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From Brad Elliott Schlossman, UND/College Hockey Writer for the Grand Forks Herald.
Schlossman: The Big Ten is spending, but the NCHC keeps winning national titles
Despite a lack of NHL first-round picks, the NCHC has dominated the NCAA tournament.
By Brad Elliott Schlossman
April 17, 2025 at 11:57 AM
GRAND FORKS — The National Collegiate Hockey Conference had its worst nonconference record in a decade this season.
It meant only two teams qualified for the NCAA tournament.
Western Michigan won the NCAA national championship Saturday night, beating Boston University 6-2 in the final.
It marked the seventh national championship in the last nine tournaments for the NCHC. UND, Minnesota Duluth and Denver also have won titles in that span.
The NCHC went 6-1 in the NCAA tournament this season. Its only loss was to itself. Western Michigan knocked out Denver in the semifinals.
It has been more than 40 years since a men's college hockey conference has gone on a run like this. The old Western Collegiate Hockey Association won 10 of 11 national titles from 1973-83.
In the last decade, the only other conferences to win a national championship are the ECAC and Hockey East. They each won one.
The Big Ten, with all of its wealth, power and publicity, has yet to win an NCAA title since the league formed in 2013-14. The last time one of its members won a national title was 18 years ago, when Michigan State did it. The captain of that team is now 43 years old.
There have been concerns across college hockey that the Big Ten is on the verge of taking over with all the football money that has trickled over to hockey.
Several pundits proclaimed that time had arrived after the 2023 NCAA tournament first round, where the Big Ten issued beatdowns across the board. Minnesota beat Canisius 9-2, Michigan beat Colgate 11-1, Penn State beat Michigan Tech 8-0 and Ohio State beat Harvard 8-1.
But since that round, the Big Ten is a modest 9-12 in the NCAA tournament.
Only one Big Ten team has even reached the championship game in the last seven years (six tournaments).
There are underlying reasons why other schools are wary of the Big Ten and its money.
The Big Ten has won a lot of recruiting battles for top prospects recently.
Since 2019, the Big Ten has had 24 NHL first-round picks. Hockey East has had 16. The NCHC has had five — and two transferred out after a year to the Big Ten and Hockey East.
Some Big Ten teams spent the second half of this season trying to shake down the NCHC for its best players.
A few key players will head to the Big Ten. St. Cloud State second-round draft pick Colin Ralph is transferring to Michigan State. UND third-rounder Jayden Perron is going to Michigan. Omaha third-rounder Tanner Ludtke is off to Minnesota.
Some Big Ten schools are throwing major money at top Canadian Hockey League players, who will be eligible for college hockey beginning this fall.
Superstar Gavin McKenna, the projected No. 1 overall pick in 2026, is fielding massive Name, Image and Likeness offers. If he goes to college, he will likely enter next season as the Hobey Baker Award frontrunner — which is saying something considering 2025 winner Isaac Howard of Michigan State is planning to return to school.
A lot of attention is placed on the top NHL prospects in college hockey — and for good reason. They're often the best players.
Four of the last five Hobey Baker Award winners have been first-round NHL picks — Howard (No. 31 overall), Boston University's Macklin Celebrini (No. 1), Michigan's Adam Fantilli (No. 3) and Wisconsin's Cole Caufield (No. 15).
This year's Hobey Hat Trick was all first-round picks — Howard, Boston College's Ryan Leonard (No. 8) and Denver's Zeev Buium (No. 12)
But there's an interesting paradox in college hockey right now. Teams loaded with top NHL prospects have been good — sometimes very good — but none have won the national title yet.
There have been 16 college hockey teams with four-plus NHL first-rounders on their roster. Five have reached the Frozen Four. Three have missed the NCAA tournament. Only one reached the final and it lost.
Michigan has had a whopping 12 first-rounders since 2019 — including four of the top five picks in 2021 — but the Wolverines never won Big Ten conference title with that group. Their last NCAA championship was 27 years ago.
The smaller Michigan schools — Western Michigan and Ferris State — have played for NCAA titles more recently than the big ones.
The last team with multiple NHL first-round picks to win an NCAA title was UND in 2016. That team had two: Nick Schmaltz and Brock Boeser.
The only first-round picks who have won a national title in the last eight years (and seven tournaments) are Minnesota Duluth's Riley Tufte and Denver's Zeev Buium.
Two of the last three national champions have not had any players selected in the top 65 of the NHL Draft.
