Overheard at the NHLPA rookie showcase: NCAA, NHL rule change reactions, Schaefer ready for Islanders

ARLINGTON, Va. — Attending the NHLPA rookie showcase puts into sharp relief how truly young these prospects are, especially within the context of hockey history.

Like when you hear Montreal Canadiens prospect David Reinbacher talk about modeling his game after Brock Faber, the Minnesota Wild defenseman who was runner-up for NHL rookie of the year in 2024. Or when Matthew Schaefer, the first overall pick in this year’s draft by the New York Islanders, talks about his coach Patrick Roy’s playing career like … well, like someone born four years (September 2007) after the Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender played his last game, in April 2003.

“Yeah, I mean, I heard he loves to win,” Schaefer said of Roy, who won four Stanley Cups, three playoff MVP awards and 551 games, which is third all time. “I heard he was really good back in the day. Everyone loves talking about him.”

Indeed.

Schaefer recalled going to the offices of Upper Deck, the collectible company that co-hosted the rookie showcase this week, and seeing glimpses of his new coach’s former life as a generational goaltender.

“There was just stuff of him all over. Seeing all the things. Seeing his goalie pads. That’s what really stuck out to me,” he said.

Roy is entering his third season coaching the Islanders and sixth season overall as an NHL coach. Schaefer said he has enjoyed their conversations in the offseason but is ready to see the training camp side of his new coach. “I think he’ll be on the ice doing a lot of drills and pushing us. So, I can’t wait to get pushed,” he said.

Schaefer was selected by the Islanders first overall after 73 games with the OHL Erie Otters over the past two seasons, where he proved to be an elite puck rusher and passer. He signed his NHL entry-level deal in August.

The Islanders haven’t been shy about marketing around Schaefer, including a ticket sales deal that incorporated his No. 48. But he isn’t taking anything for granted, whether it’s making the roster or playing down the lineup in his rookie season.

“You don’t just get stuff given to you, right? You’ve got to earn it. You’ve got to earn your spot. I still have to get my spot on the team and that’s what I’m going into camp to do,” he said.

If he makes the cut, Schaefer would easily be the youngest player on an Islanders roster that features over a dozen players over the age of 30. But Schaefer is comfortable with that age disparity. He has a brother who’s nine years older than him, which he said helps with the communication. But he also won’t hesitate to seek his older teammates’ guidance.

“I think it’s good for me to have an older group where they can help me along the way,” he said. “A lot of guys have been in the league for so long where any sort of advice they give me, I’m going to take it right away.”

That said, he knows there are some expectations for a player his age from his older teammates.

“Maybe I have to babysit [their kids] or something,” he said with a laugh. “I mean, I wouldn’t mind it.”

NCAA eligibility rules a ‘game changer’

Karsen Dorwart admits he’s a little jealous.

The Philadelphia Flyers prospect was signed as an NCAA free agent after playing three years at Michigan State. He grew up in Oregon, and was a huge fan of the Western Hockey League’s Portland Winterhawks.

“I always wanted to play in Portland. Growing up, watching those guys. It was just kind of decided it wasn’t the right path for me,” he said. “But if I was able to do both, I’m sure I would’ve.”

For decades, that opportunity wasn’t available to young players like Dorwart. The NCAA deemed anyone who played in the Canadian Hockey League ineligible for college hockey, because those junior leagues have players who have signed professional contracts with NHL teams, and because CHL players earned a monthly stipend.

That all changed last November when the NCAA Division I council voted to make CHL players eligible for NCAA Division I hockey starting this season. The council ruled players can compete in the CHL — comprising the WHL, Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League — without jeopardizing their NCAA Division I hockey eligibility, provided they aren’t “paid more than actual and necessary expenses as part of that participation.”

Players like Dorwart no longer had the binary choice of Canadian junior hockey or NCAA hockey. That has already led to one landscape-shifting moment in college hockey as Gavin McKenna — the consensus choice for first overall pick in the 2026 NHL draft — left the WHL Medicine Hat Tigers after three seasons to sign with Penn State University on an NIL deal “in the ballpark” of $700,000, a source told ESPN.

“A guy like Gavin McKenna making that jump to go play college is a big step,” said Minnesota Wild defenseman Zeev Buium, who played at the University of Denver. “I think everyone gets better. You’re getting guys from everywhere and you can get anybody you want now. I just think it makes all of college hockey better.”

Toronto Maple Leafs defensive prospect Ben Danford said the NCAA’s eligibility ruling “changed the game for sure” for both college hockey and the CHL, where he played for the Oshawa Generals. “We’ll have to see what happens. I feel like maybe the OHL is going to become a bit younger,” he said.

Overall, the NHL prospects were most intrigued by the migration of players from Canadian juniors to the NCAA.

“I think NCAA is a hard league. It’s a physical league. So I’m really excited to see how those guys can adapt to it,” said St. Louis Blues forward Jimmy Snuggerud, who attended the University of Minnesota.

Dorwart thinks the eligibility rule change is great for NCAA hockey — even if for him it might have meant more time as a Winterhawk in Portland than as a Spartan at Michigan State.

“You’re getting all the best players in college now. I’ve got to meet some of the new CHL guys at Michigan State, and they’re super pumped and it’s just going to be great for everyone’s development,” he said. “But it’s something I’m jealous of. I think it would’ve been fun to play in my hometown growing up.”

