Reports: 19-year-old CHL players allowed to play in AHL starting in 2026-27

Starting in 2026-27, NHL teams will be allowed to assign one 19-year-old CHL player to their AHL affiliated roster, according to multiple reports on Thursday.

The new rule, reportedly a new provision in the collective bargaining agreement that was ratified by the NHL and the Players’ Association two days ago, will begin in 2026-27 once the new CBA kicks in. That means the players taken in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft on June 27 and 28 will be the first players eligible to play in the AHL.

Athletes who were playing in the NCAA, the USHL or came from Europe were already allowed to play in the AHL.

The reports come just days after Gavin McKenna, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, committed to play for Penn State University, starting with the 2025-26 NCAA season.

Since the NCAA Division I Council announced the rule change to allow former major junior players the opportunity to play college hockey in the U.S., many teams have taken a swing at getting players from the CHL’s three leagues: the Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League.

The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler posted on social media that multiple agents told him their clients would prefer the CHL-to-AHL choice with an entry-level contract signing bonus, instead of going to the NCAA.

“Lots of kids who don’t want to go back to school,” Wheeler wrote. “One CHL GM pointed out that, depending on the CBA language, kids could potentially get their (arbitration) rights a year earlier by going AHL at 19 as well.”