The list of Frozen Four Most Outstanding Players in the last decade: Owen Michaels (undrafted), Matt Davis (undrafted), Jacob Quillan (undrafted), Mike Benning (fourth-round pick), Bobby Trivigno (undrafted), Parker Mackay (undrafted), Karson Kuhlman (undrafted), Jarid Lukosevicius (undrafted) and Drake Caggiula (undrafted).
Minnesota's Thomas Vanek is the last first-round pick to win Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player. That was 22 years ago.
This is not to say teams loaded with NHL prospects cannot win.
Minnesota, with three first-rounders, came within two minutes in 2023. Boston College was close in 2024.
But year after year, college hockey teams keep proving you can construct championship rosters without stockpiling the nation's most coveted recruits.
Western Michigan did that this year, completing the trifecta. The Broncos won the NCHC regular-season title, playoff title and national title. Their only top-100 NHL pick on the roster was freshman forward Zach Nehring, who went No. 82.
The last team to complete the trifecta was Union in 2014. The Dutchmen had one NHL pick on that roster — third-rounder Shayne Gostisbehere.
It's important to note the Big Ten has made big jumps in regular-season play recently with its top prospects.
The NCHC had college hockey's best nonconference record five times in six years from 2014-15 through 2019-20. But the Big Ten has held the best nonconference record all four years since the pandemic.
It just hasn't been able to get over the hump in the playoffs.
It was, once again, the NCHC.
Perhaps it wasn't really a down year after all for the league. It may have been a victim of poor circumstances.
Five teams played most of their nonconference schedule without a top offensive player.
UND was without first-line center Cameron Berg. Colorado College was without first-line center Noah Laba. Arizona State was without first-line center Artem Shlaine, an NCHC Player of the Year finalist. Omaha was without Ludtke, its first-line winger. Minnesota Duluth was without Max Plante, its point-per-game leader.
Western Michigan and Denver stayed relatively healthy through nonconference and came through in the national tournament.
It was another win and another national championship for the NCHC.
Worries about the Big Ten's money — fueled by football and basketball programs — will persist. It's hard to compete with money when it comes to recruiting. But that's nothing new. The Big Ten has been recruiting top NHL picks for a while.
At some point, will that equate to national championships? Time will tell.
But for a decade, the NCHC has owned the national tournament.
Schlossman: The Big Ten is spending, but the NCHC keeps winning national titles
Despite a lack of NHL first-round picks, the NCHC has dominated the NCAA tournament.
By Brad Elliott Schlossman
April 17, 2025 at 11:57 AM
GRAND FORKS — The National Collegiate Hockey Conference had its worst nonconference record in a decade this season.
It meant only two teams qualified for the NCAA tournament.
Western Michigan won the NCAA national championship Saturday night, beating Boston University 6-2 in the final.
It marked the seventh national championship in the last nine tournaments for the NCHC. UND, Minnesota Duluth and Denver also have won titles in that span.
The NCHC went 6-1 in the NCAA tournament this season. Its only loss was to itself. Western Michigan knocked out Denver in the semifinals.
It has been more than 40 years since a men's college hockey conference has gone on a run like this. The old Western Collegiate Hockey Association won 10 of 11 national titles from 1973-83.
In the last decade, the only other conferences to win a national championship are the ECAC and Hockey East. They each won one.
The Big Ten, with all of its wealth, power and publicity, has yet to win an NCAA title since the league formed in 2013-14. The last time one of its members won a national title was 18 years ago, when Michigan State did it. The captain of that team is now 43 years old.
There have been concerns across college hockey that the Big Ten is on the verge of taking over with all the football money that has trickled over to hockey.
Several pundits proclaimed that time had arrived after the 2023 NCAA tournament first round, where the Big Ten issued beatdowns across the board. Minnesota beat Canisius 9-2, Michigan beat Colgate 11-1, Penn State beat Michigan Tech 8-0 and Ohio State beat Harvard 8-1.
But since that round, the Big Ten is a modest 9-12 in the NCAA tournament.
Only one Big Ten team has even reached the championship game in the last seven years (six tournaments).
There are underlying reasons why other schools are wary of the Big Ten and its money.
The Big Ten has won a lot of recruiting battles for top prospects recently.
Since 2019, the Big Ten has had 24 NHL first-round picks. Hockey East has had 16. The NCHC has had five — and two transferred out after a year to the Big Ten and Hockey East.
Some Big Ten teams spent the second half of this season trying to shake down the NCHC for its best players.
