In 2025-26, for the very first time, players who had spent time in the Canadian Hockey League were eligible to make the jump to the NCAA and become collegiate athletes.

Now, it goes without saying the NCAA is much different from the three Canadian major junior leagues: the OHL, WHL and QMJHL. Heck, it’s way different from the USHL, America’s major junior league. And some players can adapt to those changes really quickly, and some need a bit more time.

One player that’s had more of a “traditional” introduction to the NCAA experience has been Calgary Flames prospect Luke Misa.

A fifth-round selection by the Flames in 2024, Misa had a really strong four season run in the OHL with the Mississauga/Brampton Steelheads. He went through the year-to-year progression that you would hope an offensive-minded player would in junior hockey.

2021-22 (16-year-old season): 4 goals and 26 points in 62 games
2022-23 (17-year-old season): 13 goals and 43 points in 64 games
2023-24 (18-year-old season): 26 goals and 81 points in 66 games
2024-25 (19-year-old season): 34 goals and 85 points in 67 games

His goals-per-game increased every season. His points-per-game increased every season. He progressed to being a really good OHL scorer, but not quite a dominant one. He’s the type of player that was exciting to watch in junior, but you could question how quickly his game could translate to the pro level.

Luckily for Misa, options opened up for him for his 20-year-old season.

Prior to this season, the options for 20-year-olds were playing pro hockey or playing in the OHL as an overager. The Flames had a bunch of forwards already under contract and with Misa listed at 5’10” and 176 pounds, it was natural to wonder if he would get shoved around a bunch as a 20-year-old in the AHL. Or, if he would find himself sliding to the ECHL, as fellow offensive-minded OHLer Rory Kerins did. The AHL may have been too much of a jump.

Similarly, what would the point of Misa returning for a fifth full season in the OHL been? He’s progressed year over year, and it seemed far more likely that he wouldn’t be challenged enough as an overager to make it worthwhile developmental time.

So instead of those two options, Misa took the newly-available Door #3 and headed to college. He joined a pretty stacked Penn State roster as part of a pretty big recruiting class. He’s spent the season primarily as a centre and primarily playing on the third line, playing behind sophomore Charlie Cerrato and junior Dan Dowiak. He’s carved out a spot for himself in their power play rotation, too.

Misa got out to a slow start offensively, but he’s built himself up a bit. Here are his monthly splits:

October: 9 games, 1 goal, 1 assist, 15 shots (1.67 per game), 52-42 (55.3%) face-offs
November: 6 games, 1 goal, 0 assists, 16 shots (2.67 per game), 18-20 (47.4%) face-offs
January: 10 games, 2 goals, 6 assists, 30 shots (3.00 per game), 65-51 (56.0%) face-offs

(Penn State didn’t play any games in December.)

He’s getting more pucks on net than in October, he’s winning draws quite a bit, and he’s burying more chances than he did earlier on. Undoubtedly, Misa faced challenges early on. But he seems to have learned and adapted and figured out how to fit his game into the college hockey style of play.

We’re not sure what the immediate future holds for Misa. Maybe he stays in school for another season to continue to bulk up, so that when he makes the jump to the AHL he’s physically ready for the league. Maybe it’s decided he’s shown enough in college that he’s ready for another challenge. While he hasn’t dominated college, it’s hard to look at his progress and adaptation as anything but a success.

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