Michigan’s freshman blue-liner Landon DuPont arrived with the biggest spotlight in college hockey, but the 2026-27 NCAA season is loaded well beyond one projected top pick. A record 326 NHL-drafted players, including 30 first-round selections, are expected to dress for college programs this winter as the former CHL eligibility change continues to deepen the talent pool.
That draft-pick total is up from 258 players and 18 first-rounders a year ago. Maine coach Ben Barr said the influx has reshaped the game, noting that adding so many quality players “changes everything.” Providence coach Nate Leaman offered an even simpler assessment: “NCAA hockey’s never been better.”
The season began last week and will end April 10, when the Frozen Four championship game is scheduled for Capital One Arena in Washington.
After the horn
DuPont, 17, opened his Michigan career with two assists in a 7-2 win over Bowling Green on Oct. 2. The 5-foot-11, 192-pound defenseman is widely viewed as the leading candidate to go first in the 2027 NHL Draft, taking over the prospect attention that followed Gavin McKenna at Penn State. McKenna went No. 1 to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2026 draft after his freshman season.
DuPont produced 18 goals and 55 assists in 63 games with Everett last season, tying for fourth among WHL defensemen with 73 points. He added 23 points in 23 playoff games as Everett won the league title, then posted two goals and four assists in four Memorial Cup games. His two assists came in Everett’s 6-2 championship-game loss to Kitchener. His father, Micki DuPont, was a ninth-round Calgary Flames pick, No. 270 overall, in 2000.
Michigan also has Michael Hage driving the middle. The 20-year-old Canadiens first-rounder opened his junior campaign with three goals and four assists in the Oct. 2-3 sweep of Bowling Green. Hage led all NCAA skaters with 39 assists last season and finished tied for third in scoring with 52 points in 39 games. He also led the 2026 World Junior Championship with 15 points as Canada earned bronze. Montreal selected the 6-foot-1, 187-pound center No. 21 in 2024.
Denver’s title defense begins again with Johnny Hicks in the crease. The 5-foot-10 goaltender went 16-0-1 as a freshman, posting a 1.19 goals-against average, a .957 save percentage and three shutouts in 21 appearances. He made 29 saves when Denver edged Wisconsin 2-1 for the NCAA title and was named the Frozen Four’s Most Outstanding Player. Hicks stopped 14 shots in a 6-2 season-opening win at Alaska-Anchorage on Oct. 2. The undrafted 21-year-old attended Edmonton Oilers development camp during the summer.
Boston College center Dean Letourneau took a major step in his second season, jumping from three assists in 36 games as a freshman to 22 goals and 17 assists last year. Ten of those goals came on the power play. The 6-foot-7, 210-pound Bruins prospect opened this month with a hat trick in an exhibition against the USA Hockey National Team Development Program Under-18 club. Boston selected him 25th overall in 2024.
Across town, Boston University is counting on freshman Caleb Malhotra as it tries to return to the NCAA Tournament after missing last spring’s field. The 18-year-old center scored into an empty net to finish BU’s 4-0 victory over Alaska on Oct. 3. Malhotra brought 84 points in 67 games from Brantford of the OHL, followed by 26 points in 15 playoff contests. Vancouver made him the No. 3 pick in the 2026 draft; his father, Manny Malhotra, is in his first season behind the Canucks’ bench.
Minnesota Duluth winger Max Plante is chasing a repeat Hobey Baker Award, a feat no player has accomplished. The 20-year-old Red Wings second-round pick scored 25 goals and posted 52 points in 40 games last season, ranking tied for second and tied for third nationally in those categories. In Duluth’s first two games, he played right wing beside his brothers: 22-year-old junior Zam at center and 18-year-old freshman Victor on the left side.
All three Plante brothers are NHL draft picks. Their father, Derek Plante, played eight NHL seasons, won the Stanley Cup with Dallas in 1999 and now works as a pro scout for the Ottawa Senators.
Michigan State has nine first-round NHL picks on its roster, and freshman Joshua Ravensbergen is positioned to take over the net following Trey Augustine’s move to the professional ranks. Augustine won last season’s Mike Richter Award as college hockey’s top goaltender. Ravensbergen stopped 16 of 17 shots over 29:49 in an Oct. 2 exhibition win against Boston College. The 6-foot-5, 190-pound Sharks prospect went 32-13-0 with a 2.51 goals-against average, a .919 save percentage and four shutouts in 46 games for Prince George of the WHL last season. San Jose took him No. 30 in 2025.
North Dakota has handed its captaincy to sophomore Cole Reschny, who became the youngest player in program history to wear the “C” when he was named captain Sept. 15. The Flames’ 18th overall pick in 2025 had six goals and 29 assists in 36 games last season and earned a place on the NCHC All-Rookie Team. He added four goals and one assist in seven World Junior games for Canada’s bronze-medal team. In two exhibitions this fall, Reschny fired 10 shots and won 64.5 percent of his faceoffs.
Dartmouth junior Hayden Stavroff remains one of the nation’s most dangerous finishers. He led the NCAA with 29 goals last season and recorded 48 points in 35 games, earning Ivy League Player of the Year honors and a spot among the 10 Hobey Baker finalists. Dartmouth coach Reid Cashman, who previously worked as a Washington Capitals assistant, compared the release to Alex Ovechkin’s, saying Stavroff’s shot leaves his stick in a similar way. Stavroff is undrafted but attended Los Angeles Kings development camp.
Quinnipiac’s Ethan Wyttenbach is back after leading the country with 59 points last season, including 25 goals and 34 assists in 40 games. The 19-year-old sophomore also won the Tim Taylor Award as the NCAA men’s rookie of the year. He opened the new season with two goals and an assist in a 10-2 win over New Hampshire on Oct. 2. Calgary selected him in the fifth round, No. 144 overall, in 2025.
Next puck drop: Oct. 31
Dartmouth opens its season against Alaska on Oct. 31. Boston College is set to begin regular-season play against Alaska on Friday, while Michigan State hosts Northern Michigan on Friday and North Dakota visits Bemidji State on Friday.