A few key players will head to the Big Ten. St. Cloud State second-round draft pick Colin Ralph is transferring to Michigan State. UND third-rounder Jayden Perron is going to Michigan. Omaha third-rounder Tanner Ludtke is off to Minnesota.
Some Big Ten schools are throwing major money at top Canadian Hockey League players, who will be eligible for college hockey beginning this fall.
Superstar Gavin McKenna, the projected No. 1 overall pick in 2026, is fielding massive Name, Image and Likeness offers. If he goes to college, he will likely enter next season as the Hobey Baker Award frontrunner — which is saying something considering 2025 winner Isaac Howard of Michigan State is planning to return to school.
A lot of attention is placed on the top NHL prospects in college hockey — and for good reason. They're often the best players.
Four of the last five Hobey Baker Award winners have been first-round NHL picks — Howard (No. 31 overall), Boston University's Macklin Celebrini (No. 1), Michigan's Adam Fantilli (No. 3) and Wisconsin's Cole Caufield (No. 15).
This year's Hobey Hat Trick was all first-round picks — Howard, Boston College's Ryan Leonard (No. 8) and Denver's Zeev Buium (No. 12)
But there's an interesting paradox in college hockey right now. Teams loaded with top NHL prospects have been good — sometimes very good — but none have won the national title yet.
There have been 16 college hockey teams with four-plus NHL first-rounders on their roster. Five have reached the Frozen Four. Three have missed the NCAA tournament. Only one reached the final and it lost.
Michigan has had a whopping 12 first-rounders since 2019 — including four of the top five picks in 2021 — but the Wolverines never won Big Ten conference title with that group. Their last NCAA championship was 27 years ago.
The smaller Michigan schools — Western Michigan and Ferris State — have played for NCAA titles more recently than the big ones.
The last team with multiple NHL first-round picks to win an NCAA title was UND in 2016. That team had two: Nick Schmaltz and Brock Boeser.
The only first-round picks who have won a national title in the last eight years (and seven tournaments) are Minnesota Duluth's Riley Tufte and Denver's Zeev Buium.
Two of the last three national champions have not had any players selected in the top 65 of the NHL Draft.
The list of Frozen Four Most Outstanding Players in the last decade: Owen Michaels (undrafted), Matt Davis (undrafted), Jacob Quillan (undrafted), Mike Benning (fourth-round pick), Bobby Trivigno (undrafted), Parker Mackay (undrafted), Karson Kuhlman (undrafted), Jarid Lukosevicius (undrafted) and Drake Caggiula (undrafted).
Minnesota's Thomas Vanek is the last first-round pick to win Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player. That was 22 years ago.
This is not to say teams loaded with NHL prospects cannot win.
Minnesota, with three first-rounders, came within two minutes in 2023. Boston College was close in 2024.
But year after year, college hockey teams keep proving you can construct championship rosters without stockpiling the nation's most coveted recruits.
Western Michigan did that this year, completing the trifecta. The Broncos won the NCHC regular-season title, playoff title and national title. Their only top-100 NHL pick on the roster was freshman forward Zach Nehring, who went No. 82.
The last team to complete the trifecta was Union in 2014. The Dutchmen had one NHL pick on that roster — third-rounder Shayne Gostisbehere.
It's important to note the Big Ten has made big jumps in regular-season play recently with its top prospects.
The NCHC had college hockey's best nonconference record five times in six years from 2014-15 through 2019-20. But the Big Ten has held the best nonconference record all four years since the pandemic.
It just hasn't been able to get over the hump in the playoffs.
It was, once again, the NCHC.
Perhaps it wasn't really a down year after all for the league. It may have been a victim of poor circumstances.
Five teams played most of their nonconference schedule without a top offensive player.
UND was without first-line center Cameron Berg. Colorado College was without first-line center Noah Laba. Arizona State was without first-line center Artem Shlaine, an NCHC Player of the Year finalist. Omaha was without Ludtke, its first-line winger. Minnesota Duluth was without Max Plante, its point-per-game leader.
Western Michigan and Denver stayed relatively healthy through nonconference and came through in the national tournament.
It was another win and another national championship for the NCHC.
Worries about the Big Ten's money — fueled by football and basketball programs — will persist. It's hard to compete with money when it comes to recruiting. But that's nothing new. The Big Ten has been recruiting top NHL picks for a while.
At some point, will that equate to national championships? Time will tell.
But for a decade, the NCHC has owned the national tournament.
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