The college hockey season is about to open with more draft capital than the sport has ever seen at the NCAA level. A record 326 NHL draft picks, including 30 first-rounders, are spread across the college game, and plenty of those players are already carrying real expectations into the weekend.
Some will be aiming to turn heads right away. Others are trying to build on a breakout and keep the momentum rolling.
Among the names worth circling are four players who arrive with serious buzz: Ethan Wyttenbach at Quinnipiac, Larry Keenan at UMass, Joshua Ravensbergen at Michigan State, and Jacob Kvasnicka at Minnesota.
Ethan Wyttenbach’s freshman season was the kind that changes how people talk about a player. The Quinnipiac winger led the country in scoring as an 18-year-old, just two seasons removed from 16U hockey on Long Island.
He also finished ahead of his lone USHL season by one goal and eight points. Wyttenbach’s game is built on pace and instinct; he has the speed to separate, the quick processing to create, and the shot to finish.
Quinnipiac brings back the same support system around him, too: Mason Marcellus and Markus Vidicek at center, Antonin Verreault on the wing, and Elliott Groenewold on defense. That sets up the Calgary Flames prospect to chase an even bigger year, and many in pro hockey believe he can top what he already did before eventually signing his entry-level contract with Calgary after the season.
Keenan’s jump at UMass wasn’t flashy in the headline sense, but it mattered. The Detroit Red Wings prospect improved on his freshman output by four goals and eight points, even while playing four fewer games.
More importantly, he grew into a much bigger role for the Minutemen, becoming the physical edge on a blue line that also featured Colorado Avalanche prospect Francesco Dell’Elce. The two left-side defensemen gave UMass a pair of groupings that could win their minutes.
Keenan brings a throwback style: he hits, he defends, and he can drive the puck the other way, too. He was named for his grandfather, Larry Keenan, who played 233 NHL games between 1961 and 1972.
Now the junior is positioned to become a true top-pair option in Massachusetts while pushing for his own deal in Detroit.
Ravensbergen enters Michigan State with a different kind of hype. The San Jose Sharks first-rounder is coming off a strong final WHL season in which he led the league in wins and save percentage, finishing at 32-13-0 with a 2.51 GAA and a .919 save percentage.
That was a noticeable leap from the .901 save percentage he posted in his draft year, and the last version of Ravensbergen looked more athletic, more confident, and more in control. Michigan State has a major opening in net after Trey Augustine held the starter’s job for the last three seasons and backup Melvin Strahl transferred to Minnesota over the summer.
That leaves the door wide open for the 19-year-old, who will be just the third teenager to start in goal for the Spartans since 2000. Reports from campus have already praised his ability to handle the spotlight, and with Michigan State carrying a deep roster, Ravensbergen’s play could end up having the biggest say in the team’s championship hopes.
Kvasnicka’s path to Minnesota has been just as eye-catching. After two seasons buried on the U.S.
National Team Development Program lineup, the New York Islanders prospect broke out in the WHL with the Penticton Vees, where he led the team in scoring by 11 points. His 65-game line - 35 goals, 50 assists, 85 points, 21 penalty minutes, and a plus-32 rating - reflected a forward who could do a little of everything.
He forechecked hard, he made plays with patience, and he produced at a star level after arriving with a seventh-round pedigree in 2025. Now he moves to Minnesota, where the Gophers already have a track record with similar skill sets in L.J.
Mooney, Brody Lamb, and Jimmy Clark. If Kvasnicka’s speed and tenacity click the way they should, he has a real chance to carve out top-six minutes early in his freshman season and get people’s attention in the Big Ten.
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