College hockey leagues are in the midst of their postseason tournaments. Each of the six leagues receiving automatic bids to the Division I NCAA tournament (Atlantic Hockey America [AHA], The Big Ten CCHA, ECAC, Hockey East & the NCHC) will conclude their respective tournaments the weekend of March 20. NHL general managers and scouts definitely will be paying attention to this collection of elite talent. Many of these players already have been drafted, and will be tracked most closely by the NHL teams owning their rights. Also, there are several high-caliber undrafted free agents and draft prospects aiming for an NHL future.
A 2026 draft prospect we definitely will see in the NCAA’s is Penn State University forward Gavin McKenna (1st-ranked North American skater). The Nittany Lions sit at #10 in the rankings, and as such are in line for either an automatic or at-large bid. On the maybe list is a player on everyone’s radar for this year’s draft in Boston University forward Ty Lawrence (7th-ranked North American skater per NHL Central Scouting). The Terriers must win The Hockey East tournament to advance to the NCAA’s by way of an automatic bid, as they currently sit at No. 25 in the country and cannot receive an at-large berth (only the top 16 teams are considered for an at-large berth).
In the same position as Boston University is arch-rival Boston College, which sits at #17. As such, we will only see BC forwards and fellow Bruins prospects James Hagens (BOS 2025 1st round, 7th overall) and Dean Letournau (BOS 2024 1st round, 25th overall) in the national tournament if the Eagles win the Hockey East event.
Like Hagens and Letourneau, the teams of several undrafted free agents in Holy Cross forward Jack Stockton and Bentley University forward Jake Black must win out to advance. Stockton averages nearly a point-per-game and has the size teams desire at the center position (6’4″ 216 lbs.). Although a bit undersized, Black is the driving force of his team’s offense (40 points in 37 games). On the flip side of things, the University of Michigan‘s top ranking assures the appearances of coveted free agent forwards TJ Hughes and Joshua Eernisse in the NCAA’s. Hughes is a scoring machine, and Eernisse is big and powerful.
In addition to the above, there are several players guaranteed a spot in the NCAA’s due to their teams’ high rankings. This includes Michigan State University forward Porter Martone (PHI 2025 1st round, 6th overall), University of Massachusetts goaltender Michael Hrabal (ARI/UTA 2023 2nd round, 38th overall), and Cornell University forward Jonathan Castagna (ARI/UTA 2023 3rd round, 70th overall). While Martone and Hrabal are each having exceptional seasons, Castagna has been the most newsworthy of late for things out of his control. On March 4, Utah traded Castagna to Calgary as part of the deal sending d-man MacKenzie Weegar to the Mammoth. As such, Castagna now becomes part of the Flames rebuild currently underway.