Saturday, June 29, 2024

All Six Conferences Represented on Day 2 of NHL Draft

48 Current and Future NCAA Players Chosen in Rounds 2-7

All Six Conferences Represented on Day 2 of NHL Draft
Incoming St. Cloud State freshman Colin Ralph meets with the media after being selected in the second round by St. Louis.

LAS VEGAS – Fifty-seven current or committed NCAA Division I players were selected during the 2024 NHL Draft, which concluded Saturday afternoon at Sphere. Forty-eight of those picks came Saturday during rounds two through seven after nine players had been chosen during Friday’s opening round.

Twenty-six different NCAA schools – and all six NCAA Division I men’s conferences – had at least one player or recruit selected, led by Boston University with six. Denver had five selections, followed by Michigan State, Minnesota and North Dakota with four each. Boston College, Harvard, Michigan, Providence and St. Cloud State had three picks each.

Also of note:

  • The 2024 NCAA selections included 31 forwards, 22 defensemen and four goalies.
  • Thirty-seven of the 57 NCAA players selected were Americans. The remaining 20 players came from Canada (13), Finland (2), Sweden (2), Belarus (1), Russia (1) and Switzerland (1).
  • Most of the NCAA-affiliated players drafted in 2024 will be incoming freshmen during either the 2024-25 or 2025-26 seasons. However, five active collegians were selected: Boston University F Macklin Celebrini (SJS), Michigan State D Artyom Levshunov (CHI), Denver D Zeev Buium (MIN), Michigan Tech D Chase Pietila (PIT), and Michigan State D Patrick Geary (BUF).
  • Twenty-six of the NHL’s 32 franchises drafted at least one current or committed NCAA player. Colorado had the most with five, followed by Buffalo, Chicago and Detroit with four each.
  • Boston College and Michigan had at least one player selected for the 29th year in a row, the longest such streak in college hockey history.
  • There have been 77 first-round picks from the NCAA over the last 10 NHL Drafts (2015-24) compared to 54 first-rounders over the previous 10 drafts (2005-14).
  • Boston University is the first NCAA school to have two players go No. 1 overall: Macklin Celebrini (SJS) in 2024 and Rick DiPietro (NYI) in 2000.

For a complete list of NCAA players selected in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, visit CollegeHockeyInc.com.