The gap between college hockey and the National Hockey League (NHL) is becoming harder to see as the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) begins to develop players in an environment that looks similar to the NHL.
Several new NCAA men’s hockey rule changes for the 2026-27 season would align the college game more closely to the NHL. With adjustments to offsides, goalie puck handling, faceoffs and coach challenges — how far will the NCAA go in implementing NHL-style rules?
Twenty-one new rules were added this year alone, with some already in effect and others coming next season. At the same time, the pipeline between the NCAA and the NHL continues to grow. In the 2024-25 season, 33% of all active NHL players played Division 1 hockey in the NCAA.
If the NCAA is becoming an important part of the NHL’s player development system — it makes sense that the two games would begin to look more alike.
One of the clearest examples this season is the trapezoid rule.
The trapezoid rule only affects goaltenders. Before, in the NCAA, goaltenders were able to play the puck from any area on the ice. Under the new rule, the goaltender is only able to play the puck in the area behind the goal line, called the trapezoid. If they play outside the trapezoid, it will result in a two-minute minor penalty for delay of game.
Goaltenders now have to be more deliberate about when they choose to play the puck. Rather than immediately making a pass, they may have to wait a second or two for the puck to enter the trapezoid before passing it to a teammate.
The NHL implemented the trapezoid rule following the lockout in 2004-05, which came after two years of unsuccessful negotiations between the NHL and its players’ union, the NHLPA. The league was pushing for a hard salary cap to have more control over the team costs.
So why is the NCAA choosing to do it now?
The rule was first introduced in the NHL to try and stop puck-handling goaltenders, most notably New Jersey Devils Goalie Martin Brodeur, who would act like a third defenseman. It allows attacking teams to establish a forecheck and speeds up the game.
The argument can be made that Division 1 hockey is designed around player development. Traditionally, allowing goaltenders to play the puck anywhere behind the goal line was viewed as a way to help young players develop their skating and stick-handling skills. Goaltenders rarely possessed the same level of puckhandling as Brodeur, so the rule wasn’t seen as an urgent necessity.
As the NCAA continued to produce players capable of making immediate impact in the NHL, the divide between the two levels became harder to justify. Players like Gavin McKenna, Ryan Leonard and Lane Hutson have shown that college hockey can develop talent ready for the professional level, making NHL-style rules a natural next step for the NCAA.
Unlike other professional sports, the path to the NHL is not linear. Players can also join the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), which represents three major junior ice hockey leagues in Canada and the U.S. with the Western Hockey League (WHL), Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and Quebec Maritime Junior Hockey League (QMJHL).
In the U.S., the two main routes are through the United States Hockey League (USHL) and the NCAA. Other top junior leagues include the North American Hockey League (NAHL), British Colombia Hockey League (BCHL) and the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL).
The disconnect came between the CHL and the NCAA. Before 2026, CHL players were unable to join the NCAA. If players were not ready to go to the NHL, they only had one choice: to stay in juniors.
Now, CHL players have the ability to play NCAA hockey, allowing American colleges to recruit from one of the largest suppliers of NHL talent. Most notably, Gavin McKenna went from the Medicine Hat Tigers to the Penn State Nittany Lions before getting drafted first overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Outside of the NCAA, junior leagues have adapted their schedules to have heavier game loads and harder travel schedules to prepare for the NHL.
Although we are seeing a trend of transitioning to NHL rules, one problem is that there is not one major governing body of the junior leagues, meaning the rulebooks for each league can be different. The QMJHL is one of the outliers.
In 2023, the QMJHL officially banned fighting. If a player engages in fighting, they will be automatically ejected from the game. Similarly, the NCAA also has zero tolerance for fighting.
Fighting has become such a staple in hockey’s identity. So much so that the phrase “I went to a fight the other night, and a hockey game broke out,” became popular. It was common to see entire bench brawls in games in the 1970s and 80s.
The AHL and the ECHL still allow fighting, allowing young enforcers to still get enough training in before they head to the pros and end up eventually fighting Matt Rempe.
Nonetheless, hockey is one of the most violent sports there is.
The NCAA isn’t trying to recreate the NHL. College hockey has its own identity, traditions and style of play.
Still, when they are constantly adding rules that move in the same direction as the NHL, it becomes harder to ignore the shift. The NCAA may never completely adopt the NHL rulebook. But if their goal is to prepare their athletes for the pros, why would the two games continue to move closer together?
It becomes a game of how close the NCAA can be, while still maintaining their own identity.
Staff Writer
