Three Oakville players born in 1988(will turn 21 before playoffs) who may have an NCAA conflict come later rounds of the playoffs.
A fourth, Hache, has played in the OHL.
There are several other 88s on the Blades, but their birthdates come later in the year.



Adam Simms, Apr 21
Jeremy Welsh, May 30
Taylor Farris, May 21

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Matt Hache G(May 6), has played in OHL.











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The final game of the RBC in Victoria is on May 10th so Welsh and Farris are OK.

Ar far as Simms, I believe he has to be taking certain courses right now in order for him to remain eligible after April 21st.

didn't Oakville have this same problem last year??

Last year the decision was up to the kid. It was his choice not to enroll in school.

That's a new twist. I never heard or read that one once. The coach even claimed that they tried to get him enrolled, but the NCAA would not accept it.

First step to receiving help is helping yourself.

Last year when concerns over Oakville's goalie were being discussed here someone posted the following article which I saved for future reference. Here it is.

"Here is an article regarding the NCAA Rule re:21 y/o, eligibility and post-secondary education
This article was written in reference to a particular player.
I have generalized as best I could so it applies to all 20 y/o Tier 11 players.
April 26 2008, 11:13 AM

This is not a defence of the NCAA but it is their game and if you want to play you have to know their rules and play by them!!!!

To partake in Division I sports at the NCAA level:

- a player must be 'cleared' by the NCAA Clearing House to be elgigible to play Division I sports
- an athlete must be enrolled as a full-time student to play Division I sports
- As soon as an athlete begins his 1st full-time semester at a post secondary school his ACADEMIC CLOCK starts ticking. The ACADEMIC CLOCK dictates that an athlete has 5 years to complete his degree BUT is allowed only 4 playing years. This where you get the 'redshirt' year that is prevalent in football, sometimes in basketball but rare in hockey.

Now there are two rules that everyone associated with Tier II hockey - where kids aspire to play NCAA hockey - must know (if they don't they are incompetent and let their players down):

1) never enroll full-time in a post-secondary school....it starts your academic clock ticking. So if an athlete went full-time to say Seneca College for 2 years and a school was looking at him/her for a scholarship they would back off because that athlete had burned up 2 years of his 5 year academic clock and would only have 3 years left to play Division I sports. An athlete would have to be a virtual superstar for a school to do this.

2) regarding age 21 the NCAA states that if a player plays a sport at a level beyond high school (i.e. Tier II hockey)past his 21st birthday he loses 1 of his 4 years of playing eligibilty UNLESS that athlete was enrolled full-time in a post-secondary school.

So to get around the problems with rules 1) and 2) you enroll full-time in a post seconday school on January 1 of the year you turn 21 ONLY IF YOUR BIRTHDAY WOULD FALL DURING THE REMAINDER OF YOUR PLAYING SEASON. i.e. January to May.

The result is that you lose your 'redshirt' year and only have 4 years left to get your degree BUT you also have your 4 years of playing time!

The problem with the players team is that management did not do their homework and left the kid in this situation. I have heard that the first the player heard of this is when the college told him about the rule.

EVERY TIER II team should take stock of their 20 year olds at the beginning of the season, know when they turn 21 and COVER THEIR ASSESTS if the kid is hoping to play NCAA DI.

It simply is not a matter of missing a year of playing time. If a player dressed for a game the school could conceivably tell the kid the entire deal is off. An NCAA school keeps 2 goalies on their roster + a 3rd string practice goalie who rarely plays. So they plan their recruting around this and are always making sure they have two quality goalies in the fold eligible to play. Not sure what the colleges situation so I cannot say what they would do if a player played another game."

I hope this helps in any future discussions re: 88s

Thanks, but who on the thread did not understand the rule?

First step to receiving help is helping yourself.

I can't remember who it was, Matty. That was nearly a year ago. However I thought it might be useful for anyone who will be affected by the rule this year. The staff, players and parents of players on OJHL teams may read this site.

Sorry, I was being a jerk.

First step to receiving help is helping yourself.