NCAA Hockey: 62 Players Selected in the 2014 NHL Draft

2014_NHL_DraftThis past weekend, the NHL held its 2014 Entry Level Draft. A total of 62 current and or committed college hockey players were selected in the 2014 NHL draft. Over half of the teams in college hockey were represented during the 2014 NHL Draft, 31-of-59 division I teams had players that were drafted (.525).

Four college bound players were selected in the first round of 2014 NHL Draft. That’s an increase over last year.

In the 2013 NHL Draft, there was one college bound player selected in the first round, Michael McCarron, the former Western Michigan recruit was selected 25th overall by the Montreal Canadians. After the 2013 NHL Draft, McCarron decommitted from Western Michigan, and signed a contract with the London Knights of the OHL.

 

College hockey players selected in the first three rounds

First round (4)

Pick NHL Team     Name, Pos                      School (Conference)

15   Detroit               Dylan Larkin, Forward       Michigan (B10)

16   Columbus       Sonny Milano, Forward     Boston College (HEA)

18   Minnesota       Alex Tuch, Forward           Boston College (HEA)

20   Chicago       Nick Schmaltz, Forward   North Dakota (NCHC)

Second Round (8)          

Pick NHL Team       Name, Pos                   School (Conference)

36   Vancouver       Thatcher Demko, Goalie   Boston College (HEA)

41   New Jersey     Joshua Jacobs, Defense   Michigan State (B10)

47   Columbus       Ryan Collins, Defense       Minnesota (B10)

51   Nashville        Jack Dougherty,Defense   Wisconsin (B10)

52   St. Louis          Maxim Letunov, Forward     Boston University (HEA)

55   Anaheim          Brandon Montour, Defense Massachusetts (HEA)

56   Boston            Ryan Donato-I(’15), Forward Harvard (ECAC)

57   Tampa Bay     Jonathan MacLeod, Defense Boston University (HEA)

Third Round (9)

Pick NHL Team     Name, Pos                        School (Conference)

64   Calgary          Brandon Hickey, Defense   Boston University (HEA)

67   Carolina        Warren Foegele, Forward   New Hampshire (HEA)

69   Winnipeg       Jack Glover, Defense         Minnesota (B10)

70   Ottawa         Miles Gendron, Defense     Connecticut (HEA)

80   Minnesota       Louis Belpedio, Defense     Miami (NCHC)

82   St. Louis       Jake Walman, Defense     Providence (HEA)

83   Chicago         Matheson Iacopell, Forward Western Michigan (NCHC)

86   Philadelphia   Mark Friedman, Defense   Bowling Green (WCHA)

88   Chicago         Beau Starrett, Forward         Cornell (ECAC)

Hockey East leads the way

Hockey East led the way with 21 players being taken in the 2014 NHL Draft. Hockey East schools, Boston University and Boston College, each had five players drafted. Boston College had two players drafted in the first round (Sonny Milano 16th, Alex Tuch 18th).

Down year for college hockey

According to Adam Wodon of College Hockey News, this year’s draft was a down year, based on the number of college hockey players that were picked during the 2014 NHL draft.

The total of 62 was on the low end for NCAA picks. Since the draft went to seven rounds in 2005, the lowest number was 61 in 2011, while the highest was 78 in 2007.

According to College Hockey Inc., 70% of NCAA first-round picks from 2000-06 made the NHL, outpacing all other development paths. It will be interesting to see how this year’s class comparers to other years.

You can also check out the Hockey Writers mock draft to see how they did.