BUFFALO, N.Y. – The University of Denver hockey team had four incoming freshman picked this weekend at the 2026 NHL Draft at KeyBank Center in Buffalo.
 
Defenseman Daxon Rudolph was picked at No. 4 overall by the Buffalo Sabres on Friday night while fellow rookie blueliner Ryan Lin was also selected in the first round at No. 21 by the San Jose Sharks. Forward Ben MacBeath was chosen in round 2 at No. 64 by the New Yorks and Mikey Berchild was drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes in the fourth round at 105th overall.
 
This was the first time in Denver hockey history that it has had multiple players picked in the first round in the same draft, and the program now has seven all-time first round picks in its record books. Additionally, Rudolph became the highest-selected player in Denver hockey history at No. 4 overall, besting the previous high of sixth overall by Craig Redmond in 1984 by the Los Angeles Kings. DU now has 149 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 and three or more in each of the last six drafts since 2021.
 
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, the Lacombe, Alberta, native 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. He was named to the WHL (East) All-Star First Team and to the Canadian Hockey League All-Star Third Team.
 
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 League 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.
 
MacBeath skated in 67 outings for the Western Hockey League's Calgary Hitmen in 2025-26, leading the team with 44 assists while also recording seven goals for 51 points. The forward was also first on the squad with 23 power-play assists and recorded 16 penalty minutes, +5 plus/minus rating and 122 shots on goal.
 
The Calgary, Alberta, native played five outings for Team Canada at the 2026 IIHF U18 World Championship. Prior to the major-junior level, MacBeath appeared in 53 games for the Salmon Arm Silverbacks of the British Columbia Hockey League in the 2024-25 campaign, contributing four goals and 30 assists and was named to the BCHL All-Rookie Team.
 
Berchild suited up for Team USA the last two years at the U.S. National Team Development Program, combining for 54 goals and 54 assists for 108 points in 123 career games while with the NTDP. He appeared in 58 contests with the U.S. Under-18 team in 2025-26, registering 23 goals and 30 assists.
 
The Excelsior, Minnesota, native was an alternate captain with the United States at the 2026 IIHF U18 World Championship and was named one of the top three players on the squad after recording four goals and two assists for six points. Berchild played in 65 total outings and recorded 55 overall points (31g/24a) in his first season with the NTDP in 2024-25, split between the Under-18 and Under-17 squads. He won a bronze medal with the U.S. at the 2025 U18 Worlds and won gold with the Americans at the 2024 Youth Olympic Games after leading the tournament in points (9) and assists (4).
 
All eight of Denver's incoming freshmen are NHL draft picks as Blake Fiddler (Seattle Kraken, No. 36 overall), Max Heise (San Jose Sharks, No. 150 overall) and Ryan Miller (Pittsburgh Penguins, No. 130 overall) were selected in 2025 and Jack Pridham was chosen in 2024 (Chicago Blackhawks, No. 92 overall; rights have since been traded to Tampa Bay Lightning). Learn more about this year's Pioneer freshmen class.
 
In addition to DU's four players, signed student-athlete Logan Stuart was chosen in the seventh round at 208th overall by the Washington Capitals.
 
The Pioneers will enter 2026-27 with 16 drafted players on their roster, the most in a single season in program history. Last season, DU had 14 drafted players on its squad, which ranked third-most in the NCAA behind Boston University (19) and Michigan State (15).
 
 
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. Click here for more information.