[DrJones]

You think this is bad, consider what the NHL used to do.

1990: 31-year-old Sergei Makarov wins the Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year) with 86 points in 80 games. Makarov had already played 13 seasons in the Soviet league, had won numerous World Championships and Olympic golds, held his own against the elite Canadian talent of the era. Clearly a top 5-10 player in the world during the 1980s.

1980: 18-year-old Wayne Gretzky, despite tying for the league lead in scoring with 137 points in 79 games, DOES NOT win Rookie of the Year.

How did this happen? Gretzky played his age-17 season in a short-lived rival North American league, the WHA (if you're not familiar with hockey, think the USFL). The NHL considered the WHA to be a professional league (and a threat), therefore Gretzky was deemed ineligible. The NHL did NOT consider the Soviet League to be professional (although the top Soviet League team, CSKA Moscow - commonly referred to as the Red Army - would absolutely have been a top Stanley Cup contender had it played in the NHL).

There were reasons for this. The Russians basically rigged their league (players were paid indirectly through corporations instead of directly through their teams) to be considered amateur so that they could send their best players to the World Championships and Olympics. ("Professional" (ie, NHL) players were banned from the World Championships until 1977 and the Olympics until 1988).

Needless to say, people were so upset at the absurdity of Makarov being considered a "rookie" that an age limit (under 26) was imposed for rookie eligibility soon afterward.