Kitchener Goalie Makes CHL-NCAA History

It was a big week for Kitchener Rangers goalie Jackson Parsons. The overage puckstopper for the Kitchener Rangers was earning recognition as the OHL Goaltender of the Week.

Parsons was also involved with making a little bit of hockey history.

On Nov. 7, a seismic shift in the way developmental hockey is working was undertaken. The NCAA was announcing that CHL players would now be eligible for NCAA hockey scholarships. For years, this was verboten. The NCAA viewed major junior hockey players as professionals, since they were paid a weekly stipend to play hockey. Several players at that level had already put their names to NHL contracts. 

However, with the introduction of the NIL (Naming, Image, Likeness) ruling in June of 2021, the NCAA was now allowing student-athletes to make money from their personal brand. If they were getting paid, it only made sense that players playing in leagues where some players were getting paid would no longer be an obstacle to participating in NCAA hockey.

The NCAA was announcing this change in policy on August 1. The NCAA's ruling follows a class-action lawsuit filed Aug. 13 in U.S. District Court in Buffalo, New York, challenging the ban.

However, it wasn't until last Thursday that US college hockey teams were given the green light to begin recruiting current CHL players. And once that ban was left, Parsons was the first to take advantage of this new-found opportunity. He made a commitment to play NCAA Division I hockey next season for the Clarkson Golden Knights in Potsdam, N.Y.

“Before it was OHL or NCAA," Parsons told TheRecord.com. "You had to pick one. Now, being able to do both is unbelievable. I’m so proud to be a Golden Knight.

“I actually toured the campus with my minor midget team in Grade 10. I went and watched a game. It was an unbelievable atmosphere.”