WHL Commissioner Dan Near talks Top Prospects, NCAA and Chilliwack

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WHL commissioner Dan Near was hyping up his league on Thursday, and wasn’t ducking the fact that it was very much intentional.

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The hockey development path got flipped on its head last fall when the NCAA announced that it was opening up scholarship opportunities to Major Junior Leagues like the WHL for the first time.

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The WHL wound up losing marquee players to the American college system who had several years of junior eligibility left, most notably Gavin McKenna and Keaton Verhoeff, who could well be two of the top three or maybe four selections in this summer’s NHL Draft.

Junior hockey hasn’t often felt adept at welcoming change. Near has been adamant that he believes staying status quo isn’t likely to satisfy.

On Thursday, he was at the Langley Events Centre promoting next Wednesday’s WHL Top Prospects Game, a new showcase of the top 44 players from the league eligible for this summer’s draft that is clearly designed to give an added profile to the loop.

Tickets are available here.Rosters are available here. Vancouver Giants co-owners Michael Bublé and Drew Scott will be celebrity guest coaches, joining WHL bench bosses with the two respective teams.

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Buble and Scott did their best to sell the virtues of the WHL at Thursday’s media event, but it was Near who took charge in that regard. His talking points included: how eight of the NHL team captains this season are WHL graduates; how playing with the Calgary Hitmen last season helped 18-year-old Coquitlam native Ben Kindel stick with the Pittsburgh Penguins; and how Texas native JP Hurlbert, who had a league-leading 36 goals and 83 points in 52 games with the Kamloops Blazers at last count, wouldn’t have come to the league this season without the NCAA changes.

“It couldn’t be a more important time for people to gain an understanding of the role we play in athlete development, both on and off the ice,” Near said. “The data speaks for itself as far as the calibre of players coming out of this league year in, year out. And, while there were some players who departed early for the NCAA, the influx on the other side has been substantial.

“Hockey has changed more in six months than it has in the last 60 years. We’d be crazy not to react to that. If we were to assume that water will level itself off that might not work for us at the end of the day. We’re deeply invested in an overall operating model we think is the best. So, rather than putting it at risk, let’s look at the areas we can continue to get better. Or maybe the development environment or development needs have changed for NHL clubs and for players and we can adapt to that.

“If we’re not looking at that every day, we’re not doing our jobs.”

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The WHL announced in November 2023 that they were bringing on Near, who was a hockey executive with Adidas, to take over from retiring commissioner Ron Robison.

There was foreshadowing with Near’s forward-thinking beliefs in a Canadian Press story back thenwith him speaking in the piece about “thinking a little differently,” and about how “historically in hockey, we’ve had a little bit of an Achilles heel around catering to the old-school fan, to the season-ticket holder. Not necessarily thinking about what it’s going to take to bring new fans and new customers into our game.”

To that end, Near said the league had Robison visit all 23 clubs this season and do an “audit,” on things like facilities, education, billets, transportation, food and mental health awareness.

“We’ve gone to every club and said ‘these are the areas we think you can get better at,’” Near explained. “But what was more important in the whole process is that we identified a whole bunch of things that we had not contemplated.

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“These are the things we’re talking about: what is it that we think the player is looking for as part of their development journey?”

It’s largely just words now. Action will cost dollars, and we’ll see what teams are willing to spend on upgrades, see what changes they’re willing to make.

The league did bring in new cash this summer when it added the Penticton Vees as an expansion team. There’s been no official word on the expansion fee for Vees but various sources say the former Junior A BCHL powerhouse shelled out something in the $15 million range to jump up a level.

The WHL had originally planned to put another expansion team in Chilliwack next season, but they’ve pushed that back to 2027-28, with Near saying that they wanted the extra time to make sure things came together correctly. Near maintained Thursday that remains on schedule, and that the league continues to negotiate with an ownership group.

“Finding the right profile that’s going to be right for the community was an important part of this,” Near said. “We think we’ve found that.

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“People think these deals are easy, but it’s us, the franchisee and the facility trying to triangulate a deal structure that meets everyone’s expectations. The city is putting nearly $4 million of renovations into the building. They want to ensure the tenant has a deal that’s structured well for them. We are similar. If these deals were easy to do, someone involved would be losing badly.

“The cost of entry into this league has changed and people are looking to understand what that means. The important part for me is that we believe we can see this through and that it will be a good deal not just for WHL but also for the community. There are still some puzzle pieces to move around to make that work.”

The WHL had 33 players picked in the NHL Draft last summer, after having 34, 33, and 28, respectively, selected in the three drafts prior. That tally this in June will tell a tale.

@SteveEwen

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