NCAA decision could alter junior hockey and the pipelines that feed the NHL [Video]

Boston University sophomore Aiden Celebrini has no regrets over the decision he reached at 16 to maintain his college eligibility by skipping a chance to play for the Western Hockey League’s Saskatoon Blades.

And it makes no difference that college hockey wasn’t on his radar growing up in North Vancouver and regularly attending WHL games with his younger brother Macklin, the NHL’s draft’s No. 1 pick last summer.

“We didn’t know much about college hockey,” Celebrini said during the Frozen Four championship in St. Louis. “Going to Vancouver Giants games, that was always kind of our dream to play in the WHL and then eventually play in the NHL.”

It’s a dream Macklin has already achieved in completing his rookie season with the San Jose Sharks and after one year at BU. Aiden could well follow after being drafted by his hometown Canucks in 2023.

Last fall, the NCAA made …