THE VAULT: NAHL PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

The hockey world thought that North American Hockey League’s expansion would result in a dramatic drop off in level of play, but the truth is, that did not really happen.

Even the attempt to steal a bit of the NAHL’s success with the United States Premier Hockey League’s creation of the National Collegiate Development Conference did little to impact the NAHL’s brand. Now the British Columbia Hockey League continues to make bold moves.

I spent a few hours talking with a current NHL scout yesterday, and although we did not see eye to eye on every subject, we did find common ground in relation to the ever expanding NAHL.

Expansion is good because it give more players the opportunity to play for free. Anytime a business owner wants to provide free on the job training, and there are plenty of candidates to fill every slot, then I don’t care if the NAHL grows to 100+ teams.

Is the product watered down? Slightly. Does the situation reduce the overall number of college spots the NAHL will be able to claim for the league? I don’t think so.

The NAHL has something in their collective back pockets that could ultimately push the league to a competitive level even higher than that of the United States Hockey League. What is that? They could give USA Hockey the ultimate ultimatum, eliminate the import restriction or the league seeks another insurance provider.

The NAHL is big enough to call their own shots. Referees are referees. USA Hockey is not going to be able to tell the officials that they are not allowed to call NAHL games. They can’t tell guys they can’t work USPHL or even professional leagues’ games.

Funny how one certain rule can change everything. The NAHL’s hard line on eliminating the import restriction could find support from some very strange corners of the junior council: the very same folks that have been crying about NAHL expansion would be the ones that support the rule change. Why? Because the change would result in a much larger pool of potential customers.

With the high likelihood of major junior players becoming NCAA eligible and the possibility of competition from the west coast, the time is now for the NAHL.