one 19-year-old per team be eligible for the AHL starting next season as part of its new CBA, so the days of building up gradually to a strong team of 19-year-olds in the CHL just might be over.
On the flip side, some players made their way back to the CHL from the NCAA over the holiday break.
No matter how you feel about the rules, it's clearly a dramatically different landscape.
“The rule change makes every year extremely uncertain and dangerous to try and plan for the following year,” Kitchener Rangers general manager Mike McKenzie told Josh Brown of the Waterloo Region Record last month. “I think all GMs in our league, with the exception of those that are hosting the Memorial Cup or something unique, are going to have to go year by year now because you just don’t know who is coming back. That’s the bottom line unfortunately.”
Here's a look at the landscape of each CHL league with the trade deadlines either in the rear-view mirror or about to pass.
OHL
The Western Conference has turned into a four-teams arms race — and it doesn't involve the team accustomed to being a perennial contender.
The two-time reigning OHL champion and 2025 Memorial Cup champion London Knights were sellers this week despite a very respectable 22-14-0-3 record. With the depth and strength of their conference this season, the Hunter brothers will be well-positioned next year to make another title run.
The Knights sold off Canadian junior standout forward Sam O'Reilly (Tampa Bay Lightning prospect) and minute-munching defenceman Jared Woolley (Los Angeles Kings) to the rival Rangers on Wednesday for a whopping 11 draft picks and two younger players.
The Rangers, still smarting from being runner-up to the Guelph Storm in their bid to host next year's Memorial Cup, decided they're better off loading up this year rather than waiting for what they originally thought might be their better title window next season. Kitchener now has 12 NHL draft picks on its roster. The Rangers also scooped up forward Gabriel Chiarot (Vancouver Canucks) from the Brampton Steelheads and got back defenceman Matthew Andonovski from the Ottawa Senators' AHL affiliate.
But the Rangers still face a daunting path in their conference. The Soo Greyhounds landed two-time Canadian junior goaltender Carter George (Kings) from the Owen Sound Attack, the Windsor Spitfires got two-time Czechia junior defenceman Jakub Fibigr (Seattle Kraken) from the seller Steelheads and fellow Kraken prospect and centre Nathan Villeneuve from the Sudbury Wolves, while the Flint Firebirds acquired a pair of dangerous forwards — Jacob Battaglia (Calgary Flames) from the Kingston Frontenacs and Kevin He (Winnipeg Jets) from the Niagara IceDogs.
These West teams are all loading up despite the presence of arguably one of the most talented squads in recent OHL history in the East. The Brantford Bulldogs only got better in recent weeks and months, too, acquiring Canadian junior defenceman Ben Danford (Toronto Maple Leafs) from the Oshawa Generals, two-time Canadian junior forward Jett Luchanko (Philadelphia Flyers) and linemate Charlie Paquette (Dallas Stars) from the Storm and Erie Otters captain Gabriel Frasca.
The Bulldogs may be the best team on paper, but they still trail the surprising Ottawa 67's in the race for top spot in the East. Ottawa added Saginaw Spirit overage forward Nic Sima in a deal this week.
The Barrie Colts, featuring Canadian junior teammates Kashawn Aitcheson (New York Islanders) and Cole Beaudoin (Utah Mammoth), lead the other division in the Eastern Conference. They too bolstered their roster this week, getting defenceman Parker Von Richter and forward Mason Zebeski from the Steelheads.
WHL
While the OHL might have had the biggest shakeup, the WHL also had more than its fair share of mega-moves.
The two most interesting teams might have been the Vancouver Giants and Seattle Thunderbirds, both of whom are near the bottom of the standings.
Seattle acquired WHL second-leading scorer Cameron Schmidt (Dallas Stars) from the Giants, but shipped out Canadian junior forward Braeden Cootes (Vancouver Canucks first-rounder) to the Prince Albert Raiders. The thinking there likely is Schmidt is a better bet to return next season while Cootes will get every opportunity to crack the Canucks next season after getting a cup of coffee in Vancouver to start this season.
Meanwhile, the Giants acquired 2026 first-round forward prospect Mathis Preston from the Spokane Chiefs along with draft-eligible forward Joe Iginla (Jarome's son) from the Edmonton Oil Kings to pair with draft-eligible defenceman Ryan Lin. The Giants also likely have next year more on their mind after this season didn't go as planned.
As for contenders, Prince Albert clearly is all in with Cootes and silver medal-winning Czechia goaltender Michal Orsulak.
The Raiders are one point behind the red-hot Medicine Hat Tigers in the Eastern Conference. Despite losing Gavin McKenna to the NCAA after their run to the Memorial Cup final last season, the Tigers remain a force. They're led by offensively gifted defenceman Bryce Pickford, recently signed by the Montreal Canadiens.
The Oil Kings also sit one point back of Medicine Hat. They got defenceman Austin Zemlak back from Arizona State last month following a trade with Tri-City.
The Western Conference is even more unique. The Memorial Cup host Kelowna Rockets are just eighth in the standings, but added world juniors MVP Vojtech Cihar of Czechia over the holidays. Rockets star Tij Iginla had an excellent world juniors for Canada and Kelowna added Giants star forward Ty Halaburda and Oil Kings defenceman Parker Alcos (Canucks) at the deadline.
The Everett Silvertips, led by top 2027 NHL Draft prospect Landon DuPont, are the runaway leaders of the Western Conference, but they have competition. The third-place Prince George Cougars feature Canadian junior defenceman and draft-eligible Carson Carels and top goaltender Joshua Ravensbergen, while the expansion Penticton Vees have vaulted into second with a 9-1 run.
The fourth-place Kelowna Rockets also have a ton of talent, and got a big piece back this week when defenceman Harrison Brunicke was returned from the Pittsburgh Penguins after playing with Canada at the world juniors.
QMJHL
The QMJHL just doesn't have the same number of NHL prospects as the other two leagues, but the easternmost circuit still has several strong Memorial Cup contenders.
The front-running Chicoutimi Sagueneens were busiest leading up to the deadline, landing goaltender Lucas Beckman (Ottawa Senators) and defenceman Alexis Bernier (Kraken) from the Baie-Comeau Drakkar and defenceman Tomas Lavoie (Mammoth) from the Cape Breton Eagles.
The defending champion Moncton Wildcats, who had the only QMJHL player on the Canadian junior team (Caleb Desnoyers, Mammoth), are tied with the Sags. Over the holidays, forward Gavin Cornforth left Boston College to join the New Brunswick powerhouse.
The Blainville-Boisbriand Armada might have the best collection of high-end talent in the league, but they have been hurt by injuries and are in a four-way race for top spot in the Western Conference. The Armada got Rimouski Oceanic star goaltender William Lacelle and Gatineau Olympiques defenceman Jan Golicic (Tampa Bay Lightning) before the deadline.
In the middle of the pack, the Charlottetown Islanders got a big boost when the Carolina Hurricanes assigned second-round pick Ivan Ryabkin, a centre, to the QMJHL team from the AHL.
