The major concern for Regina Pats fans with the new NCAA rules is whether players like Maddox Schultz will leave or stay playing in the Western Hockey League.
'It's very unique their scenario. I know Maddox Schultz's family, they're wonderful people, they'll make the smart decision at the right time," Gerry Johannson, CEO for The Sports Corporation agency, said on the SportsCage.
"I can tell you about being in this business for a long time. Every decision that gets made is a very personal one, every player and their families have to come to a decision that's right for them. Every player we've had is similar to how they might look on their trajectory or what they look like on paper."
According to Johannson, who represents professional hockey players, there is a discrepancy if a player cares about where they want to play in younger levels.
"The bantam draft is always a good indicator of that one because the kids are getting drafted. Over all these years, I'd say 90 percent of the players will go wherever they're drafted. There's maybe 10 percent that have a really good reason why they don't want to," Johannson said.
"There are some reasons, sometimes their family or personal things that are really important, but I would say it's pretty close to 90 percent of our kids over the years have gone where they're drafted."
CHL players were not allowed to play NCAA hockey, but due to a rule change, they will be eligible to play in the 2025-2026 season.
Before Johannson's time as an agent, he was a pro player and started his career in the SJHL with his hometown team, the Swift Current Broncos from 1982 to 1984. Later, played one season in the NCAA with Lake Superior State University in 1984. The Montreal Canadiens selected him in the fifth round during the 1984 NHL Draft.
His last years as an active player was from 1985 to 1988 during which he played two seasons with the New Westminster Bruins from 1985 to 1987. Johansson's last team as a player was the University of British Columbia in the old CIAU, now known as U Sports, from 1987 to 1988. Following his player career, he spent some time with the Tri-City Americans from 1988 to 1994, initially as an assistant coach before rising to director of player personnel, and then as interim general manager.
"I started coaching and knew a lot about the Western Hockey League. I was signing contracts and recruiting players and I was introduced to [Ritch] Winter." Johansson recalled.
"Ritch founded this company and he was one of the first guys to bring over Eastern Europeans. Frank Musil, I think he brought over from Yugoslavia of all places at the time, Dominik Hasek, Zdeno Chara and Peter Bondra, but he didn't really know anything about Western Canadian players. I knew everything about Western Canadian players and nothing about the agency business, so it all worked out."
Now that the hockey world has changed, Johannson is pleased with the increased freedom for players.
"Forever we were talking to kids who were 15 years old about not committing to a Western League team if they wanted to go to school. That's pretty young for a player and a family to make a decision like that, so it was always difficult. The Western League offers you things right away, you're signing a contract, you're probably getting a jersey, you might get some games in -- it was really difficult to say no to that," Johannson detailed.
"Now, I think most players are going to go to the Western League or the CHL because there's no risk. The other thing I'll tell you is that early on in this process, we had a lot of U Sport players getting offers, that was really the first wave. There are probably three or four U of A guys, Trevor Wong of U of S is one of our players, and he's going to Nebraska, Omaha. It started as the older graduated players and now it's moving its way down to the younger guys."
