BUFFALO, N.Y. – The 2026 NHL Draft is Friday and Saturday at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, and several incoming freshmen on the University of Denver hockey team could hear their names called early in this year's entry-level selection.
DU has five players on its roster that are eligible for the 2026 draft, which gets underway with Round 1 on Friday at 5 p.m. MT from Western New York. The first night will be broadcast nationally in the United States on ESPN and ESPN+ and in Canada on Sportsnet and TVA Sports. Day 2 of the draft begins at 9 a.m. MT on Saturday, with Rounds 2-7 being televised on NHL Network, ESPN+ and Sportsnet (Canada).
Denver has four players on its 2026-27 roster that are in their first year of eligibility in freshmen defensemen
Ryan Lin and
Daxon Rudolph and forwards
Mikey Berchild and
Ben MacBeath. Sophomore forward
Reid Varkonyi is in his third and final year of eligibility.
Players eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft have to be born between Jan. 1, 2006 and Sept. 15, 2008 or be an undrafted, non-North American player born in 2005 and had not previously completed a draft season in North America. Additionally, players that were drafted in 2024 and were born after June 30, 2006 and were not signed by their NHL club can re-enter the draft.
In NHL Central Scouting's 2026 final draft rankings, Rudolph is rated fifth among North American skaters, while Lin is ranked 16th, MacBeath is listed at No. 22 and Berchild comes in at No. 77.
Denver has had five previous players selected in the first round of the NHL Draft in program history and has never had multiple players picked in Round 1.
Zeev Buium was the last DU player selected in the opening round at No. 12 overall by the Minnesota Wild in 2024—the first American chosen that year.
Craig Redmond is the highest-drafted player in program history after being selected sixth overall by the Los Angeles Kings in 1984. The Pioneers' other three first-round picks are
Joe Colborne (No. 16, Boston, 2008),
Beau Bennett (No. 20, Pittsburgh, 2010) and
Henrik Borgstrom (No. 23, Florida, 2016).
The other four members of DU's freshmen class have already been drafted by NHL clubs with
Blake Fiddler (Seattle Kraken, No. 36 overall),
Max Heise (San Jose Sharks, No. 150 overall) and
Ryan Miller (Pittsburgh Penguins, No. 130 overall) being selected in 2025 and
Jack Pridham being chosen in 2024 (Chicago Blackhawks, No. 92 overall; rights have since been traded to Tampa Bay Lightning).
DU presently has 145 drafted players in program history, including at least one in each of the last 24 drafts since 2002. The Pioneers' seven players picked in the 2024 draft are the most the program has had in a single selection in their history.
Currently, Denver's roster has 12 players that have been drafted by NHL franchises, including five last year counting the three incoming freshmen. Sophomore forwards
Kristian Epperson (No. 88 overall) and
Brendan McMorrow (No. 196) were also picked in 2025, both by the Los Angeles Kings.
Denver First Round Draft Pick History
Craig Redmond, 1984 - #6 (LAK)
Joe Colborne, 2008 - #16 (BOS)
Beau Bennett, 2010 - #20 (PIT)
Henrik Borgstrom, 2016 - #23 (FLA)
Zeev Buium, 2024 - #12 (MIN)
TICKETS: Season tickets as well as five-game mini plans for the DU hockey's championship defense campaign in 2026-27 are on sale now.
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