CHL boosts border rivalry with 2-game series vs. USA Hockey development team

The Canadian Hockey League is looking to capitalize on the sport's cross-border rivalry by having its top draft-eligible prospects face USA Hockey's National Development team in an annual two-game series starting in November.

Unveiled on Tuesday by the CHL, the series is being billed as the CHL-USA Prospects Challenge with this year's games played at two Ontario cities, London and Oshawa, on Nov. 26-27. The CHL reached a three-year deal to host the series, with sites rotating between the group's three members - the Ontario, Quebec Maritime, and Western hockey leagues.

Aside from the world junior championships, the series will feature many of both nation's top 17- and 18-year-olds in head-to-head competition, something CHL president Dan MacKenzie noted has been previously lacking for two countries who produce most of the NHL talent.

"We think we've got the recipe for something really special here," MacKenzie said. "And we think it's really going to deliver for fans of junior hockey who want to see the best payers of their age group play against each other with something on the line."

A majority of the CHL's roster will be selected by the NHL's Central Scouting Bureau.

The Michigan-based NTDP, established by USA Hockey in 1996, is a development program for America's top juniors, with the team spending its season competing in the USHL, while rounding out its schedule playing in international tournaments and against U.S. colleges. NTDP alumni include NHL No. 1 draft picks such as Patrick Kane, Auston Matthews and Jack Hughes.

For the CHL, the series replaces its annual top-prospects game which was established in 1992 and ran through last season. The CHL also hosted a Canada-Russia Challenge, which began in 2003 and was last