TINLEY PARK, Ill. (AP) \u2014 The United States Hockey League on Tuesday unveiled a standard player development agreement that introduces benefits, including support for travel and secondary education and reimbursements for training and career-ending injuries.<\/p>\n
The move comes as the USHL adapts to the sport\u2019s changing landscape<\/a>, which now allows junior players from the Canadian Hockey League to compete at the NCAA level<\/a>.<\/p>\n The agreement enhances academic support, strength and performance resources, host family housing, mental wellness services and coaching already in place, and the U.S.-based Tier I junior league says it ensures players receive consistent development across all 16 teams.<\/p>\n \u201cThe standard player development agreement reinforces that structure by creating clarity and consistency for players and families while supporting the environment that continues to produce more NCAA Division I players and NHL draft selections than any single league in the world,” USHL President and Commissioner Glenn Hefferan said. “This is about strengthening a pathway that already works.\u201d<\/p>\n The USHL has partnerships with USA Hockey and the NHL. It says the agreement reaffirms the league’s longstanding player-first approach to help athletes pursue participating in Division I college hockey and beyond.<\/p>\n That approach requires a 2-1 practice-to-game ratio and a schedule with 90% of games played on weekends. U.S. Olympic gold medal-winners Auston Matthews, Kyle Connor and Jeremy Swayman are among the USHL products who reached the NHL.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n