Kitchener’s Pridham, Everett’s Busch embrace CHL development path

KELOWNA — Two of the biggest beneficiaries from junior hockey’s changing landscape are advising other prospects to follow their path through the Canadian Hockey League.

Shea Busch and Jack Pridham moved from the B.C. Hockey League to major junior hockey last season after a rule change allowed CHL players to join U.S. college teams. Now they are league champions playing at the Memorial Cup.

“Definitely would recommend the CHL,” said Busch, who scored a hat trick in the decisive Game 5 as the Everett Silvertips beat the Prince Albert Raiders in the Western Hockey League final. “I feel like it is the best junior league you can play in, and if you want to be a pro, you go play in the CHL.”

Pridham was one of the first to jump at that opportunity, heading home to Ontario and joining the Ontario Hockey League’s Kitchener Rangers as soon as the NCAA announced CHL players were allowed to play college hockey.

Before Nov. 7, 2024, a player suiting up in any of the three CHL leagues was deemed ineligible at the NCAA level due to those leagues being considered semi-professional.

While the change led to high-profile defections of some players from the CHL to the NCAA, including stars Gavin McKenna, Cayden Lindstrom and Keaton Verhoeff, others saw an opportunity to make the move to major junior hockey without sacrificing their NCAA options. On Nov. 15, the Rangers announced their signing of Pridham.

“When the rule changes came out, it was something I wanted to do right away. Just to play against higher competition and be in an environment like Kitchener,” said Pridham, who deferred his scholarship to Boston University and returned to the Rangers as an overager, leading them in goals (46) and points (90) during the regular season and helping them capture the OHL title.

“It’s been a great move for me. You’re surrounded by great teammates that push each other to reach our potential, and the coaches have done a great job working with all of us to be at our best.”

Busch made the move to Everett a few weeks later, on Dec. 6, and never looked back in developing into an NHL draft pick. The Silvertips’ success got him on the radar, and he was selected in the fourth round of the 2025 draft by the Florida Panthers.

“There was a lot of unknown going from the BCHL to the WHL,” said Busch, whose rights were acquired from the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Nov. 29. “I got traded to the best team in the league last year, the Silvertips, and wasn’t sure if I was going to be playing or not, or where I would sit in the lineup, and just had to take a chance on myself.

“Everett’s a special place to play, and I’m so happy to be playing here.”

This tournament has brought them back to the Okanagan where their junior careers began in the BCHL — Pridham with the West Kelowna Warriors and Busch with the Vernon Vipers.

Pridham is heating up again, scoring in each of Kitchener’s three round-robin games and leading the tournament with four goals, including a couple patented one-timers. He only scored twice in 18 games during their OHL playoff run but Rangers coach Jussi Ahokas was confident the Chicago Blackhawks’ third-rounder in 2024 would continue to be a key contributor.

“Of course, he felt like he had a little monkey (on his back), but he still had 17 points. He had a lot of assists,” Ahokas said of Pridham’s playoff production. “He’ll always get the numbers. He has that skill. For me, the most important part is his 200-foot game. I know the goals will come when he does that well.

“It’s great that he’s picked up his game,” Ahokas added after Pridham scored a pair in Monday’s 6-2 victory over Everett. “It’s been a good tournament for him. He’s playing really good hockey right now.”

Busch has yet to get on the board — not factoring into Everett’s seven goals through two games — but the Silvertips are still counting on his overall impact.

“The heavier and stronger he plays usually goes hand in hand with his production,” said Silvertips coach Steve Hamilton. “He’s big, strong, can shoot the puck, got good instincts. And he’s got a chance to develop into someone who’s hard to find — a big man with soft hands.”

Busch hoped to break through against the host Kelowna Rockets in Wednesday’s round-robin finale. He opened the scoring in their second-round playoff series, which Everett went on to win in five games.

“I feel like I probably have some fresher legs than most of the guys in the tournament here, so a little bit of an advantage,” said Busch, who got off to a hot start this season with 13 goals in 12 games through October before sustaining a broken hand.

He didn’t return until the playoffs — scoring again in his first game back during Everett’s first-round sweep of Portland.

“What he went through this year, the difficulty of missing essentially five months is a credit to him that he’s as productive and as solid as he’s been considering the amount of time he’s spent out,” said Hamilton. “He’s been real good for us.” 


This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 27, 2026.

Larry Fisher, The Canadian Press