A couple of WCHA links

Both of these articles are from the Star Tribune and were posted by 4four4 on the uscho fan forum.

WCHA optimistic over ending early departures

McLeod and his colleagues aren't necessarily upset about NHL clubs that sign players and keep them on the roster. What is a concern is when players are sent to the minor leagues. "The number of signings have more than doubled since the NHL lockout ended" in 2005 and a new collective bargaining agreement was put in place, McLeod said. "But the number of those signings with players going right to the NHL hasn't changed at all. That's the issue for us."

The Western College Hockey Blog mentioned this in a post last Sunday and referenced a TSN column. The talks appear to have been informal and appear to be unlikely to lead to any changes soon.

Picture hasn't cleared up yet, but WCHA network's in play

McLeod also said initial discussions haven't necessarily involved a 24-hour channel but rather one that carries men's and women's games and perhaps some other ancillary programming. "I've been a little surprised at how fast this has gone along and how strong the WCHA as a brand is in our footprint," he said. "This has been very well received."

This would be great, as long as it increases overall coverage and doesn't decrease coverage on other networks. Not quite sure how it would work out given that a lot of games occur at the same time each weekend, but any increased coverage is a good thing. I'd especially like to see some increased coverage of women's hockey.