When most top NHL players are drafted at age 18, even the best of the bunch typically need more time to develop before they graduate to the big league.
That's one of the reasons why young draftees aren't permitted to play in the NHL's top developmental league, the American Hockey League, until they're nearly 20 years old.
Here's a good explanation of AHL eligibility rules, from the Utica Comets website:
American and Canadian-born players must be 20 years old by Jan. 15 of the current season in order to be eligible to play in the American Hockey League. When it comes to Europeans, they are eligible to play as long as they are not playing/or have been drafted in the Canadian Hockey League (Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League, Quebec Major Junior Hockey League). Same rules apply if they have enrolled in college in the United States. The minimum age for those players is 18.
So when a player is drafted, they can either enter the NHL immediately or return to the amateur ranks. They cannot play in the AHL until they are 20 (or about to turn 20).
Whether they were drafted in 2013 or 2014, promising draft choices w ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Carol Schram
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