College Players, Commitments Dominate First Round of the 2026 NHL Draft

There were a lot of winners during the the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft on Friday night, from Sweden having seven selections to teams like the San Jose Sharks making some prime additions that could help them be Stanley Cup contenders for years.

But no one won more than college hockey.

Coming off the first season in which a rule change gave Canadian Hockey League players NCAA eligibility, seven of the first 10 selections were of players either already playing at the collegiate level, or had committed to join programs this year.

Overall, more than half of the 32 selections had some sort of college hockey connection even though a lot of them were just 17 years old. Leading the way was Michigan State, which enjoyed seeing five of its future players, who will be in green and white next season, and possibly longer, hear their names called in the first round.

Could Michigan State Have a 2026 Draft Line?

No. 7 Chase Reid, D, Seattle
No. 11 Nikita Klepov, RW, Anaheim
No. 17 Ethan Belchetz, LW, Utah
No. 30 Jack Hextall, C, Calgary
No. 31 Thomas Bleyl, D, Nashville

Of course, it began with Gavin McKenna, who to the surprise of no one was the first-overall selection by the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Penn State left wing was just the sixth NCAA player to be selected No. 1 overall, but the third in the last five years, joining Macklin Celebrini (Boston University) in 2024 and Owen Power (Michigan) in 2021. The other three were Erik Johnson (Minnesota) in 2006, Rick DiPietro (BU) in 2000, and Joe Murphy (Michigan State) in 1986.

NHL Central Scouting had him rated as the No. 1 North American skater (the service rates European players separately), and Toronto didn't hesitate with the pick.

Meanwhile ...

• At No. 3 Caleb Malhotra, selected by the team coached by his father Manny, the Vancouver Canucks, is set to play next season at Boston University. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound center was selected out of Brantford (OHL) was rated as the No. 6 North American skater.

• No. 4 Daxon Rudolph by the Buffalo Sabers is set to play at Denver kin 2026-27. Rated the No. 5 North American, the offensive defenseman is listed as 6-2, 205 pounds).

• No. 6 Carson Carels was drafted out of Prince George (WHL), but his heading to play next season at North Dakota. He was rated the No. 3 North American skaters and is 6-2, 195 pounds. The Flames have another top prospect at UND, center Cole Reschny.

• It was surprising to see Reid drop to No. 7 after he was rated the No. 2 North American skater. At 6-2, 190 pounds out of Sault Ste. Marie (OHL), the American is considered a franchise defenseman.

• San Jose got its future franchise defenseman at No. 9 with North Dakota's Keaton Verhoeff, who was the No. 4 North American skater and the captain for Canada at the World Under-18 championship. He's 6-4, 215 pounds, and was the fourth-youngest player in NCAA hockey last season.

• At No. 10, Wyatt Cullen was a left wing in the National Team Developmental Program (U-18 team, USHL), but he's heading to Minnesota next season. He went from being 5-5 to 6-1 with the U.S. program, so he's still sort of playing into his size, but he's also the son of three-time Stanley Cup champion Matt Cullen. The Nashville Predators might have gotten a steal.

• Boston University center Tynan Lawrence was St. Louis' first first-round pick at No. 11. The 6-foot, 183-pound has only played a half-season with the Terriers, but he was rated the No. 7 North American skater.

• Oscar Hemming also played a half-season in the NCAA, but at Boston College, before being selected at No. 14 by the Columbus Blue Jackets. The youngest player in Division I, he's 6-4, 204 pounds at age 17. He was rated the No. 11 North American skater after making the early jump from Finland.

• Klepov, another American who went Canada before heading for college hockey and MSU, was the first rookie to lead the OHL in scoring since Patrick Kane in 2006-07. Listed as 6-0, 180 pounds, the right winger who turns 18 today was rated the No. 8 North American skaters, and part of the Mason McTavish deal by Anaheim with St. Louis. He'll bring a lot to the Ducks.

• At 6 foot 5, 230 pounds, Belchetz is the definition of a power forward. Rated No. 9 among North American skaters, he has the reputation of playing with a mean streak. Utah moved up to No. 17 to make sure it landed him. To quote the NHL.com analysis: "Belchetz still needs to upgrade his skating, similar to Porter Martone when he was selected by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2025 draft. Martone made a huge jump last season at Michigan State, which is where Belchetz is headed. Utah has to be hoping he can have a similar late-season NHL impact in 2026-27 like Martone did this season for the Flyers."

• At No. 20, Buffalo selected Miami center Ilia Morozov, who was rated by NHL Central Scouting as the No. 10 North American skater. At 6-3, 205 pounds, the Russian was tied for being the second-youngest player in college hockey last season, and then had an outstanding combine before the draft.

• San Jose won the first round with two top-10 selections, and then moved up six spots in a trade with the Flyers to grab their second prize defenseman with Ryan Lin at No. 21. Although not the biggest player (5-11, 180), he's an outstanding skater and plays with a chip on his shoulder. He's heading to Denver next season.

• At No. 27, the Philadelphia Flyers took Maine commitment Maksim Sokolovskii, who measured at the combine 6-7, 240 pounds. We're curious to see how much bigger the Kazakhstan-born defenseman might get after a year of being in an NCAA weight room (you don't think they'll call him Moose, do you?).

• Hextall, a 6-foot, 195-pound center is probably a little bit more of a project for Calgary at No. 30, which is normal for late first-round selections, but he's going to be surrounded by a lot of talent at Michigan State. But he was a big reason why Youngstown was the USHL's best team last season.

• Nashville traded picks No. 42 and No. 57 to move up and grab Bleyl at No. 31, who didn't just go across the border to play the Canadian juniors, but went to the Quebec Martimes League. He set rookie league records in assists (68) and points (81) by a defenseman. Considered an outstanding skater, he's 5-11, 170 pounds who should gain some weight at Michigan State. Under new general manager Chris MacFarland might have snared the two most underrated players in the first round.

• Finally, and fittingly, we end up where we started, at Penn State. Right wing Jaxon Cover, a 2027-28 commitment will play another season at London (OHL) before joining the Nittany Lions because he's only been on the ice for a few years after playing inline hockey while growing up in the Cayman Islands. He's an incredible story but Ottawa selected him at No. 32 because he's a big-time prospect.

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