Landon DuPont headlines Ryan Kennedy’s NCAA top 100 for 2026-27

For the 2026-27 college hockey season, reporter Ryan Kennedy has published his annual rundown of the top 100 NCAA players to watch, highlighting how much high-end talent has clustered at a handful of powerhouse programs. At the top of the ranking is Michigan defenceman Landon DuPont, billed as one of the premier prospects for the 2027 NHL draft and the most intriguing name to follow this year.

DuPont leads a CHL-fuelled wave of NCAA stars

Kennedy stresses that his list is about players he is most eager to see, not a projected scoring chart or save-percentage leaderboard. The group is made up almost entirely of drafted or draft-eligible players, while undrafted college free agents will be examined separately after the season. Freshmen and sophomores receive a larger share of spots, with upperclassmen considered more known quantities at this stage.

The top end of the ranking underlines how much the NCAA has benefitted from players arriving from the Canadian Hockey League. After Gavin McKenna topped the list last year at Penn State, DuPont now takes over as the marquee CHL alum, stepping into Michigan’s blue line with a reputation as a smart, dynamic presence at both ends of the ice.

Behind DuPont, several other high-profile names stand out. Quinnipiac winger Ethan Wyttenbach, whose NHL rights belong to the Calgary Flames, comes in as a prolific returning scorer expected to remain a major offensive driver. At Michigan State, Seattle Kraken prospect Chase Reid is highlighted as an offensive defenceman with better-rounded tools than his reputation suggests, while Buffalo Sabres pick Daxon Rudolph brings his point-producing game to defending national champion Denver.

Down the middle, Vancouver Canucks prospect Caleb Malhotra arrives at Boston University after starring in the OHL, viewed as having the tools of a true No. 1 centre. Boston College centre Dean Letourneau, a towering Bruins prospect who broke through last season, is another pivot Kennedy flags as a candidate to dominate. Montreal Canadiens draft pick Michael Hage returns to Michigan rather than turning pro, looking for another run at a national title with a stacked Wolverines lineup.

Power programs load up on elite young talent

Kennedy notes that this year’s edition may be his least geographically diverse list, with so many top-end players choosing traditional heavyweights. North Dakota, for example, features smooth-skating defenceman Carson Carels, a Flames prospect, and Sharks pick Keaton Verhoeff, who put up a strong freshman season. Denver adds another offensive defender in Ryan Lin, while UMass welcomes 2026 first-drafted goalie Tobias Trejbal, a Calgary prospect stepping into the crease after Michael Hrabal’s departure.

Boston University’s contingent is sizeable, with Malhotra joined by highly skilled Chicago Blackhawks prospect Xavier Villeneuve on defence and Danish sniper Niklas Aaram-Olsen, whose rights belong to the Vancouver Canucks. Across town at Boston College, Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Oscar Hemming is pointed out as a forward who showed flashes of being a difference-maker and now gets a chance to prove it over a full, settled season.

Elsewhere, Detroit Red Wings prospect Max Plante returns to Minnesota-Duluth after a Hobey Baker-winning campaign and the opportunity to play with his brothers, while another Wings prospect, Victor Plante, adds more offence to that same program. Goaltending depth is also a theme: New Jersey Devils prospect Mikhail Yegorov is back in the Boston University net, and fellow Russian keeper Yegor Yegorov, another Flames property, joins Miami with countrymen already in the lineup.

From big power forwards like Vaclav Nestrasil at UMass and Ethan Belchetz at Michigan State to undersized but productive attackers such as LJ Mooney at Minnesota and Justin Poirier at Penn State, Kennedy’s list underlines how deep the NCAA talent pool has become. With CHL alumni swarming college hockey for a second straight year, narrowing the field to 100 names underscores just how competitive the landscape now is.