The 2026 NHL Draft entered the record books as the most college‑heavy first round in league history, with 19 current or committed NCAA players hearing their names among the opening 32 selections. The previous high was 17 in 2022, making this year’s haul a clear indicator of a shifting talent landscape.
At the very top, the Toronto Maple Leafs selected Gavin McKenna, a left winger who completed his junior season at Penn State, making him the first Nittany Lion ever to be drafted first overall. His combination of size, skill, and collegiate experience positioned him as the clear top prospect heading into the draft.
The next wave of talent featured Caleb Malhotra, an incoming forward from Boston University, who slipped to the Vancouver Canucks at third overall, and Denver’s defenseman Daxon Rudolph, taken fourth by the Buffalo Sabres, establishing a new high for the university’s draft history.
Further selections saw North Dakota’s Carson Carels and Michigan State’s recruit Chase Reid drafted sixth and seventh, while Minnesota’s rising sophomore Wyatt Cullen went tenth to the Nashville Predators, rounding out a class that included twelve additional college‑eligible players such as Tynan Lawrence, Oscar Hemming and Ilia Morozov.
A New Era for College Hockey
The cascade of college players drafted in the first round signals a shifting power balance, as programs invest more heavily in NCAA talent and NHL teams increasingly view college pipelines as a reliable source of ready‑to‑play talent. With veterans like Bill Guerin, a Boston College alum now serving as general manager of the Minnesota Wild, earning the NHL’s 2025‑26 Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year award, the trend appears poised to accelerate.