The North American Hockey League announced on Thursday that the league has has set a new NCAA commitment record for the fifth straight season.
Approximately 312 players committed to play hockey at the NCAA level last season with 224 of them committing to Division I schools. In terms of total college commitments, the NAHL finished second only to the United States Hockey League (USHL) last season.
The amount of college commitments in the NAHL has been on a steady increase over the past few years, owing in large part to a rise in talent level throughout the league.
“I think the thing that stands out is that our commitment numbers continue to rise because the level of play and talent getting better each season,” said NAHL Commissioner and President Mark Frankenfeld in a statement.
Last year the Jackalopes had eight NCAA commitments that helped lead the Jacks to a third-place finish in the NAHL South before falling in the first round of the playoffs to the Lone Star Brahmas.
Odessa head coach Greg Gatto said that amount of exposure available to players in the NAHL is key for helping them advance their goals of becoming collegiate hockey players.
“The amount of exposure our players get is invaluable and to me, that’s how we convince them that the NAHL is the place to be. They get so much exposure, everywhere, and it lasts all season,” said Gatto.
For more information, be sure to check out the full press release published by the NAHL league office.
