For Sam Hillebrandt new NCAA/CHL eligibility rules have opened new opportunities

An example of a player who had passed on college hockey before, but now could end up back in the NCAA after recent news.

(Terry Wilson / OHL Images)

Before we get to Sam Hillebrandt’s future, we have to talk about his past.

An American goalie, from Florida, Hillebrandt originally wanted to go the college hockey route growing up. But he only had mild interest from NCAA teams because multiple college coaches told him they were holding spots for older goalies in the transfer portal.

Instead of waiting it out, or going to the USHL, Hillebrandt elected to play in the Ontario Hockey League with the Barrie Colts, at the time giving up any chance of ever playing NCAA hockey because of past eligibility rules.

Now after November’s landmark decision, which made CHL players eligible for NCAA competition as of Aug. 1, 2025, Hillebrandt is going to be a hot commodity for college coaches that looked elsewhere before.

In 21 games with Barrie, Hillebrandt has a .903 save percentage (which is quite good by today’s junior hockey standards), and will be part of Team USA at the upcoming World Junior Championships. Hillebrandt was the third-string goalie for Team USA last year, winning a gold medal behind the tandem of Trey Augustine and Jacob Fowler, and will at least have a chance to compete for the backup job behind Augustine this year with Hampton Slukynsky.

Whether he plays games or not in Ottawa at the tournament, college coaches have already started reaching out to the goalie.

“Yeah, I’ve had teams reach out and try to find out where I am, what I’m thinking,” Hillebrandt said. “It’s a lot, so trying to stay focused on where my feet are right now, and I guess focus more on that when the time for a decision comes.”

Hillebrandt likes to downplay it himself, but it’s a big opportunity for the goalie who was passed over in the NHL Draft in 2024. As a bit of a late bloomer and a slightly smaller goalie (he’s 6-foot-1), a four-year college career after the OHL could be a path to eventual professional opportunity.

Team USA goalie coach David Lassonde, who has worked closely with Hillebrandt, wasn’t shy about the fact that a smart college program is going to benefit from eventually landing the goalie’s commitment.

“There are some teams that are going to look at the body of work and when they evaluate him, they are going to probably say, ‘hey, this guy is going to bring a ton of value to our program,’” Lassonde said.

Hillebrandt’s potential case is part of the evolving landscape in college hockey and the CHL, where it’s effectively turned into the Wild West with borders recently opened for player eligibility.

David Carle, Team USA’s coach and the coach at Denver, mentioned this week that he thinks that best practices and norms for that transition are likely going to be figured out quicker than he initially expected.

“Yeah, we could probably do a 30-minute sit-down on that,” Carle said. “It’ll be clunky for a little while, but it’ll work itself out, but it’s certainly a different layer and element to things. Ultimately, I think it’s a good thing, probably, for the players. In a way they have more opportunity and more movement within the system, is always a positive for players.”

And that’s the case for Hillebrandt, who while being coy about it now, is likely going to have some ideal opportunities to choose from as college coaches come calling.