2 Months In, Top Major Junior-to-NCAA Transfers Are Thriving
by Jashvina Shah/Staff Writer (@icehockeystick)
Even less than two months into the season, former Canadian Hockey League (CHL) players are impacting their teams, and college hockey across the country. These players are from all three leagues within the CHL; the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), the Western Hockey League (WHL), which drafts players as young as 14, and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. (QMJHL)
A number of high-end players jumped to the NCAA, including last year’s 6th, 10th and 18th overall picks — Porter Martone (Michigan State), Roger McQueen (Providence) and Cole Reschny (North Dakota). And, of course, 17-year-old Gavin McKenna, hailed by some as a “generational talent,” who landed at Penn State.
“With a lot of the top end guys leaving from the [WHL], coming here, it drove, I think, a lot of guys also to be like, ‘All right, maybe we should all leave there,’” McQueen said. “It was moreso about just getting more pro ready. I think it’s obviously a heavier League, and just closer to that next step.”
While McQueen did not record a point in his first two games, he has 11 points in 11 games since then. Michigan State’s Martone is tied for the national lead among freshmen with McKenna; they both have 18 points. Martone’s 10 goals rank second among rookies to Maine’s Justin Poirier, who has 11.
“I just felt like coming to North Dakota and playing here, and the ability to train here every day, practice and play for school, was best for me, and it’s been a great transition so far,” Reschny said. “I’m very happy I made that decision.”
Both Reschny and McQueen averaged over a point per game in the WHL and were on Canada’s U-18 World Junior championship roster. Porter, a captain in the OHL, averaged almost two points per game and played for Canada in the World Junior tournament.
McKenna, at 16 and 17 years old in the WHL, had 41 goals and 129 points through 56 games in the WHL. Projected to be a high, if not first overall, pick in next year’s NHL Entry Draft, McKenna brought high expectations. That impact has not been seen yet. While McKenna is, at 17 years old, a leading scorer among freshmen, he is third in scoring on his own team and has just four goals.
But that is to be expected.
The CHL and college hockey, after all, are different leagues.
“The thing I’ve noticed with with the difference of hockey is [it’s] a lot bigger guys,” Reschny said. “That extra split second of time and space is gone. It’s very structured, so it’s tougher to create things, but I think it’s good. You got to find a way to create great offense and play against these bigger guys. And I believe that’s going to get me ready for the next level, which is trying to play in the NHL.”
(In McKenna’s case, age plays a factor as well. The closest comparison would be to Boston University’s Macklin Celebrini, who also played college hockey at 17 in 2023-24. Through this point in the year when Celebrini was a freshman, he had 9 goals and 22 points.)
There is, for players who make the jump to college hockey from any other league, an adjustment — to the style of play, the age and physicality of the players, the game and practice schedules, and off-ice life.
“Academically, I haven’t been in school for like, two years, so that was probably the biggest jump by far, actually over hockey, in any sense,” McQueen said. “I love the aspect of coming back to school and being able to meet new people, and not being in a shell of not being able to see anyone other than hockey guys. I like how you can make friends with some non-sports people here.”
It’s the same concept as players coming from the USHL or Junior A, and in some cases the NTDP. Some players will start slowly, some will start well, some will return, and most will take at least a semester to adjust.
“The systems are way better and it’s just more pro and less space,” McQueen said. “There’s not a whole lot of room for mistakes, and I also have to make those decisions way quicker than I had to before.”
Michigan Tech’s Rylan Gould represents the other side of the coin. He averaged a point per game in his past two seasons in the WHL. At Tech, he played in six games and had one goal. He returned to the WHL after he was traded from Swift Current to Everett.
Most of the highest point-producing freshmen in the country did come from Major Juniors, but not all have. The four players tied for fourth amongst freshmen in scoring — Massachusetts’ Václav Nestrasil, QU’s Ethan Wyttenbach, Michigan’s Adam Valentini and LIU’s Dylan Kinch — are all from the USHL.
For freshmen, the adjustment is typically complete around the halfway point. McQueen, who also missed 50 games last year due to an injury, is reaching that point.
“The first five [games], or even till now, I’ve been adjusting every game,” McQueen said. “I can’t come here and say I’m completely adjusted. It’s just such a different league. … I think I’m getting to that level right about now. I think I’m coming into a good spot that I like to play in here.”
Without the rule change, Reschny and McQueen at least would not have ended up in college hockey. For both, the WHL was the only route. McQueen’s father played there.
“I feel like up in Canada, the CHL is every young kid’s dream. But then as you start to get that a bit older and understand things more, you got to put both in perspective. But for me personally, the CHL was the right path, and at the time, it was the right thing for me to do. … I can’t thank [the Victoria Royals] enough for two years. But I mean, I don’t think it could have worked out any better than having this opportunity to come play college hockey after playing two years in the CHL.”
The old trope was always that, because the CHL played more games, it got you more prepared for the pro grind. That was a powerful message for decades, even if it wasn’t really true that it was a better preparation. But the theory has slowly but surely waned away, at least in the eyes of NHL GMs and scouts, and, most importantly, the players.
“The games are more meaningful,” McQueen said. “There’s so many less ones, but they’re [big] games every game.”
The future of both the CHL and college hockey, how they relate to each other, and how they feed into the NHL, are changing. Reschny, though, has advice for players debating between the CHL and college hockey.
“I’ve actually thought about this,” Reschny said. “With the rule change, we’re very lucky. It’s kind of a step, a stepping stone in the path to go play in the NHL. But I think if you’re able to go play in the CHL for 2, 3, 4, years, whatever you need to, and then go play college hockey for however many years you need to before going pro, I feel like that’s such a good opportunity.”