For 224 young hockey players across the world, this weekend will be one of the biggest in their lives.
The NHL Draft this Friday and Saturday will determine where some of the world’s best hockey prospects end up. That list includes a number of players and recruits for the Michigan and Michigan State hockey teams. As many as eight Wolverines and six Spartans are projected to be picked by NHL teams this weekend, some of whom will be top prospects for the organizations that pick them.
Here’s a look at the local college players who could go in this year’s NHL Draft.
Michigan State
Shane Vansaghi, forward
A heavy presence on Michigan State’s fourth line, Vansaghi proved in limited playing time that he has a whole lot of talent to offer an NHL team. The sixth-youngest player in college hockey last season, Vansaghi chipped in 16 points in 37 games. Most projections list the St. Louis-born Vansaghi as an early second-round pick, but his versatility and attitude might make him a candidate for an unexpected rise into the late first round.
Ryker Lee, forward
Cayden Lindstrom and, if Michigan State actually lands him, Gavin McKenna, have taken the attention in the Spartans’ 2025 recruiting class, but Lee is one of its more underrated pickups. The MVP of the All-American Game earned USHL Rookie of the Year honors by scoring 68 points in 58 games for the Madison Capitols. He’s a product of hockey powerhouse Shattuck St. Mary’s, where he picked up a lot of the traits that both MSU coach Adam Nightingale and prospective NHL teams will value. Lee is another candidate for the first/second-round fringe.
Mason West, forward
Michigan State’s most recent pickup should be another early draft pick, projected for the mid-second round. West is a dynamic skater with a high-level shot, using it to rack up 27 goals in 31 games for Edina on the Minnesota high school circuit. West will head back to Edina for football season — where he’s also a three-star quarterback prospect — before lacing up for the Fargo Force of the USHL. He’ll join Michigan State in 2026.
Eric Nilson, forward
The son of former NHL forward Marcus, the Swedish forward Eric Nilson brings a similar two-way flavor to his game. He put up 38 points in 37 games in the Swedish junior league before registering his first professional point, an assist, in one of his four games with Djurgardens in the second-tier Swedish league HockeyAllsvenskan. Most mocks have him going in the second round.
Brady Peddle, defense
A stout 6-foot-3 left-handed defenseman, Peddle will join Michigan State in 2026. He’s a physical presence on the ice, but he doesn’t lack for skill. He put up 10 points in 62 regular-season games for the Waterloo Black Hawks, only to match that total in 15 playoff games. Brady is the son of Brad Peddle, who spent the majority of his son’s life coaching St. Francis Xavier University in Canadian USports.
Brooks Cullen, forward
Ranked 164th in North America by NHL Central Scouting, there’s a chance Cullen gets picked up in the draft’s final rounds Saturday. Cullen is expected to join Michigan State in 2026. He most recently put up a 23-goal season with Moorhead High School in Minnesota before scoring a goal and an assist in 12 regular season and playoff games with the Fargo Force.
Michigan
Will Horcoff, forward
Draft years can be chaotic. Horcoff’s certainly was. He joined Michigan midseason, playing his first ever game at the Frozen Confines of Wrigley Field and scoring two of his 10 points in his debut. At 6-foot-4 and 181 pounds, he already looks the part of an NHL prospect. Most projections put him as one of the first off the board in the second round, but he’s got a lot of traits that NHL teams tend to swing on late in the first round. And, he’s got the pedigree. Horcoff is the son of longtime NHLer and Michigan State alumnus Shawn Horcoff, who is now an executive with the Detroit Red Wings.
Malcolm Spence, forward
One of the first commits to Michigan from the Canadian Hockey League, Spence is one of Michigan’s top pickups of the recruiting cycle. He scored 73 points and 32 goals for the Erie Otters last season, putting up nine points in nine OHL playoff games. He should be a first-round pick, barring any major surprises.
Dakoda Rhéaume-Mullen, defense
Rhéaume-Mullen proved himself as a big contributor on Michigan’s blue line last season, playing somewhere in the top four most of the year and picking up nine points in 35 games. He’ll be a middle-round pick, probably somewhere in the third. His mother Manon Rhéaume was the first woman to ever play a game in a major North American league, doing so in a Tampa Bay exhibition in 1992. His half-brother, Dylan St. Cyr, played a season in net at Michigan State.
Jack Ivankovic, goaltender
Michigan has been looking for a bluechip goalie prospect since Trey Augustine flipped to Michigan State. It finally found one by committing Ivankovic earlier this summer. He should be among the first goaltenders off the board this weekend. Ivankovic played for Brampton in the OHL, posting a .903 save percentage and 3.05 goals-against average in 43 regular-season games. In international games for Canada, Ivankovic went undefeated in six games at the U-18 World Junior Championship with a .961 save percentage and 1.05 goals-against average. He was named best goaltender in the tournament for his performance.
Cole McKinney, forward
McKinney may be one of the best adds in Michigan’s recruiting class. He’s one of the top two-way centers in his draft year, coming off a 61-point season that led the U.S. National Team Development Program’s U-18 team. He won bronze at the U-18 World Juniors with Team USA. The Wolverines were without their usual center depth last season, but adding the 6-foot, 201-pound McKinney to the mix should help sort that out. Most mocks project McKinney to go somewhere early in the second round.
Asher Barnett, defense
Barnett is a candidate for a late-round pick this year. He captained Team USA at the U-18 World Juniors and put up six points in seven games, a capstone to his 22 points in 58 games with the U-18 NTDP team. Barnett was a AAA teammate of McKinney’s with Chicago Mission.
Drew Schock, defense
A point-per-game player at the U-18 World Juniors, Schock is a Michigan legacy commit whose father helped Michigan to the 1996 national championship. Schock fits this Michigan blueline like a hand in a glove, with his quick skating and ability to spark the transition game with his breakouts. He should go somewhere in the draft’s later rounds.
Aidan Park, forward
Park went undrafted last year after a whale of a season with Shattuck, but this year he should go in the draft’s later rounds. He put up 66 points, split evenly between goals and assists, in 55 games for the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL. He also played a trio of playoff games for the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen.
