Borgstrom, a sophomore forward from the University of Denver, Donato, a junior forward at Harvard, and Gaudette, a junior forward at Northeastern, each has given up the remainder of his college eligibility and signed with an NHL team: Borgstrom with the Florida Panthers, Donato with the Boston Bruins and Gaudette with the Vancouver Canucks.
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Borgstrom, chosen by Florida with the No. 23 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, had 52 points (23 goals, 29 assists) in 40 games for Denver. He is expected to make his NHL debut against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; RDS, TSN5, FS-F, NHL.TV) after signing an entry-level contract Monday.
Donato had 43 points (26 goals, 17 assists) in 29 games for Harvard. He also had six points (five goals, assist) in six games for the United States at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics. Donato signed with the Bruins on March 18 and has five points (three goals, two assists) in five games.
Gaudette, who signed with the Canucks on Monday and is expected to play his first NHL game against the Edmonton Oilers (10 p.m. ET; SN1, SNE, SNO, SNP, NHL.TV) on Thursday, led the NCAA in goals (30) and points (60) in 38 games.
The three finalists were selected from the initial list of the top 10 candidates by a 27-member selection committee and an additional round of online fan balloting. The winner will be announced April 6 in St. Paul, Minnesota, site of the 2018 Frozen Four.
