Category: NHL Draft Pick

University Of Connecticut Huskies‘ freshman right wing Jake Richard(11) is a Buffalo Sabres‘ 6th round pick in the 2022 draft (#170 overall).

The 6’1″ 194 lbs. Jacksonville, FL native scored huge in high school, then 31 goals and assists in his 2nd USHL frame before college.

He scored 7 goals and 11 assists in 36 games with a +1 rating.

We only expect the 19-year old that plays a power forward style to score more.

10th year center Ryan Dzingel(80) waits until almost the end of the 2023/2024 season to sign, but does with Henderson Silver Knights and has 4 goals and 1 assist in 12 AHL games.

He played 22 games last season for Chicago Wolves.

The former Ottawa Senators‘ draft pick 3 times scored 20+ goals, twice 20+ assists.

He did 3 years at Ohio State University Buckeyes, serving as captain as a sophomore and junior year assistant.

From Wheaton, IL, the 32-year old spent the majority of 7 years in the NHL, so has done well and is playing out his string mostly it seems.

He should be a good player to have around for playoffs.

New York Islanders‘ 2nd round pick in the 2018 draft (#39 overall), small and speedy Russian-born center Ruslan Iskhakov(37) couldn’t wait around to see if college hockey would play in 2020/2021, so decided it was time for him to turn pro.

The 5’8″ 150 lbs. forward signed a one-year deal with TPS and has gotten right to it with 9 goals, 25 assists in 46 Liiga games and a +5 rating.

He played two seasons at University Of Connecticut putting up 21 points for successive years and the thought was he would return for his junior campaign, but has voiced his desire to play pro as quickly as possible and this looks to be the best possible route to achieve it.

2-50 point AHL seasons scores him a 1st NHL recall and skated 20 shifts for 14:11 ice time with 2 shots, 1 assist and a 5-4 victory.

Northeastern University Huskies‘ senior center Alexander Campbell(27) has a team best 9 goals and 16 points so far this season.

He had already been spotted by Nashville Predators to pick him up in the 3rd round of the 2019 draft (#65 overall) after a rather impressive BCHL session with Victoria Grizzlies.

The 5’10” 176 lbs. forward came over after 3 seasons at Clarkson University Golden Knights, scoring 10+ goals twice and 10+ assists 3 times.

From Chateauguay, QC, the 22-year has the scoring touch.

He finishes with a team high and new college best 22 goals and 20 assists for 42 points in 36 games with a +13 rating and signs an AHL deal with affiliate Milwaukee Admirals and will join them immediately on an ato, but either this club or another smart one will enter into the fray and sign him after August 15.

In 7 games, he already has his 1st 2 goals in the league.

Clarkson University Golden Knights‘ junior net minder Ethan Haider(31) takes his game into the transfer portal to come out to guard the cage for University Of Connecticut Huskies in 2023/2024.

He moves on after playing 80 NCAA Division 1 games, posting a handy 36-31-12 record on a team that always played hard for his 2.36 GAA and .910 SV%.

A St. Louis Park, MN native, he had a good high school run before agreeing to play for his 1st NAHL junior team, close to home, Minnesota Magicians.

The big 6’3″ 203 lbs. goalie next played in the USHL before heading to school.

At 21-years old, this is a great team for him to play for to have draft team Nashville Predators (5th round, 2019, #148 overall) to see him compete.

He starts 21 games with a 7-11-2 record and a 2.91 GAA and .906 SV%, mostly splitting time with another draft pick.

Finishing up Hockey East play without a tournament start, he signs an ato with Milwaukee Admirals that will turn into an AHL deal for 2024/2025, where he will be under the watchful eye of the parent club, affiliate.

Boston University Terriers‘ 2022 Montreal Canadiens‘ 2nd round pick (#62 overall), freshman defenseman Lane Hutson(48) is off to a monster start, scoring 6 goals and 11 assists in 14 NCAA Division 1 games with a +6 rating.

