Blackhawks forward prospect Jack Pridham has benefited tremendously from the NCAA eligibility change that upended the junior hockey world in early November.
Previously, players in Canada’s three major-junior leagues — the OHL, WHL and QMJHL — were ineligible to later play U.S. college hockey because they received a CHL stipend. As a result, Canadian teenagers who wanted to play in the NCAA had to avoid CHL leagues and instead play for inferior junior leagues and/or prep schools.
Pridham, whom the Hawks drafted in the third round last summer, was one of those players. A suburban Toronto native and Boston University commit, he spent two years at prep school and planned to spend two years in the BCHL — a second-tier junior league in British Columbia — before enrolling at BU next fall.
But on Nov. 7, when the NCAA made CHL players eligible in response to a lawsuit, Pridham realized he could chart a new course. He was already a dozen games into his second BCHL season, but his advisor, prominent NHL agent Pat Morris, suggested he consider it immediately.
“I told him, ‘This issue is going to go through, and it’s going to happen in a hurry,’” Morris said.
More than three years ago, during the chaos of the pandemic, the Kitchener Rangers had selected him in the ninth round of the OHL draft and had retained his rights ever since — even though their general manager, Mike McKenzie, long ago gave up hope of Pridham ever joining his team.
“We knew he had interest in school, but at that point in the draft, you just take the best player,” McKenzie said. “We kept in contact with him…but he committed to BU, and as time wears on, you get a sense that’s the path he’s on. So you don’t push it much at all.”
Suddenly, McKenzie received a call from Morris that Pridham was interested in moving to Kitchener, and it was an easy decision for McKenzie to say yes. Thanks to some quick movement on the paperwork front, the 6-2, 185-pound forward maneuvered to the front of a line of 37 players trying to join CHL leagues, Morris said. He made his Kitchener debut Nov. 15.
“It was bang-bang,” McKenzie said.
It was an easy decision for Pridham, too, for several reasons. He could play in a better league. He could do so a 90-minute drive away from his family — including his dad Brandon, an assistant general manager for the Maple Leafs. And he could reunite with his childhood best friend, Senators prospect and Kitchener captain Matthew Andonovski.
The sudden move has paid off. Pridham feels more comfortable and is playing extremely well. Hawks GM Kyle Davidson and the franchise’s developmental staff has taken notice.
After tallying 59 points in 66 total games (0.89 points per game) for his BCHL club, West Kelowna, Pridham’s production has actually increased in the OHL with 32 points in his first 31 games for Kitchener (1.03 per game).
“We had no clue what to expect from that transition, because it’s not a normal one that we see very often,” Davidson said. “He’s a talented guy that was going to stick it out and probably be the best player on his team in the BCHL. He goes to a good situation and organization in Kitchener, and that production goes up.”
Said McKenzie: “He was a ready-made top-line forward for us, right as soon as he arrived. There wasn’t a ton of adjustment with his size, skating and skill set to jump right in and play at a high level.”
Pridham isn’t quite replicating Nick Lardis’ gaudy OHL numbers, but he was drafted a year later than Lardis. And although he remains years away from pro hockey — since his college journey hasn’t even begun — his growth represents yet another encouraging trend within the Hawks’ overflowing prospect pool.
