BUFFALO, N.Y. – University of Denver hockey had two players selected in the first round of the NHL Draft for the first time in program history on Friday night.
Incoming freshman defenseman
Daxon Rudolph was picked at No. 4 overall by the Buffalo Sabres and fellow rookie rear guard
Ryan Lin was chosen No. 21 by the San Jose Sharks on Day 1 of the 2026 draft at KeyBank Center.
Rudolph and Lin become the sixth and seventh Denver players to be selected in the first round of the draft and the first since
Zeev Buium at No. 12 overall in 2024 by the Minnesota Wild. DU now has 147 all-time players that have been drafted in the NHL and have had multiple players picked in each of the last 11 years dating back to 2016.
By being picked fourth overall, Rudolph was the first defensemen this year to be chosen and is now the highest-drafted player in program history.
Craig Redmond was previously the highest-picked Pioneer at sixth overall by the Los Angeles Kings in 1984. Denver's other first-round picks are
Joe Colborne (No. 16, Boston, 2008),
Beau Bennett (No. 20, Pittsburgh, 2010) and
Henrik Borgstrom (No. 23, Florida, 2016).
Rudolph has skated for the Western Hockey League's Prince Albert Raiders for the last two seasons where he totaled 119 points (35g/84a) in 132 career regular-season games and 39 points (10g/29a) in 30 postseason contests. He led the Raiders in 2025-26 with 50 assists and 78 points and ranked second in goals with 28 behind fellow Denver incoming freshman Max Heise (29). Rudolph tied NHLer Josh Morrissey's Prince Albert franchise record for goals in a single season by a defenseman and broke Morrissey's mark for the most power-play goals by a blueliner in a campaign (13).
In addition to leading the team in power-play tallies, he also led the Raiders in all three power-play scoring categories by also added 22 man-advantage assists for 35 points while also ranking first in game-winning goals (6-tied). Rudolph was second on the squad in penalty minutes (75) and registered a +32 plus/minus rating while skating in 68 games as the team's alternate captain. Rudolph was named to the WHL (East) All-Star First Team and to the Canadian Hockey League All-Star Third Team.
The Lacombe, Alberta, native was second among team defensemen in scoring in his first year with the Raiders in 2024-25 with 41 points (7g/34a) after being the No. 1 overall pick by the club in the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft. Rudolph also ranked first among Prince Albert D-men that season with 34 assists as a rookie at the major-junior level. In the 2025 WHL Playoffs, he finished third on the team in scoring with 12 points (1g/11a) in 11 outings.
Rudolph won a gold medal with Team Canada at the 2025 IIHF U18 World Championship as well as with Canada White at the 2024 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. He was also teammates with Lin at the 2024 Youth Olympic Games with Canada's U16 squad.
Lin has played the past two seasons with his hometown Vancouver Giants in the WHL and registered 110 points (19g/91a) in 114 career regular-season contests from 2024-2026. Last season, the defenseman led the Giants in assists (43) while ranking second on the team and leading all Vancouver blueliners in scoring with 57 points, earning recognition on the WHL (West) All-Star Second Team. He also added 14 goals and was second on the squad in power-play scoring with 24 points (3g/21a), including leading the G-men with 21 assists during man advantages.
The Richmond, British Columbia, native began the season as an alternate captain before being named team captain of Vancouver on Jan. 9, 2026 at the age of 17 years and 267 days old, becoming the second-youngest captain in team history. Lin also made some Western Leage history by reaching 100 career points in his 100th WHL game on Jan. 3, 2026 at Portland—the fastest defensemen under 18 years old in league history to accomplish the feat since Hockey Hall of Fame member Scott Niedermayer in 1990-91 with the Kamloops Blazers.
Lin gave Niedermayer company on another list in his first year with Vancouver in 2024-25. He led all rookies with 48 assists and added five goals for 53 points, joining Niedermayer in 1989-90 with Kamloops as the only WHL defensemen aged 16 or younger to total 50 or more points in a campaign.
Internationally, Lin was named one of the top three players on Team Canada at the 2026 IIHF U18 World Championships after tying for first in scoring among all tournament defensemen and tying for second overall on the squad with six points (1g/5a) in five games. At the 2025 U18 Worlds, Lin helped Canada claim the gold medal as he scored two points (1g/1a) in seven contests. He also led all tournament defensemen in points (5) and assists (4) at the 2024 Youth Olympic Games in South Korea with Team Canada.
In NHL Central Scouting's final 2026 rankings, Rudolph entered the draft ranked No. 5 among North American skaters while Lin was rated 16th on the same list.
The 2026 NHL Draft concludes on Saturday morning with Rounds 2-7 and several Pioneer players are expected to be chosen. Day 2 of the selection begins at 9 a.m. MT, and it will be televised on NHL Network, ESPN+ and Sportsnet (Canada).
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)
Daxon Rudolph, 2026 - #4 (BUF)
Ryan Lin, 2026 - #21 (SJS)
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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