The NHL players who want to complete their university titles will have a softer path thanks to an agreement announced on Wednesday between their Union and Boston College.
The agreement would relieve the way for current and previous players to graduate from the BC’s Faculty of BC advance studies, an arm of the university that offers flexible routes to certificates and titles for non -traditional students. Among the students: Executive Director of the NHL Marty Walsh Players Association.
“It allowed me the opportunity to obtain a university degree,” said the former mayor of Boston and Secretary of Labor of the United States in an interview with Associated Press. “I went to school with people who were university students, who went to school in BC, taking class at night. And I was (also) in class with 70 -year -old people. Which is amazing. “
The dean of Woods College, David Goodman, said that the agreement is “the next evolution of a relationship that was already there”, by eliminating “part of the friction” that could have prevented players from returning to school. It will make it easier for potential students to transfer previously won credits, as an example, he said.
Josh Jooris, who played three years in Union College before obtaining his first NHL contract with the Calgary Flames, is currently registered. Brooks Orpik, who played three years for the Eagles before an NHL race in which he won two Stanley Cup championships with the Pittsburgh Penguins, returned to school after retiring and obtained his title in 2022.
“I had promised many people, including my parents and the former BC hockey coach Jerry York, who would end the university at some point,” said Orpik. “The feeling of pride I had was so different from nothing, atlectically, I have achieved.”
Goodman said students can study online, on campus or hybrid. The new agreement does not have a limit on the number of players you can accept, but Goodman said he expects “a couple of dozens”; If there is more, the school would add sections to accommodate them, he said.
The NHLPA agreement with BC comes the same week as the Major League Baseball Association announced a similar agreement with Syracuse. Walsh said he hadn’t spoken with his baseball counterparts about it.
“We all have programs,” said NHLPA Chief, who needed more than 10 years, taking one or two classes per semester, to obtain his title while working full time, even as a member of the Massachusetts representatives camera.
“We are a union that represents our workers on the ice and even collective bargaining,” he said. “But we also want to make sure we are preparing these players, that when their races end, they are also prepared for success in the future.”
The NHL says that more than a third of its players played university hockey in the United States or Canada, and most of those who leave school before obtaining their titles. Both Woods and Walsh noticed that even players who go to a successful NHL career would probably retire at age 30, leaving a long working life ahead of them.
“These players are generally collected in their first two years,” said Woods. “When they return after being successful, returning to the education of one is not necessarily a sexy movement. But it is finishing something that once began. “
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
