Former NCAA players will soon make up a huge percentage of all rookies in the NHL, so who are the three to look out for in the Pacific Division for 2026-27?
There are a lot of exciting young players in the Pacific Division these days, and the NCAA has been a growing part of that for years. But recently, a growing number of top players in the division have college hockey roots.
Names like Macklin Celebrini, Jackson Lacombe, Will Smith, Matty Beniers, and Cutter Gauthier, among others, are high-impact players from the college ranks and are some of the best young stars across the Pacific.
But will any new faces fresh out of the NCAA have a big impact on the Calder Trophy race for 2026-27? Here are three who could do just that.
1. Trevor Connelly, LW, Vegas Golden Knights
Trevor Connelly had played just 23 games at Providence College before making the jump to pro hockey in 2024-25. And in his first full season with the Vegas Golden Knights organization this past year, he proved that he can play against men with relative ease.
As a 20-year-old rookie for AHL Henderson, Connelly finished sixth in rookie scoring with 14 goals and 35 assists for 49 points, and first in points per game (1.07), among players who made more than 10 appearances.
The thing is, this is a situational advantage for Connelly because while the Golden Knights are loaded at center and on the right wing, their left-wing options are not nearly as good. It's possible the rookie plays his way into the opening lineup ahead of guys like Victor Olofsson and Alexander Holtz, who currently make up Vegas' bottom-six left wing options.
At that point, Connelly might not get a ton of power-play time with Vegas, but he could get plenty of 5-on-5 ice time.
2. Roger McQueen, C, Anaheim Ducks
Another former Friar at Providence College, Roger McQueen, had a bit of a hard time adjusting from the WHL to NCAA hockey at the start of this past season, with no goals in his first nine games. But after that, he really rounded out his game and became a rather productive and reliable defensive player for Providence.
By the end of the season, he was playing big minutes and racking up a lot of points.The question is, can he make a smoother transition to the pros?
He played nine games for AHL San Diego between the regular season and playoffs after making the jump. The NHL and Anaheim Ducks are a different question.
It's probably better in the long run to just give him a big AHL role and see what happens, but this is the 10th overall pick in 2025, and given his 6-foot-6 frame, it's easy to see him making a case for himself to be with the big club early in the season.
3. Quinn Hutson, RW, Edmonton Oilers
Quinn Hutson is probably more likely to make the Edmonton Oilers' opening-day roster than either Connelly with Vegas or McQueen with Anaheim. But how effective will he be?
Wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for Edmonton to give Hutson a long look. He scored 30 goals and 33 assists for 63 points with AHL Bakersfield this past season, the most goals and second-most points among AHL rookies. That was also good for sixth and ninth in those two categories, respectively, in the entire AHL.
But if Edmonton is gonna give the go-ahead to a young forward, it feels more likely that it would be 2025 Hobey Baker winner Isaac Howard, who played too many games for the Oilers in 2025-26 (29) to qualify as a rookie.
But if Hutson puts up another monster season like the one he just had, he'll be impossible for the Oilers to ignore.
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