The following article is republished from a special advertising section in the Jan. 5, 2015, issue of The Hockey News, available on newsstands or for tablets now. To view the full college hockey section as a PDF, click here.

Jack Eichel, Noah Hanifin and Zach Werenski all played at the U.S. National Team Development Program last season and will be reunited on stage in June as first-round picks in the 2015 NHL Draft.

In between their paths have diverged, to Boston University, Boston College and Michigan, respectively. And their presence on campus has put an incredible spotlight on college hockey.

As NCAA hockey’s impact on the NHL has grown – becoming the fastest growing development path to the NHL – elite players like Jonathan Toews, Mike Cammalleri and Phil Kessel have all spent time on campus. But rarely have so many future stars all spent the same year – all in their NHL draft year – playing NCAA hockey. The result is an increased focus on the NCAA game from NHL scouts and national audiences.

“It’s been a long time since there’s been this type of hype to a college hockey game,” NHL Central Scouting’s David Gregory said said prior to Eichel and Hanifin’s nationally televised meeting in early November. “This will be fun.”

NCAA in the NHL | NCAA Player Development

Playing U.S. college hockey – where most players are between 18 and 23 years old – allows Eichel and the others the opportunity to test their abilities against bigger, stronger players, like they will need to whenever they move on to the NHL level.

“One of the reasons I wanted to play college hockey was playing against older, stronger guys on a nightly basis,” said Eichel. “I think it’s really going to help me in the long run, making sure I’m competing for every loose puck, moving my feet and avoiding hits when I can. I’ve got to work hard at the faceoff dot and away from the puck.”

Nothing comes easily for 17- and 18-year-olds against that tougher competition, though Eichel, Hanifin and Werenski all earned raves early in the season. The International Scouting Service had all three ranked in its top five for the 2015 NHL Draft by December.

Scouts, who saw plenty of each player at the NTDP last season, flocked by the dozens to their NCAA games.

“One of the biggest things watching players at 17 or 18 is that you are trying to project what they will be like as an NHL player,” said Craig Button, former Calgary Flames general manager and current prospect analyst for TSN. “You don’t get to see them play at that level – no sport does. But for Eichel, Hanifin and Werenski, you get to measure these players against bigger and stronger players who are closer to the NHL game. In my view there’s nothing but positives in that regard.”

The NCAA has a track record of successfully developing elite talents like these players as well. Of all first-round NHL draft picks between 2000-06, only 60% went on to successful NHL careers (at least 300 GP). NCAA players in that study had a 70% success rate, better than any other development path.

As Eichel, Hanifin and Werenski work to make that jump to the NHL, they are benefitting from world-class coaching, elite facilities and intense practice and games. Plus they are making progress toward their university degrees and enjoying the times of their lives.

“I love it here – every day’s been something special,” Eichel said. “It’s definitely a dream come true. There’s a lot of tradition here and it’s a great group of guys. The campus life, going to school here and getting to meet a lot of new people has been a lot of fun.”

More first-rounders are poised to join that trio as well. In November, NHL Central Scouting listed 22 more current or future NCAA players as contenders to be taken in the first three rounds of the 2015 NHL Draft.