NHL considering major change that would alter the NHL Draft forever

For NHL prospects, the dream has always been to be drafted into the league by your favorite team. This time honored tradition has seen teenagers grow into young men as they are drafted into the league. As players turn 18, they become eligible for the NHL draft, it might not stay that way for long however.

On this week's edition of the 32 Thoughts Podcast Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet shared that the NHL is considering a change to the upcoming draft. According to the report the change would see 18-year-olds players become ineligible for the draft after the first round.

This change would mark a major deviation from what the league has previously done. While making Elite players eligible for the first round it would then force younger players to return to Junior, college or go overseas to further season themselves. This could make the process for being drafted far more interesting and could make teams completely alter their draft strategies.

Teams would then have to consider whether they wanted to draft an 18-year-old late in the first round or wait and hope that player is available to following year. This would create a much more intriguing draft but also allow players to become much more NHL ready. This would more closely align the NHL strategy with other professional sports leagues.

As an NHL fan, is this something that you would like to see? Or do you prefer the current model?