10/8/26: Reviewing College Hockey Programs Driven by Top NHL Prospects

The admission of elite Canadian Hockey League players to the NCAA has added to the pipeline of quality players the USHL has provided, making college hockey must-see TV for hockey fans this season. Six programs stand out in 2026-27 as having the most high-end NHL draft picks at its disposal. Those schools consist of The University of Denver, the University of North Dakota, Michigan State University, the University of Michigan, Boston University, and Boston College. Combined, these schools boast the prospects of 21 NHL clubs, most of whom were selected within the first two rounds of their respective drafts.

Today’s profile is of The University of Denver. The Pioneers’ strength this season will be with its D corps, where they feature prospects from six different NHL clubs: Ben Macbeath (64th overall in 2026 by NYR), Blake Fiddler (36th overall in 2025 by SEA), Ryan Lin (21st overall in 2026 by SJS), Daxon Rudolph (4th overall in 2026 by BUF) Tory Pitner (185th overall in 2024 by COL) & Eric Jamieson (177th overall in 2024 by CGY). In fact, Sabres’ prospect Rudolph was named the National Collegiate Hockey Conference’s Player of the Week for the first week of the season, registering 5 points (1G 4A) in his first two collegiate games.

The Pioneers have significant pro-caliber firepower up front as well, led by Kristian Epperson (88th overall by LAK), Mikey Berchild (105th overall in 2026 by CGY), Jack Pridham (92nd overall in 2024 by CHI [now a TBL prospect]) & Max Heise (150th overall in 2025 by SJS). Personally, I believe Pridam will wind up being the leading producer of this group, as he is coming off a 90-point season with OHL Kitchener, and was the scoring leader for the eventual champion Rangers at The 2026 Memorial Cup Tournament (9 points on 5G & 4A). In addition to Pridham’s considerable knack for the net, Epperson was the high-scoring running mate (88 points) of San Jose’s Michael Misa at OHL Saginaw during his draft year.