The AHL ’19-year-old’ rule

Another significant change to player development is on the horizon — if the NHL and CHL can agree to it.

In the new NHL and NHLPA collective bargaining agreement, there is a provision for teams to loan one 19-year-old player to their AHL farm team without the requirement of offering that player back to their Canadian junior team first.

The current rules state that a player drafted from the CHL must be at least 20 years old or have played at least four full seasons in the CHL to be eligible for the AHL.

The new CBA kicks in next September. While other rule changes were fast-tracked for this season, the earliest the “19-year-old” rule would be implemented is the 2026-27 season, according to an NHL source. Again, that’s pending the NHL and CHL agreeing to amend the “mandatory return rule” for players.

“Honestly, I’ve been really curious about that rule,” said Berkly Catton, a 19-year-old center prospect for the Seattle Kraken who played for the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs. “Honestly, as of right now, all I can really do is go to camp, have a good camp and kind of force their hand. But that AHL rule would be really cool.”

Zayne Parekh of the Calgary Flames is happy that the AHL rule hasn’t been fast-tracked for this season.

Parekh, 19, is considered the Flames’ top prospect, and one of the better offensive defensemen on the rise in the NHL. He made his NHL debut at the end of last season, scoring a goal in his only game. The way he sees it, having the “mandatory return rule” puts a pressure point on Calgary to add him to this season’s roster.

“I think it’s nice not having it because they’re really going to give me a good look to make the NHL team,” he said. “Maybe it benefits me, maybe it doesn’t, but it all depends on my camp. The opportunity is there. It’s just about taking advantage of it.”

Parekh is exactly the kind of prospect the NHL is considering when seeking to change the “mandatory return rule.” He had 107 points in 61 games for the Saginaw Spirit last season, posting back-to-back 33-goal campaigns. Even if the Flames believe he’s not ready for a regular role in the NHL, having him dominate another season in juniors wouldn’t benefit him as much as playing against professional talent in the AHL.

“Sometimes you’ve done what you’re supposed to do in junior. That kind of middle ground could be nice if you need to develop a little bit more,” Catton said.

The Seattle prospect was reminded of the significant leap in competition when he attended Kraken training camp last season, which was one reason he focused on strength training in the offseason.

“These guys are men. It’s not a 16-year-old kid going into a puck battle. It’s a guy with kids and stuff, but you got to come out with the puck somehow,” Catton said.

NHL fit check

Every year, the NHLPA rookie showcase offers a first glimpse at NHL uniform redesigns for the upcoming season.

Snuggerud wore the new St. Louis Blues uniform, which brings back the original color scheme from their 1967 sweaters.

“They’re very blue,” Snuggerud said.

(Well, they are the Blues.)

Meanwhile, Tij Iginla was decked out in the rechristened Utah Mammoth‘s new home uniform sporting their official team colors: Rock Black, Mountain Blue and Salt White. Iginla said he’s fond of the former Utah Hockey Club’s new logo, which combines a local mountain range, a mammoth head and U-shaped tusks.

“I really like it. I think it’s a super kind of fierce logo. One of the coolest ones in the league,” said Iginla, who was drafted sixth overall in 2024. “So super, super cool to be wearing it for the first time.”

Iginla followed the branding drama for his team over the past year, including when everyone around the NHL believed the team would be called the Utah Yeti.

“I thought Yeti would’ve been cool, but I like them both. I don’t think they could have went wrong,” he said. “I’m happy with the Mammoth.”

Designer Duck

Beckett Sennecke, 19, was drafted third overall by the Anaheim Ducks in 2024. The winger played last season for the OHL’s Oshawa Generals, tallying 86 points in 56 games.

He’s on track to become an NHL player. Perhaps then he’ll be the one who gets recognized at the airport instead of his mother.

Sennecke is the son of Candice Olson. In 1994, after playing for the Canadian national volleyball team, Olson began her own interior design firm in Toronto. Seven years later, she joined the booming home improvement television movement with her show “Divine Design,” which aired on the W Network in Canada and HGTV in the U.S. She would go on to host other shows and serve as a judge on HGTV’s reality competition show “Design Star” through 2011.

“She had a TV show back in the day called ‘Candice Tells All’ or something. She went in and redid the interior of houses and then made a TV show about it. I guess it was pretty popular back in the day,” Sennecke said.

Her fame as an HGTV star predated Sennecke’s formative years. Hence, his friends weren’t really cognizant that he had a celebrity mom.

“No, it was an older show. It was more like people at the airport coming up to her and are like, ‘Oh, it’s Candice!’ She gets that probably once or twice a year now,” he said.

Sennecke said he couldn’t help but have an aesthetically pleasing house while growing up: His father is an architect.

“It’s like a double whammy. If I don’t have a nice house … I don’t know,” he said. “But yeah, they did a good job for sure.”

So along with the pressure of making the NHL one day, there’s the added pressure of eventually buying his first house as the son of an architect and a former “Design Star” judge.

“I’m sure my mom will be all over the interior and stuff,” he said. “Especially the lighting. That’s her biggest thing. Whenever there’s bad lightning, she’s always disgusted with it.”