The Chicago Blackhawks have had a heavy presence in college hockey over the last couple of years. They have used first-round picks on college hockey players or young men committed to the NCAA frequently since Kyle Davidson took over.
Oliver Moore, Sam Rinzel, Artyom Levshunov, Drew Commesso, and Ryan Greene, amongst others, have all played in the college ranks at one point or another.
This year will be no different. There will be a handful of Blackhawks prospects playing across the college hockey landscape, and their scouts will be watching all of the top prospects eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft with a close eye.
At The Hockey News, our Ryan Kennedy ranked the top 100 NCAA players to watch in 2025-26. The Blackhawks and the players they will be scouting are all over the list.
The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) on XWe have one of the most highly anticipated college hockey seasons of all-time coming up!
@THNRyanKennedy’s Top 💯 NCAA Players to Watch: https://t.co/9NNtvLKBiDFor one, forward Gavin McKenna of Penn State and defenseman Keaton Verhoeff of North Dakota are the undrafted players to watch if you're dreaming of drafting in the top two. For the Blackhawks, there is a chance that this is their reality in 2026.
McKenna is the number one-ranked player on this list, and Verhoeff was fifth. Of course, although the latter is projected to be a great NHL player, the former is labeled as a generational talent. Getting their hands on him would be another franchise-altering draft pick for Chicago.
Although the Blackhawks are incredibly strong when it comes to underage defensemen, it is hard to see them passing on Verhoeff if they had the second overall pick. In that instance, you may take the best player available if the gap between two and three is that large. You can address the surplus at the position for help in other spots later.
As far as players already drafted, the Chicago Blackhawks have four players in this top-100 ranking. Those players are:
25. Vaclav Nestrasil, RW, U-Mass
Vaclav Nestrasill will head to U-Mass after being selected in the first round (25th overall) by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2025 NHL Draft. His game as a scoring winger in the USHL should translate to success in Hockey East, where he will prepare to become a contributor in the NHL.
32. Sacha Boisvert, C, Boston University
Sacha Boisvert was one of Chicago's first-round picks (18th overall) in the 2024 NHL Draft. He transferred to Boston University after an incredibly strong freshman year at North Dakota. Boisvert is a two-way center who should thrive in his development under BU head coach Jay Pandolfo.
52. Julius Sumpf, C, Providence
Julius Sumpf, a fourth-round (98th overall) pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, is already looking like a solid selection by Kyle Davidson. Sumpf playing for Providence will make this an exciting team to watch. The program keeps adding talented players who want to play for them, which adds to the competitive balance taking place in Hockey East.
83. Adam Gajan, G, Minnesota-Duluth
The Chicago Blackhawks selected Slovakian goaltender Adam Gajan with a second-round (35th overall) pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. He is now entering his second season with the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Gajan didn't have a great year in 2024-25, so he is hoping that another year older will allow him to start looking like a highly drafted net-minder.
This year's group of Blackhawks playing NCAA hockey might not be quite as strong as it was in recent seasons, but this is still a great group. All four of these guys will likely be given the opportunity to be Blackhawks one day, and playing well in college is a key to their journey to the top.
The first weekend of the college regular season is coming up. For those looking to check out Gavin McKenna's Penn State debut, it can be seen on the NHL's YouTube or NHL Network. That is only one of many reasons to check out the game at this level.
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