How Might New CHL And AHL Rule Affect The Penguins?

Details concerning the NHL's Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) four-year extension – set to go into effect for the 2026-27 season – are beginning to surface. 

And there is one new rule in the CBA that is generating quite the buzz.

As part of the new CBA, the longstanding age requirement of 20 for players coming out of the CHL and into the AHL seems to have been modified. Now, organizations will be able to loan one 19-year-old player per season to play at the AHL level. They must play in one AHL game to be eligible for an official recall.

This news could be quite paramount for a number of reasons.

For one, some of the bigger-name prospects in different organizations will be able to make the jump to professional hockey sooner, which could be better for their development if they have nothing left to learn in junior hockey. Another big part of it is that it might entice players to remain with their CHL clubs as opposed to going to the NCAA, which is set to become a more popular and commonplace option for higher-end prospects after 2026 projected no. 1 pick Gavin McKenna's commitment to Penn State University. 

But, logisitics aside, this is a rule that has – for a long time – worked to stunt the development of some of the league's best prospects. It could also open the door for teams to have a player make the jump who isn't quite ready, but it should largely be a net positive for pretty much all parties involved.

And one team to be on the lookout for in the next handful of seasons is the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Unfortunately for the Penguins, the rule would not go into effect until the 2026-27, meaning it would not benefit top defensive prospect Harrison Brunicke, who – at 19 – is believed by many to be ready for the jump to professional hockey. This really is a shame for Brunicke, who will either have to go back to a poor junior team in the Kamloops Blazers – potentially picking up more bad junior habits – or make the NHL club out of training camp, which is something he may not quite be ready for.

However, this could be big news for some of the Penguins' top draft prospects going forward – and they'll sure have a lot of those.

Pittsburgh selected 13 players in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, and they have a total of 29 picks in the next three drafts – including 17 picks in the first three rounds. Chances are, they're going to have some players who will be primed to make that jump from the CHL to the NHL – including two of their 2025 first-round picks in Ben Kindel and Bill Zonnon, one of whom would now be AHL-eligible next season.

The new rule will pave a new path for the Penguins to, perhaps, get a jump on the development of some of their top younger players, and – in turn – potentially accelerate their rebuild if all goes to plan. At the end of the day, the change will benefit the NHL teams in the basement the most, as they will be the teams with the most high-end talent in their systems.

What Is The Best Developmental Path For Top Prospect Harrison Brunicke In 2025-26?For 19-year-old Pittsburgh Penguins' defensive prospect Harrison Brunicke, it is only a matter of time. 

Bookmark THN – Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab  to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more! 

Feature image credit: Kirby Lee – Imagn Images  

Read the full article here