![\"Jack](\"https:\/\/cst.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/bf8f928\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/3000x2000+0+0\/resize\/840x560!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fc3%2F3a%2F7941f59840f58f3e1928f3c97da4%2Fpridham-2.jpg\")
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Blackhawks forward prospect Jack Pridham has benefited tremendously from the NCAA eligibility change that upended the junior hockey world in early November.<\/p>\n
Previously, players in Canada\u2019s three major-junior leagues \u2014 the OHL, WHL and QMJHL \u2014 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.<\/p>\n
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 \u2014 a second-tier junior league in British Columbia \u2014 before enrolling at BU next fall.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told him, \u2018This issue is going to go through, and it\u2019s going to happen in a hurry,\u2019\u201d Morris said.<\/p>\n
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 \u2014 even though their general manager, Mike McKenzie, long ago gave up hope of Pridham ever joining his team.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe knew he had interest in school, but at that point in the draft, you just take the best player,\u201d McKenzie said. \u201cWe kept in contact with him…but he committed to BU, and as time wears on, you get a sense that\u2019s the path he\u2019s on. So you don\u2019t push it much at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was bang-bang,\u201d McKenzie said.<\/p>\n
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 \u2014 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.<\/p>\n
The sudden move has paid off. Pridham feels more comfortable and is playing extremely well. Hawks GM Kyle Davidson and the franchise\u2019s developmental staff has taken notice.<\/p>\n
After tallying 59 points in 66 total games (0.89 points per game) for his BCHL club, West Kelowna, Pridham\u2019s production has actually increased in the OHL with 32 points in his first 31 games for Kitchener (1.03 per game).<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had no clue what to expect from that transition, because it\u2019s not a normal one that we see very often,\u201d Davidson said. \u201cHe\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Said McKenzie: \u201cHe was a ready-made top-line forward for us, right as soon as he arrived. There wasn\u2019t a ton of adjustment with his size, skating and skill set to jump right in and play at a high level.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pridham isn\u2019t quite replicating Nick Lardis\u2019 gaudy OHL numbers, but he was drafted a year later than Lardis. And although he remains years away from pro hockey \u2014 since his college journey hasn\u2019t even begun \u2014 his growth represents yet another encouraging trend within the Hawks\u2019 overflowing prospect pool.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In November, Pridham \u2014 a Hawks third-round pick \u2014 became one of the first players to act upon an NCAA eligibility rule change and jump into Canada’s major-junior leagues. The Boston University commit is now thriving in the OHL with Kitchener.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13195,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chicago-blackhawks"],"yoast_head":"\n