Sunday, June 26, 2016

Record First Leads NCAA at Draft

61 players or recruits selected, including a record-tying 11 in the first round.

Record First Leads NCAA at Draft

A record-tying 11 first-round selections headlined the 61 NCAA players or recruits taken in the 2016 NHL Draft, held June 24-25 in Buffalo, N.Y.

Twenty-eight of the 60 NCAA Division I schools had a representative selected as all but one of the 30 NHL teams added an NCAA player to their prospect pool (Winnipeg was the lone exception).

Sortable: 2016 NHL Draft Picks from NCAA

Boston University led all schools with six selections, including four in the first round, which also tied a record for first-rounders by one team (Minnesota, 2006). North Dakota and Wisconsin each had five players taken.

Thirteen players who spent 2015-16 in the NCAA ranks were selected, the most since 16 current college players were taken in 2007.

Also noteworthy:

  • The first round featured four future NCAA players from outside the U.S., which is a first, and a record-tying three from Canada (also 2007)
  • Denver recruit Henrik Borgstrom became just the second European NCAA player to be taken in the first round (Thomas Vanek)

Former NCAA players make up 30% of all NHL players, including 56% of all players on the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins.