The impact of NCAA hockey on the NHL has never been greater.
According to NHL Stats and Information, 222 NHL draft picks, including 14 first-round selections, will play in the collegiate ranks this season.
The first two selections in the 2024 NHL Draft were college players: center Macklin Celebrini (Boston University), chosen by the San Jose Sharks with the No. 1 pick, and defenseman Artyom Levshunov (Michigan State), taken by the Chicago Blackhawks at No. 2. Boston College freshman center James Hagens is a strong candidate to be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.
Fifteen of the NHL’s 32 general managers played college hockey, as did 13 of the League’s coaches.
The bottom line is, as the 2024-25 season gets underway, this is a great time to be a fan of college hockey.
This weekend features a full slate of games, headlined by No. 2 Boston College visiting No. 4 Michigan State.
In alphabetical order, here are 10 freshman players to watch this season.
Sacha Boisvert, North Dakota
The 18-year-old center had 68 points (36 goals, 32 assists) in 61 games for Muskegon of the United States Hockey League last season and is now part of a strong first-year class at North Dakota.
Boisvert (6-foot-2, 176 pounds) is a physical player who did some boxing when he was younger. His father, Jimmy, owns a taekwondo and boxing gym in Quebec.
He was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks with the No. 18 pick in the 2024 draft.
Trevor Connelly, Providence
A fast, creative offensive player, the 18-year-old forward is expected to step into a first-line role as a freshman.
Connelly finished second in USHL scoring last season with 78 points (31 goals, 47 assists) in 52 games for Tri-City.
He was chosen by the Vegas Golden Knights with the No. 19 pick in the 2024 draft.
Cole Eiserman, Boston University
The 18-year-old forward has a well-earned reputation as a goal-scorer. Just under four minutes into the second period of his first college game against Holy Cross on Saturday, he fired a one-timer into the net from the face-off dot for a power-play goal.
A linemate of Celebrini's at Minnesota’s Shattuck St. Mary’s in 2021-22, Eiserman set the goal record for USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program with 127 in 119 games, breaking the mark set by forward Cole Caufield, now of the Montreal Canadiens, in 2018-19.
Eiserman was taken by the New York Islanders with the No. 20 pick in the 2024 draft.
EJ Emery, North Dakota
With excellent size (6-3, 185), the defenseman projects to be a shut-down presence. He went without a goal in 61 games (16 assists) for the NTDP U-18 team last season but had a plus-34 rating, tops on the team at his position.
His father, Eric, was a linebacker in the Canadian Football League from 1885-87.
Emery was selected by the New York Rangers with the No. 30 pick in the 2024 draft.
Michael Hage, Michigan
Playing center on Michigan’s second line, the 18-year-old wasted no time making an impact. In a weekend series at Minnesota State University, he put up two assists in a 5-2 victory Friday and scored what turned out to be the game-winner and added an assist in a 4-1 win Saturday.
Hage was fourth in the USHL in scoring for Chicago last season with 75 points (33 goals, 42 points) in 54 games.
He was chosen by the Canadiens with the No. 21 pick in the 2024 draft.
Cole Hutson, Boston University
In his size (5-10, 165) and offensive flair, the 18-year-old defenseman draws comparisons to his brother Lane, who signed with the Canadiens last spring after a standout career at Boston University and will begin the 2024-25 season in the NHL.
Cole Hutson, who holds the NTDP career record for points by a defenseman with 119, scored a goal in his first NCAA game against Holy Cross on Saturday.
He was taken by the Washington Capitals in the second round (No. 43) of the 2024 draft.
Dean Letourneau, Boston College
The 18-year-old is making the big jump from Canadian prep hockey at St. Andrew’s College to the NCAA.
Letourneau, who moves well for a big man (6-7, 214), is an excellent playmaker and is slotted in as the second-line center at Boston College.
Playing at BC will allow the Boston Bruins to keep close tabs on him after they selected him with the No. 25 pick in the 2024 draft.
Noah Powell, Ohio State
The 19-year-old improved from eight goals in 2022-23 to a USHL-leading 43 in 61 games with Dubuque last season.
The solidly built forward (6-2, 201) was the league's fifth-leading scorer with 74 points (31 assists) last season and was chosen by the Philadelphia Flyers in the fifth round (No. 148) of the 2024 draft.
Colin Ralph, St. Cloud State
A strong all-around defenseman, the 19-year-old is jumping straight to college hockey from Shattuck St. Mary’s, where he had 66 points (eight goals, 58 assists) in 57 games last season.
He has NHL size (6-5, 227) and was taken by the St. Louis Blues in the second round (No. 48) of the 2024 draft.
Jayson Shaugabay, Minnesota Duluth
The 19-year-old forward scored twice and added an assist in his NCAA debut during a 4-3 loss to Bemidji State on Saturday and was named National Collegiate Hockey Conference Rookie of the Week.
He had 55 points (15 goals, 40 assists) in 62 games for Green Bay of the USHL last season, a year after winning Minnesota’s Mr. Hockey Award as a senior at Warroad High School.
Shaugabay, undersized at 5-9, 165, was selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the fourth round (No. 115) of the 2023 NHL Draft.