The fairly small 5’9″ 155 lbs. blue liner ran up some hefty scoring totals in his 2nd session with USNTDP, pocketing just 10 goals, but 53 assists in 60 USHL games with an overwhelming +59 rating.

An only 18-year older from Holland, MI, he looks like he won’t be sticking around in school for too long before accepting his NHL entry level deal, now doesn’t he?

He runs up almost identical freshman/sophomore stats (49 points) and an overall +39 rating through 77 games and taking it all the way to the Frozen Four twice, but that’s enough for the now 20-year old, who signs a 3-year entry level deal with his draft club and steps right into action.

Early in his debut, he sets up the opening goal by his team for a 1st NHL assist and point for himself.

He skates 23 shifts for 21:54 ice time with 1 shot on net and left the game a -1 rating, as his team squandered the lead to a desperate for a win club.

Northeastern University Huskies‘ sophomore defenseman Hunter McDonald(41) agrees to a pto to join 6th round, 2022 draft club Philadelphia Flyers (#165 overall) AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

The 6’4″ 205 lbs. blue liner has 3 pro games experience under his belt already with no points, but is a +4 rating, which says something about his zone.

Never exactly the biggest point-getter, although he did amass 13 assists as a freshman, he’s been very accountable on ice with an overall +24 through his short time in college hockey and was a +29 in 2 USHL junior seasons for Omaha Lancers.

In 9 games with the affiliate he has 2 assists and is a +5 rating, with the parent club out of the playoff push, he is signed to a 2-year NHL entry level deal and will skate 1 game before maybe getting returned for minor league playoffs.

University Of Michigan Wolverines‘ 2022/2023 commit, center Frank Nazar(91) hasn’t put up the USHL numbers he did in his 1st USNTDP season, but has skated only half the games and is still a point-per-game player.

His numbers are very similar in U.S. National U18 Team season.

The 5’10” 174 lbs. forward from Mt. Clemens, MI emerged out of a couple Honeybaked campaigns, exploding the scoresheet as a 15U AAA with 49 goals and 78 assists in 55 games.

That came after he agreed to his college after 14U AAA.

The 18-year old was selected in the 1st round of the 2022 draft, #13 overall by Chicago Blackhawks.

He blows up scoring in his 2nd year to the tune of point-per-game numbers with 41 (17-24) in 41 games to get to the NCAA Division 1 Frozen Four matchups.

His team is eliminated and on the next day, he has a contract from draft club in hand to leave 2 years at school on the table and turn pro.

In his debut, he scores the opening strike of the night, a 1st NHL goal and is welcomed to the show, but his team suffers another loss in the process with only a couple games left to skate.

University Of Connecticut Huskies‘ sophomore left wing Matthew Wood(71) ties his goals as a freshman at 11, but is I’m sure he would say vastly off his 23 mark of assists with 11 in 2023/2024.

The 6’3″ 190 lbs. forward from Lethbridge, AB is a Nashville Predators‘ 1st round pick in the 2023 draft (#15 overall).

He plays a big power forward style.

As a mostly 2nd year BCHL junior, he blew the lid off scoring with 45 goals and 40 assists in 46 games for Victoria Grizzlies.

He was drafted after his freshman tilt at school and pinpointed to go high.

Not sure why he has decided to head elsewhere through the transfer portal, but University Of Minnesota Golden Gophers are the exceedingly happy recipients of the big power forward for his junior season.

University Of North Dakota Fighting Hawks‘ sophomore right wing Jackson Blake(53) leaves 2 years on the table, as he has just detonated scoring a college best 22 goals and 38 assists with a +13 rating to sign a 3-year NHL entry level deal with draft team (4th round, 2021, #109 overall), Carolina Hurricanes.

The 5’11” 171 lbs. forward from Fargo, ND did it at Eden Prairie High USHS-MN, then half a season and full USHL frame for Chicago Steel, but won the Clark Cup trophy in that 1st year.

We see the 20-year old 2024 Hobey Baker Award finalist slotting into their lineup, wear #53 and potentially even be a playoff contributor.

He is the son of former NHL great Jason Blake.