This year 33 players from the WHL were drafted into the NHL and nine of them went in the first round.
"To your point around the success in the NHL Draft, that's what I think young high-end players need to understand. If you want to be drafted into the NHL, which is what most people would view as their number one goal as a 16, 17, 18-year-old, the Western Hockey League is where you want to be," WHL commissioner Dan Near said on the SportsCage.
"It should be a target and a goal for you. We're going to create an environment and an ecosystem that enables you to develop to that level. Then once you are drafted, prepare yourself for whatever that next step is going to be as well."
Previously, CHL players were not allowed to play NCAA hockey, but a rule change that happened last year now makes it possible.
"It's a really interesting time. The very first player was a Regina player, Braxton Whitehead, who even before the rule change said he was gonna go down to Arizona State. He's an overage player. At the time we said: 'Hey, this relieves attention around players at 14, 15 years old having to decide if the NCAA or major junior is the path they wanna take. Now they can do both," Near detailed.
"I give everyone involved a lot of credit because it's a tough decision to make and everyone's trying to establish what the best development path is for them. What I would tell you is I've never heard anyone complain that the biggest mistake I made is I stayed in the Western Hockey League too long -- no one has ever said that. I have heard the other way, I've heard guys that have left early or gone on to other pastures and said: 'Hey, it didn't work out as well as I thought.' But this thing will normalize, we'll get a better sense of what the future development path looks like. What's important to recognize is we view ourselves as a league that develops you to be a professional hockey player."
Near elaborated on the different paths players can take for their hockey career.
"If you need more time, U Sports is there, NCAA is now there, but it doesn't have to be one or the other. I think this trend that we're seeing in the world right now, finish high school as fast as you can, get to the NCAA as fast as you can -- everybody's in a rush to do everything," Near said.
"I'll tell you what, the development experience on and off the ice, but also the life experience you build living with billets, working with your education advisor and riding the bus with your teammates, we put a lot of stock in the character that builds for these young men and puts them in a position to succeed down the road."
Before Near was WHL commissioner, he initially worked in the NHL from 2006-2016, then transitioned and worked for Adidas from 2016-2023. He replaced the previous WHL commissioner, Rob Robison and started in 2024.
"I think the biggest surprise in a role like this is that it's nearly impossible to keep everybody happy. I've got a fiduciary responsibility to the owners, but I've got a responsibility to players and their parents, I've got a responsibility to the fans. With any decision, you never have unanimous support, so you might think you've done a really great thing, but you might have 20 percent of your audience that thinks you've done it all wrong and you should have done it differently. I'm really grateful and thankful that I've been given some rope here," Near said.
"I think that the competitive landscape and the environment has prompted our league to say: 'Hey, we're a really great league, but what are the things we can do to be better? I think that if you look at our new streaming product in Victory+ we've really done something interesting as far as making the game accessible and available to fans across the country and across the world. We're raising our operating standards. We have a new partnership with Under Armour, which is exciting for us. Bauer's coming on as our new equipment supplier. The new Western Canadian model, where players like Maddox Schultz are gonna have a chance to play 34 games without necessarily committing 100 percent to junior hockey at 15. A lot has happened, I think I'm surprised at how much has happened in the first year, but I wouldn't give any of it back."
