RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The NHL and NHL Players’ Association are against the potential change by the NCAA that would give athletes five years of eligibility from their high school graduation or 19th birthday, whichever comes first.
“We’re not in favor of the change, and we’ve made the NCAA aware of it," NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said Tuesday prior to Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. “We and a number of other hockey organizations throughout North America — the three junior leagues in Canada, the USHL, USA Hockey, the college coaches association — all have raised concerns.”
Hockey is different than other high school-to-college sports like basketball, baseball and football because players are often older after first spending time at the junior level or at a prep school. Daly spoke last week to NCAA President Charlie Baker, who had some ideas that might solve the problem.
“He did stress that he doesn’t like sport-specific solutions and felt there may be a number of other sports, college sports, that would be able to make the same argument,” Daly said. "We’ll see where it goes.”
The sport is already dealing with a major change to the developmental landscape after the NCAA allowed players who played in the junior Canadian Hockey League to play college hockey. Adding the wrinkle of the so-called “five in five” rule would cause all sorts of complications.
“I hope that a one-size-fitting-all solution, which disadvantages some sports over others, isn’t the way they go because I think that would be unfair to us," Commissioner Gary Bettman said.
NHLPA assistant executive director Ron Hainsey, who played college hockey at UMass-Lowell before reaching the NHL, acknowledged the union was removed from the conversation but wants to make clear it also opposes the possibility.
“When that comes forward, it’s incumbent upon us to at least make an impression on how that will affect the entire hockey ecosystem,” Hainsey said. “We’ll continue to try to impress upon them how the whole system would be in shock.”
His boss, former Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, has a prior relationship with Baker, who was governor of Massachusetts. Walsh has not yet spoken to Baker but plans to have a conversation about the situation.
“We have concerns," Walsh said. "So, we’re going to continue to monitor that.”
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
FILE - NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman speaks at a news conference prior to Game 3 of the first round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series, April 24, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Melissa Majchrzak, File)
FILE - Denver goaltender Johnny Hicks (31) celebrates with teammates after defeating Wisconsin in the championship game at the NCAA Frozen Four men's college hockey tournament April 11, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Democrats were choosing their U.S. House nominee on Tuesday in a New Jersey battleground district represented by Republican incumbent Tom Kean Jr., who's been absent from Congress for months as he deals with an unspecified medical issue.
New Jersey's 7th District, which includes suburban towns and rolling farmland — and one of President Donald Trump's golf clubs — is the state's highest-profile primary. Four Democrats competed to take on Kean, whose aides have said he plans on seeking a third term. Polls in the primary election closed at 8 p.m. EDT.
Kean's absence — his last vote was in early March — has supercharged interest in the seat, which Democrats view as key to winning control of the narrowly divided House and Republicans recognize as important to defend. Voters in the district have ousted two incumbents during midterm elections over the past decade.
Trump endorsed Kean in a social media post late Monday and didn't mention his absence from Congress or his medical issue.
“A Tremendous Advocate of our America First Agenda, Tom is working tirelessly,” the president said.
Kean issued a statement on Tuesday saying “I will continue putting our constituents first” and “I am optimistic about the road ahead.”
“Right now I am focused on my recovery and under the advice of healthcare professionals. I will transition from virtual work to in person work within a matter of weeks,” Kean said. “I look forward to sharing my experience with the public.”
Kean told a local political blog nearly two weeks ago that he expected to be back “in the next couple of weeks.”
Democratic voters are deciding between Rebecca Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot whose background mirrors Gov. Mikie Sherrill 's; Michael Roth, a former Small Business Administration official; Tina Shah, an intensive care unit doctor; and Brian Varela, a businessman with backing from progressive groups.
The campaign has been hotly contested, with each candidate bringing in seven figures in fundraising and walking a line between appealing to the party's base and to more independent general election voters.
Bennett's campaign has come under fire from a political action committee that's spent about $650,000 in the primary, attacking her from the left. Bennett said in an interview she believes the group, whose donors haven't been disclosed, is Republican-backed and aiming to weaken her candidacy because they fear her in the general election.
The Democrats are leaning into the rising costs of groceries and gasoline caused by the Iran war and Trump's sweeping tariffs. They're casting blame at Republicans and Kean in particular, who they say is a bad fit for the district, pointing to his support for the president's signature tax cut legislation.
Araz Shahinian, a 49-year-old systems developer, said he voted for Bennett, noting he’s worried about the state of politics and rising prices. “She had the more centrist views,” he said.
The district was redrawn after the most recent census to become more favorable to Republicans, but it's gone back and forth in recent years. Kean ousted incumbent Democrat Tom Malinowski in 2022, who defeated Republican Rep. Leonard Lance in 2018.
Also being watched Tuesday is a Republican Senate primary. The party has been adrift in New Jersey since last year, when its Trump-backed candidate for governor lost by double digits. Voters faced a four-way race between attorney Justin Murphy, surgeon Robert Lebovics, Army veteran Richard Tabor and former TV reporter Alex Zdan.
The winner will face Democratic Sen. Cory Booker, who is running for a full third term.
More House seats could have noteworthy campaigns in the fall.
Rep. Jeff Van Drew is seeking a fifth term in southern New Jersey’s 2nd District. He was originally elected as a Democrat but switched to the Republican Party during Trump's first term.
Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman is retiring from the heavily Democratic 12th District in central New Jersey, where a crowded primary field were vying to succeed her.
Dr. Adam Hamawy, a surgeon and Army veteran, has shot to prominence with endorsements from independent Sen. Bernie Sanders and other progressives. Some of his opponents recently began criticizing him over his connection to Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, a blind Egyptian cleric convicted in 1995 of conspiring to blow up the United Nations and other New York-area landmarks.
Hamawy was a defense witness in the sheikh's trial but wasn’t accused of wrongdoing. He has condemned violence and distanced himself from the sheikh during the campaign. Abdel-Rahman died in federal prison in 2017.
Republicans were picking their nominee in northern New Jersey's 9th District, choosing between attorney Tiffany Burress and Clifton City Councilwoman Rosie Pino, to take on first-term Democratic Rep. Nellie Pou. Pou's margin of victory in 2024 was narrower than her long-serving predecessor, Rep. Bill Pascrell, and coincided with Trump winning a county in the district.
Voting messages are displayed on a car at a primary election night watch party for Rebecca Bennett, Democratic candidate for New Jersey's 7th Congressional District, Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in Bridgewater, N.J. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)
A worker sets up the stage during a primary election night watch party for Rebecca Bennett, Democratic candidate for New Jersey's 7th Congressional District, Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in Bridgewater, N.J. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)
A sign directs voters to a polling place for the New Jersey primary election in Cherry Hill township, N.J., Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
A person walks from a polling place for the New Jersey primary election in Oaklyn, N.J., Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
FILE - This photo combination shows Democrat candidates for New Jersey's 7th Congressional District, from left, Rebecca Bennett, May 30, 2026, in Flemington, N.J., Brian Varela, May 30, 2026, in Sparta, N.J. and Michael Roth, May 31, 2026, in Rahway, N.J. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
FILE - In this Jan. 15, 2019, file photo, New Jersey Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr., R-Westfield, addresses reporters in Trenton, N.J. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)
