Thursday, October 2, 2025

Men’s Notes: Top 2025-26 Preseason Storylines

Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena Hosts 2026 Frozen Four

The destination is Las Vegas. The goal is a berth in the NCAA Frozen Four at T-Mobile Arena in April.

The journey begins this weekend.

On the heels of a whirlwind college hockey offseason – one that included an additional influx of player talent and a record number of new coaches taking over programs – the 2025-26 season finally begins this weekend.

CHI Preseason Media Kit (.pdf) | National Polls

Below are some of the top storylines to watch this season.

Daily Scoreboard | Weekly Schedule | Scoring Leaders | Goaltending Leaders

Poll Position:

Defending NCAA champion Western Michigan, which skated to the school’s first national title last April, was the preseason No. 1 in both the USCHO and USA Hockey/The Rink Live preseason polls.

Last year’s national runner-up, Boston University, was ranked No. 2 in both polls, while Michigan State, Denver and Penn State rounded out the top five in both.

Feeling a Draft:

A total of 258 NHL Draft picks will be playing NCAA Division I men’s hockey this season, the most in at least a decade, a figure that includes 18 first-round selections. Forty-six different NCAA schools have at least one NHL draftee in their roster.

Most Draft Picks Playing NCAA Hockey
19 – Boston University
15 – Michigan State
14 – Denver
13 – Michigan, Minnesota
12 – Boston College, North Dakota
10 – Harvard, Western Michigan, Wisconsin
9 – Colorado College, Cornell

Click HERE to view the entire list of NHL draft picks playing Division I college hockey.

College hockey player development has resulted in record numbers of NCAA alumni playing in the NHL in recent years, including 340 in 2024-25. A record 42 percent of all NHL debuts last season were made by NCAA alumni.

In Like a (Nittany) Lion:

There are also nearly 50 active NCAA Division I men’s hockey players who are eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft, including projected No. 1 overall selection and Penn State freshman F Gavin McKenna (Whitehorse, Yukon).

McKenna bolsters a Nittany Lions roster that returns a nation’s best 282 points and 115 goals from last season’s squad that advanced to the NCAA Frozen Four.

McKenna makes his collegiate debut in Friday’s season opener at Arizona State. The game can be seen nationwide in the U.S. on NHL Network and in Canada on TSN2. It can also be seen online via NHL YouTube and NCHC.tv.

Meet the New Boss(es):

A record 11 programs will have new head coaches in 2025-26, eclipsing the previous record of 10 that was set in 1996 and matched in 2011. Six of those 11 are first time college head coaches: Keith Fisher (Lindenwood), Joe Howe (Yale), Dane Jackson (North Dakota), Zach McKelvie (Army), Brendan Riley (LIU), and Brock Sheahan (Notre Dame).

Riley, who turns 30 on March 29, is the youngest bench boss in NCAA Division I men’s hockey.

The others taking over new benches this season include five coaches who have previously helmed Division I programs: Casey Jones (Cornell), Eric Lang (RPI), Bill Muckalt (Michigan Tech), Brett Riley (Ferris State), and Matt Thomas (RIT).

Century Club:

Two veteran skaters enter the 2025-26 campaign with 100 or more career NCAA points, Michigan’s T.J. Hughes (Sr., Hamilton, Ontario) and Quinnipiac’s Jeremy Wilmer (Sr., Rockville Center, N.Y.):

Career NCAA Scoring Leaders (active)
122 points – T.J. Hughes, Michigan
109 points – Jeremy Wilmer, Quinnipiac
92 points – Lucas Wahlin, St. Thomas
88 points – Andre Gasseau, Boston College
87 points – Aiden Fink, Penn State

Hughes also leads all active NCAA players with 47 career goals, three better than Ferris State’s Josh Zary (Sr., Nanaimo, British Columbia) and nine more than Penn State’s Aiden Fink (Jr., Calgary, Alberta).

Young Pups:

Boston University will ice the nation’s youngest team in NCAA Division I men’s hockey, with an average age (as of Oct. 1) of 19.9-years old. It’s the first time since College Hockey Inc. began tracking the data in 2021-22 that a team will open the season with an average age of under 20.

Staying Hot in Alaska:

Alaska Anchorage sophomore F Ryan Johnson (Calgary, Alberta) finished 2024-25 with points in each of his last 10 games, a streak he’ll try to keep alive in Friday’s season opener against Bemidji State.

Johnson put up a team-leading 25 points in 33 games as a freshman, with seven of his 11 goals coming on the power play.

Speaking of point streaks, returning St. Thomas captain Lucas Wahlin (Sr., Woodbury, Minn.) ended last season on a nine-game run. Wahlin and the Tommies open their season Saturday at St. Cloud State.

For more storylines, click HERE for the 2025-26 College Hockey Inc. Preseason Media Kit.