Kitchener Rangers Jackson Parsons Makes History; First Active OHL Player To Commit To The NCAA

The NCAA has voted to allow major junior hockey players to maintain their college eligibility while playing in one of the three CHL leagues: the OHL, WHL, or QMJHL.

This new rule change benefits players greatly, but maybe those who will benefit the most from it are the overagers who can continue their playing careers in a competitive landscape while getting an education.

Kitchener Rangers goaltender Jackson Parsons announced his commitment to play for Clarkson University starting in 2025-26 via his personal X account

The Embrun, Ontario native makes history by becoming the first active OHL player to sign a D1 NCAA scholarship. Parsons has played a big part in Kitchener's incredible season thus far (13-2-1-1 record) and their 15-game point streak.

Fresh off his commitment to Clarkson, Parsons posted a 20-save shutout against the Soo Greyhounds Friday night and extended Kitchener's win streak to 10 games.

The soon-to-be 20-year-old netminder was selected 53rd overall in the third round of the 2020 OHL Priority Selection and has spent his entire four-year career in Kitchener.

In 13 games this season, he has a 10-2-1 record with one shutout, a goals-against average of 2.51, and a save percentage of .911. He hasn't lost a game since last month on Oct. 4 in overtime against the Flint Firebirds.

Parsons's OHL career record includes a .896 save percentage, a 3.20 goals-against average, and a 47-34-5 record.

We have already seen players like Hayden Reid and reportedly Blake Montgomery make the switch and come over to play in OHL, which they probably wouldn't have done without the rule change.

We may start to see more players with NCAA committed players sign in the OHL in the future, and overage players like Parsons commit to D1 programs.

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