raising the NHL draft age

good for junior hockey or not?

i say yes. hockey canada wants to develop it's players more slowly and this should help. by having the star players playing an extra year of junior forces some of the younger guys (not alot but some) back to midget. also keeps the fans happy to see their stars around for at least an extra year. i mean, realistically, most guys wouldn't make the nhl their first year anyways, but at least this keeps them in the CHL rather than the AHL or ECHL.

thoughts?

It is good for teams to hold on to their superstar prospects for one more year. I don't think a 6th round draft pick would jump into NHL the next year. I think NCAA players would be happy because if you don't get drafted in your high school senior year most teams over look you. It gives those who had a good freshmen year a chance to get into the first round. I know it is NCAA but the question was do you see any good from this.

since the beginning of the lock-out, I've always thought that the best idea was to just cancel the draft and use that situation to put the entry age at 19. Basically, take all the players available in 2005 and put them available in 2006. Take all the supposed available players in 2006 (kessel, etc..) and put them in the 2007 draft.. and so on...

also, with the UFA age going down at 27, many teams will keep their young players in junior or AHL longer (or at least until they're 20).