BUFFALO, N.Y. – After a record five NCHC players were selected in the first round Friday night, 13 more current or incoming National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) players were chosen on Day 2 of the 2026 NHL Draft Saturday at KeyBank Center, home of the Buffalo Sabres. The 18 current or incoming NCHC players selected tie for the most in conference history, along with the 2023 and 2024 NHL Drafts.
 
Of the 18 players drafted, four played in the NCHC last season and will be rising sophomores in 2026-27, while the other 14 are scheduled to be freshmen during the upcoming season. Eight different NCHC teams saw at least one current player or incoming freshman drafted in 2026, led by four each from Denver and North Dakota. Arizona State saw a trio of Sun Devils selected. Miami and Minnesota Duluth had two freshmen or sophomores drafted each, while Colorado College, St. Thomas and Western Michigan each saw one incoming freshman chosen on Saturday.
 
Three incoming freshmen were selected in round two on Saturday, with Minnesota Duluth forward Victor Plante taken 47th overall by the Detroit Red Wings. He joins his older brother and 2026 Hobey Baker Award winner, rising junior Max, as a Red Wings prospect, with both being taken at No. 47 overall, as well. Miami incoming defenseman Timofei Runtso heard his name called 10 picks later at No. 57 by the Montreal Canadiens. Denver incoming freshman defenseman Ben MacBeath rounded out the second-rounders at No. 64 overall being drafted by the New York Rangers.
 
The Toronto Maple Leafs took a pair of NCHC incoming freshmen in round three with North Dakota defenseman Ethan MacKenzie going at pick No. 69, while Colorado College forward Zach Olsen was taken four selections later (No. 73). Both played in the Western Hockey League (WHL) this past season, with MacKenzie in Edmonton and Olsen in Saskatoon.
 
While UND rising sophomore Keaton Verhoeff and Miami rising sophomore Ilia Morozov were drafted in round one Friday, the two other NCHC rising sophomores to hear their name called were selected by the New York Islanders on Saturday. Arizona State rising sophomore defenseman Lincoln Kuehne was taken with the 109th overall pick in round four by the Islanders. He played in 30 games for ASU last year, tallying a goal and an assist. Western Michigan rising sophomore forward Bobby Cowan was the lone NCHC pick in round seven, being chosen with pick No. 205. Cowan led WMU rookies with 24 points (5g/19a) this past season while playing in all 39 games.
 
Of the 18 rising sophomores or incoming freshmen drafted, 10 are defensemen, seven are forwards and one is a goaltender (UMD incoming freshman Carl Axelsson, No. 115 overall to Utah). Among the 14 incoming freshmen, eight played in the WHL in 2025-26, while four played in the USHL and two were members of the USA National Team Development Program (NTDP).
 
At least 13 other future or committed NCHC players were also selected in the 2026 NHL Draft, with many expected to enter college in 2027-28 or 2028-29.
 
To see all college hockey related draft picks in 2026, click here. To see complete 2026 NHL Draft results, click here. The full list of current or incoming NCHC players selected this year is below.

NCHC PLAYERS SELECTED IN 2026 NHL DRAFT

Rd.	Pick	Player	NCHC Team	NHL Team	Pos.	25-26 Team
1	4	Daxon Rudolph	Denver	Buffalo	D	Prince Albert (WHL)
1	6	Carson Carels	North Dakota	Calgary	D	Prince George (WHL)
1	9	Keaton Verhoeff	North Dakota	San Jose	D	North Dakota (NCHC)
1	20	Ilia Morozov	Miami	Buffalo	F	Miami (NCHC)
1	21	Ryan Lin	Denver	San Jose	D	Vancouver (WHL)
2	47	Victor Plante	Minnesota Duluth	Detroit	F	U.S. U-18 Team (USHL)
2	57	Timofei Runtso	Miami	Montreal	D	Victoria (WHL)
2	64	Ben MacBeath	Denver	N.Y. Rangers	D	Calgary (WHL)
3	69	Ethan MacKenzie	North Dakota	Toronto	D	Edmonton (WHL)
3	73	Zach Olsen	Colorado College	Toronto	F	Saskatoon (WHL)
4	105	Mikey Berchild	Denver	Carolina	F	U.S. U-18 Team (USHL)
4	109	Lincoln Kuehne	Arizona State	N.Y. Islanders	D	Arizona State (NCHC)
4	115	Carl Axelsson	Minnesota Duluth	Utah	G	Muskegon (USHL)
5	129	Connor Davis	North Dakota	Vancouver	F	Cedar Rapids (USHL)
5	148	Hawke Huff	St. Thomas	Seattle	D	Cedar Rapids (USHL)
6	167	Landon Hafele	Arizona State	Winnipeg	F	Green Bay (USHL)
6	185	Jonas Woo	Arizona State	Columbus	D	Medicine Hat (WHL)
7	205	Bobby Cowan	Western Michigan	N.Y. Islanders	F	Western Michigan (NCHC)