Colleges with the most NHL 1st-round draft picks in 2019 NCAA.com

CHAMPS

PRESENTED BY The NCAA has established a growing presence in the development of future pro talent, and the 2019 NHL Entry Draft once again shows that connection. Nine incoming freshmen currently committed to play NCAA ice hockey were selected in the first round of the NHL draft. This year's nine NCAA selections are tied for third all-time most selections with the 2003 NHL Draft. The only other time that many NCAA players have been selected is when 11 NCAA recruits were selected in 2007 and 2016. A total of 173 NCAA players have been selected in the first round all-time.* NHL SUCCESS: Wisconsin nabbed a top-5 draft pick for its 2019-2020 roster, and NCAA recruits swept draft picks 12 through 16. Boston College led all schools with three selections while Wisconsin and Michigan each had a pair. The Big Ten (Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota) and Hockey East (Boston U, Boston College) were the only conferences represented in the first round. Michigan has had at least one player selected in each NHL draft for the past 23 years, tied for an NCAA high. Here is a full look at the NCAA recruits selected in the first round: Round No. Name NHL Team Pos. NCAA team 2018-19 team 1 5 Alex Turcotte Los Angeles F Wisconsin U.S. NTDP 1 9 Trevor Zegras Anaheim F Boston U. U.S. NTDP 1 12 Matthew Boldy Minnesota F Boston C. U.S. NTDP 1 13 Spencer Knight Florida G Boston C. U.S. NTDP 1 14 Cam York Philadelphia D Michigan U.S. NTDP 1 15 Cole Caufield Montreal F Wisconsin U.S. NTDP 1 16 Alex Newhook Colorado F Boston C. Victoria (BCHL) 1 30 John Beecher Boston F Michigan U.S. NTDP 1 31 Ryan Johnson Buffalo D Minnesota Sioux Falls (USHL) MASK GAME: Here’s a look at how the nine schools with multiple first-round picks stack up: RANK COLLEGE CONFERENCE FIRST-ROUND PICKS 1 Michigan CCHA 14 T2 Boston U. Hockey East 10 T2 Boston College Hockey East 10 4 Minnesota WCHA 9 5 Michigan State CCHA 7 6 Wisconsin WCHA 6 7 North Dakota WCHA 5 8 Ohio State CCHA 3 9 Maine Hockey East 2 Michigan isn’t currently the championship-winning powerhouse it was during the last century, but the program’s dominance on this list shouldn’t be too much of a surprise: from 1991 to 2012, the Wolverines played in 22 consecutive NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournaments. They reached those postseasons behind a bevy of suds, including four Top 10 picks. NCAA MEN'S HOCKEY: Boston University and Boston College, two of college hockey's oldest powerhouses, follow suit tied for second, another pair of obvious results. One surprising school with a pair of first-rounders is Maine. The no-brainer selection, Paul Kariya, came in 1993, when the Ducks took the Canadian wunderkind fourth overall. But the Sabres also selected a Black Bear when they took Barrett Heisten 20th overall in 1999. They took different paths: Kariya played in 989 games and scored 402 goals as one of the league’s premiere snipers for over a decade. Heisten played 10 NHL games before an eight-year minor league career. Kariya is one of 14 NCAA players to be selected in the Draft’s Top 5. Wisconsin's Alex Turcotte adds to that list this year as the No. 5 overall pick for the LA Kings. Here’s how many Top 5 picks each school’s produced: RANK COLLEGE CONFERENCE FIRST-ROUND PICKS 1 Boston U. Hockey East 5 T-2 Michigan State CCHA 2 T-2 Minesota WCHA 2 T-2 Wisconsin WCHA 2 T-4 North Dakota WCHA 1 T-4 Boston College Hockey East 1 T-4 Maine Hockey East 1 T-4 Michigan CCHA 1 FROZEN FOUR CHAMPS: A couple other notes: 1. When the Sabres selected Thomas Vanek fifth overall in 2003 out of Minnesota, he became the highest-drafted player of Austrian nationality in league history. 2. The 14 Top 5 picks combined for 11 Stanley Cup wins, led by three apiece from U. of North Dakota’s Jonathan Toews and Michigan’s Aaron Ward. Not too bad! *Information sourced via CollegeHockeyInc.com

Boston University dominates UMass men' s hockey for 5-1 win sweep

Senior assistant captains Jay O’Brien and Case McCarthy each had a goal and an assist for No. 14 Boston University in their 5-1 win to sweep No. 11 UMass at Agganis Arena on Saturday.

Minnesota tames Penn State men' s hockey to split two-game series

Senior forward Bryce Brodzinski scored two third period goals within 1:06 of each other, lifting No. 1 Minnesota to a 3-1 win and series split against No. 8 Penn State.

Penn State stuns Minnesota men' s hockey in 4-2 upset

Senior forward Connor MacEachern had two goals and an assist for No. 8 Penn State as the Nittany Lions upset No. 1 Minnesota in a 4-2 win on the road Thursday.

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