Michigan made college hockey history on Friday night, when four of the top-five selections in the NHL Draft were either current or incoming Michigan players. The Wolverines even had a fifth selection at the No. 24 spot when Mackie Samoskevich was chosen by Florida.
As expected, defenseman Owen Power was chosen No. 1 by the Buffalo Sabres. Center Matthew Beniers went No. 2 to Seattle and New Jersey took Luke Hughes at No. 4 while Kent Johnson went No. 5 to Columbus.
In total, nine first-round selections were from college hockey.
The closest thing to Michigan’s historical draft on Friday was 2006, when there were four of the top-seven selections from college hockey, including three picks from the University of Minnesota.
The total of nine first-rounders coming from the NCAA matches the third most in NHL Draft history. The record is 11 NCAA draftees in the first round, which happened in 2007 and then again in 2016.
