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OCTOBER 2021 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM // 41 // By Chris Peters REACTION NCAA Eligibility Rules Cause Ripple Effects Throughout Hockey –Mark Frankenfeld, NAHL Commissioner "It's going to be hard for all of these players who are not in the college system yet. In the normal setting you might be ready, but there's nowhere to go." T alk to anyone in hockey about what was required to get through the 2020-21 hockey season and "adaptability " is the common refrain, right after "patience." As stakeholders in the sport contin- ue to attempt to move on from an unnatural season, that patience and adaptability will be necessary for some time. The landscape in the sport contin- ues to evolve in a climate that is full of uncertainty and change. With hockey tiered as it is, any change at one level is often going to have a trickle down effect with varying degrees of impact. There are few more direct examples of that impact than the NCAA's decision to grant an additional year of eligibility to athletes who were enrolled and rostered at their respective universities and col- leges last fall. That extra year will allow student-athletes, whether they decided to play or not last season, to return for an additional season of play beyond the four they're already granted. On top of that, the NCAA has adjusted its transfer rules to allow players to move freely among teams without hav- ing to sit out a season. It's created a sit- uation where more players at least have the option to stay at their universities or possibly find another team to play out that fifth season, keeping more players in the college system one year longer. College coaches are still juggling a lot of different changes to their own processes, knowing that there is unlikely going to be enough roster spots to go around to keep all of the players that desire a fifth year of eligibility while also honoring commitments made to recruits. "It has to work out for the athlete and the team," said Michigan State University head coach Danton Cole, who will welcome back fifth-year senior Mitchell Lewandowski for an extra year of eligibility. " With Mitch, we're happy to have him back with his leadership, his hun- ger. It's got to be the right guy and right situation." AFTER NOT PLAYING LAST YEAR DUE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, THE IVY LEAGUE IS PLANNING TO RETURN TO A FULL SLATE OF GAMES THIS SEASON.