According to College Hockey Inc., 325 of the 906 players (35.9 percent) who skated in the NHL last season played NCAA hockey, up from 20 percent in 2000.
Forwards Johnny Gaudreau (Boston College) of the Calgary Flames and Blake Wheeler (University of Minnesota) of the Winnipeg Jets finished among the Top 20 in NHL scoring last season.
Rookie forwards Brady Tkachuk (Boston University) of the Ottawa Senators, Ryan Donato (Harvard) and Jordan Greenway (Boston University) of the Minnesota Wild and Casey Middlestadt (Minnesota) of the Buffalo Sabres are emerging as future stars.
Defenseman Cale Makar went straight from the University of Massachusetts, where he won the 2019 Hobey Baker Award as the best player in Division I hockey, to the Stanley Cup Playoffs with the Colorado Avalanche.
With the college hockey season set to start, here are 10 drafted sophomores, juniors and seniors to watch:
Scott Perunovich, D, University of Minnesota-Duluth
Drafted in second round (No. 45) by the St. Louis Blues in the 2018 NHL Draft, the 21-year-old has combined for 65 points (14 goals, 51 assists) in the past two seasons, helping UMD win two straight NCAA championships. The junior (5-foot-9, 172) is back to make a run at a third straight national title. Expect him to be a strong contender for the Hobey Baker Award.
David Cotton, C, Boston College
Drafted in sixth round (No. 169) by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2015 NHL Draft, the senior has soft hands and NHL size (6-2, 200). The 22-year-old, who served as Eagles captain, was more comfortable driving the net last season and it paid off with 36 points (23 goals, 13 assists) in 39 games.
Wade Allison, F, Western Michigan University
Drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in the second round (No. 52) of the 2016 NHL Draft, the senior, who turns 22 on Oct. 14, was limited to 22 games in each of the past two seasons because of a knee injury, which likely delayed his arrival with the Flyers. When healthy, Allison (6-2, 205) goes to the net and has a good finishing touch.