Earlier last year, playing on the Merrimack College men’s ice hockey team wasn’t in the cards for Hunter Mayo, Joey Henneberry and Nolan Flamand. It wasn’t because they weren’t good enough. It was because at the time, they weren’t allowed to.
All three players played in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), which is comprised of three major junior ice hockey leagues: the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and the Western Hockey League (WHL). Players in those leagues were once considered professionals and, therefore, ineligible to play in the NCAA.
However, in a shift for NCAA hockey, those restrictions were lifted in 2024, opening for college hockey coaches a previously unavailable recruiting pool of more than 60 teams, while also providing CHL players new options for their hockey development.
“It’s a lengthened runway, right?,” Henneberry, formerly of the Cape Breton Eagles in the QMJHL, said of the opportunity to play at Merrimack. “It continues my hockey career, but also my education. And it does both at the highest level, which is exactly what you want as a student-athlete.”
According to the league’s website, the CHL supplies more players to the National Hockey League than any other league. During the 2024-25 season, 415 NHL players came through the CHL. And 90 CHL players were selected at the 2025 NHL Draft.
Henneberry, Mayo and Flamand all said the transition from the CHL to Merrimack has been smooth, thanks in large part to the time they spent on campus this past summer getting to know their new teammates.
“It’s been really fun,” said Mayo, who last year played for the Swift Current Broncos in the WHL. ”The guys have been really, really welcoming and it’s been really easy.”
Flamand said one significant change he is getting used to is the difference in conditioning between the CHL and the NCAA. As a forward on the Brandon Wheat Kings last year, Flamand said he would play multiple games during the week, compared to playing predominantly on the weekends, as he will with the Warriors.
“They take working out here much more seriously,” said Flamand. “In the WHL, you’re playing so many games you don’t really have that jump in practice that you maybe want. But here, because you are only playing on weekends, there is more buildup than in the junior leagues.”
For Scott Borek, entering his eighth season as Merrimack’s head men’s ice hockey coach, the CHL trio have acclimated well, participating in team-building exercises including presentations on leadership and writing grateful letters.
“I really like these three guys because in the CHL, you play a lot more for the name on the back of the jersey because you are trying to get that pro contract,” Borek said. “It’s not really about playing for the shield on the front like we do here. So we are asking for that to be different, and they’ve really bought in nicely.”
Despite CHL players having different hockey paths and trajectories than other prospective players, Borek said his recruiting pitch didn’t really change for this inaugural group.
“As I say to our guys, there is nothing like winning at Merrimack,” Borek said. “There’s nothing like it. You’re the underdog every night. You just are. And winning feels so good here. It’s like a party.”
The Warriors open the 2025-26 season on Friday, Oct. 3, at UMass Lowell. Merrimack’s first home game is Friday, Oct. 10, also against UMass Lowell at 7 p.m. at Lawler Arena. Click here for tickets.
