The 2021 NHL Draft projects to be a historic one for NCAA hockey. We could see:

• An NCAA player selected No. 1 overall for just the fourth time (also 2006, 2000, 1986)
• NCAA players going 1-2 for just the second time (also 2000)
• As many as five NCAA players and recruits taken among the top 10 picks for the first time
• One team with three current players taken in the first round for the first time
• One team with five players or recruits taken in the first round for the first time
• Three Canadian NCAA players and recruits selected in the first round for the second time (also 2016)
• A Canadian NCAA player or recruit taken in the first round for the sixth straight draft

NCAA / NHL Draft Guide (.pdf)

All-Time First-Round Draft Picks | NCAA in NHL Central Scouting Rankings

NHL DRAFT BY THE NUMBERS

189 – NCAA players selected by the Montreal Canadiens in NHL Amateur/Entry Drafts, the most of any franchise

173 – NCAA players drafted in the first round since 1964 (St. Lawrence’s Alex Campbell was the first)

125 – NCAA players taken in the 1987 Entry Draft, the most in any one draft

102 – NCAA players and recruits in NHL Central Scouting’s Final Rankings

87.5 – Percentage of Americans taken in the last three drafts (2018, ’19, ’20) that played NCAA hockey

70 – NCAA players and recruits selected in the 2019 NHL Draft, the most in 12 years

31 – Schools represented (of the 60 in Division I) in the Central Scouting rankings

27 – Schools that have produced a first-round pick all-time (18 in the last 13 drafts)

25 – Consecutive years with a draft pick for Boston College and Michigan (starting in 1996), tied for the second-longest such streak for any school in history (Minnesota had picks in 27 straight drafts, 1974-2000)

25 – First-round picks to play for Michigan, the most of any school

First-Round Picks by School
25 – Michigan
21 – Boston College, Minnesota
20 – Boston University, North Dakota

17 – Age of Vermont’s Dovar Tinling for all but one game this year; the youngest player in Division I, he turned 18 on March 3

17 – The most NCAA selections in any one round of a draft (fourth round in 2018, sixth round in 2015, ninth round in 2004)

12 – First rounders who played NCAA hockey in 2020-21

11 – College players taken in the first round in 2016 and 2007, the most first-rounders in any draft

10 – First round picks from Boston University in the last six NHL Drafts

9 – The most picks from one school in one draft (Minnesota, 2007)

7 – NCAA picks among the first 16 selections of the 2019 NHL Draft, the most ever

6 – The most first-round picks to play for one NCAA team (North Dakota, 2005-06; Joe Finley, Brian Lee, T.J. Oshie, Drew Stafford, Jonathan Toews, Travis Zajac)

4 – The most top-10 picks in one draft to play NCAA hockey (2006: Erik Johnson, Jonathan Toews, Phil Kessel and Kyle Okposo)

1 – Joe Murphy (1986), Rick DiPietro (2000) and Erik Johnson (2006) are the three NCAA players to be selected first overall in the NHL Draft