Throughout the years, there have been several players that have ties to the state of Michigan to reach the NHL or at least get drafted. Recently, these kinds of players have been more prevalent in the NHL, whether it be from playing their college hockey at the University of Michigan, or as part of the United States National Team Developmental Program (USNTDP) located in Plymouth, Michigan.
University of Michigan
Since the 2013-14 season, the Michigan Wolverines have brought in several talented players who have helped lead them to a total of three NCAA Frozen Four appearances and have had 35 players selected in NHL Drafts since the 2014 Draft including 16 of those drafted in the first round.
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The most recent success that the Wolverines have seen in the draft came in the 2021 Draft when four of the top five picks came from either players who at the time played for the team or who were committed to the school. Included in those four were Owen Power (Buffalo Sabres), 2023 Calder Trophy winner Matty Beniers (Seattle Kraken), Luke Hughes (New Jersey Devils), and Kent Johnson (Columbus Blue Jackets). Overall the group has played in 300 regular season games with 162 total points, led by 69 alone from Beniers.
The Wolverines program has seen a number of their players drafted by NHL teams become among some of the best players in the league, including defenseman Quinn Hughes who was drafted seventh overall in the 2018 Draft by the Vancouver Canucks. He has become one of the league’s best defensemen while also becoming the leader for the Canucks and one of the franchise cornerstones. He placed second in Calder Trophy voting in 2020 behind Cale Makar.
Along with Hughes is 2014 first-round pick Dylan Larkin, who got to stay close to home thanks to being drafted by the Detroit Red Wings with pick number 15. He ranks fifth in total points from players drafted in the 2014 Draft and has turned himself into one of the Red Wings’ best players while also becoming a number one center for the team as well as being named the team’s captain before the 2021-22 season. Other notable players that the Wolverines have seen drafted and play in the NHL include defenseman Zach Werenski (Blue Jackets), Kyle Connor (Winnipeg Jets), Josh Norris (Ottawa Senators) Cam York (Philadelphia Flyers), and the number three overall pick in the 2023 Draft Adam Fantilli (Blue Jackets).
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While there have been several players who have become seasoned vets in the NHL, the future is bright for fellow Wolverine draft picks to make their impact in the league with Luke Hughes, Power, Johnson, Fantilli, and others looking like players who could have strong careers and truly become household names for years to come.
Overall, 17 of the 35 Michigan Wolverine players drafted since the 2014 Draft have played in a total of 1,690 games and have tallied 624 goals and 1,066 assists for a total of 1,690 regular season points.
US National Team Developmental Program (USNTDP)
Along with the University of Michigan is the USNTDP which is located in Plymouth, Michigan, and has had enormous success with its player development, leading to a total of 380 players being drafted to the league since the inception of the program in 1999. Since the 2014 Draft, it has seen 168 total players selected, including 48 first-round picks. Of the 168 players, 13 also have ties to the Wolverines program.
Sixty players and three goalies have seen time in the NHL after being drafted, led by 2016 first-overall pick Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs and young gun Jack Hughes who was selected first overall in 2019 by the New Jersey Devils. While these two players have led the way for the USNTDP draftees lately, there have also been quite a few players who have carved out more than solid careers in the league as well. Among these are Jack Eichel, Brady and Matthew Tkachuk, Adam Fox, Jake Sanderson, and Tage Thompson just to name a few.
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The USNTDP has produced a group of players that have turned heads in the league since the 2014-15 season with Matthews becoming one of the league’s premier goal scorers, having tallied 306 goals in his career with the Maple Leafs while also earning a few accolades to his name as well. Among these accolades earned are the 2017 Calder Trophy along with taking home the Hart Memorial Trophy for league MVP, the Ted Lindsay Award for most outstanding player as voted on by the NHL Players Association, and the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Award for top goal scorer in the 2021-22 season (also won it in 2020-21). He also sits third in the league in goals since 2016 with his 306 goals.
Jack Hughes has become one of the league’s most exciting young players with his speed and goal-scoring ability. Last season he made a massive jump in production, seeing him come one point short of 100. He is surely a player to keep an eye on this season to reach that mark as he has continued his strong start to his career with the Devils who have become one of the Eastern Conference’s best teams.
The Tkachuk brothers have also made quite the impact on the league since they debuted, becoming two of the league’s biggest pests and offensive players at their positions. Fox has developed himself into one of the league’s top defensemen and was deservedly rewarded following the 2020-21 season, winning the Norris Trophy for the league’s best defenseman.
The program has also seen three goalies make an impact in the league in Joseph Woll (Maple Leafs, 2016), Jake Oettinger (Dallas Stars, 2017), and Spencer Knight (Florida Panthers, 2019). Oettinger has led the way in net for the Stars, helping lead them to the Stanley Cup Final in the 2019-20 season. Woll has slowly built himself into the Maple Leafs’ hopeful goalie of the future in the last few seasons. Knight has struggled with off-ice personal matters but has looked solid for the Panthers when he has been in the net and is still the hopeful goalie of the future just like Woll is for the Maple Leafs.
Just like the University of Michigan’s draftees, the future is bright with fans likely hearing of a lot of players from the USNTDP in the coming seasons with numerous draft picks over the last few years making their way through the ranks and making the jump to the NHL. Along with a handful of young players in the league already that are starting to make their mark including the youngest Hughes brother, Luke.
No Signs of Slowing Down for Either Program
With the number of players that are in the league with ties to either the University of Michigan or the USNTDP, there are signs of more players becoming household names in the coming draft with the USNTDP having 19 players in the Central Scouting’s early season players to watch for the 2024 Draft, headlined by Cole Eiserman who earned an “A” grade which symbolizes him as being projected as a first-round talent player.
The two programs seem to have been taking the league by storm since 2014 and are showing no signs of slowing down. The state of hockey in the state of Michigan seems to be riding high right now.
**All stats are current as of Oct. 28, 2023**
