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Penguins trade up to take Michigan forward in first round of NHL draft

Michigan’s NHL draft streak has been extended. The Pittsburgh Penguins traded up from No. 31 to No. 24 to select rising Wolverines sophomore forward Will Horcoff on Friday. Michigan has had at least one player or incoming recruit selected in the first round in nine consecutive drafts. The 6-foot-5 Horcoff was the youngest player in […]

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Michigan’s NHL draft streak has been extended.

The Pittsburgh Penguins traded up from No. 31 to No. 24 to select rising Wolverines sophomore forward Will Horcoff on Friday. Michigan has had at least one player or incoming recruit selected in the first round in nine consecutive drafts.

The 6-foot-5 Horcoff was the youngest player in college hockey last year after joining the Wolverines midseason. It didn’t take him long to get acclimated, recording a goal and an assist in his debut against Ohio State on Jan. 4 at Wrigley Field. Horcoff played in Michigan’s top nine the rest of the season and also was a fixture on the power play.

In 18 games, the Birmingham native had four goals and six assists. He is the son of former NHL forward and current Red Wings assistant general manager Shawn Horcoff.

At the NHL combine earlier this month, Will set a record in the horizontal jump, clearing 124.8 inches. He projects to be a power forward at the NHL level.

“I think his size is the biggest factor, but it’s what he does with it too,” FloHockey NHL prospects guru Chris Peters told MLive. “The physicality he’s able to play with, the fact that he transitioned to college hockey, and the first few games there were a couple instances where college athletes are bouncing off of him and you’re just like, ‘Well, this is different. He’s built a little different.’

“I think the NHL pedigree absolutely helps. I think teams like his character. They like the athleticism that he displays and the strength he has. I think the offensive upside and the offensive ceiling is a bit lower, but at the same time, at the end of the first round, especially in this draft class, you’re just trying to find NHL players. I think that his physical profile and how he’s progressed so far over the last couple of years does suggest high NHL potential.”

The Wolverines have produced 14 first-round picks during their current streak and 35 overall – a NCAA record. Horcoff is the first Michigan player selected in what could be a historic draft for the program. It could break its single-draft record with eight players or recruits selected. Incoming freshman forward Malcolm Spence likely will join Horcoff in the first round.



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Northside Jamboree Brings Hockey, Hoops & H2O to Minneapolis July 26

Free Kid-Focused Party Celebrates Upcoming World Junior Championshipwith Sports, Music and Summer Fun MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota – Get ready, Northside! Minnesota Sports and Events is throwing a summer bash like no other. The Northside Jamboree: Hockey, Hoops & H2O is coming to the V3 Center in Minneapolis on Saturday, July 26, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. — and it’s […]

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Free Kid-Focused Party Celebrates Upcoming World Junior Championship
with Sports, Music and Summer Fun

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota – Get ready, Northside! Minnesota Sports and Events is throwing a summer bash like no other. The Northside Jamboree: Hockey, Hoops & H2O is coming to the V3 Center in Minneapolis on Saturday, July 26, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. — and it’s all free!

Part of the Assist26 Legacy Program, the jamboree is a high-energy, all-ages celebration that brings together street hockey with the Minnesota Wild, hoops with the North High Polars’ Girls Basketball Team, and a chance to cool off in the V3 pool. Add dancing, DJs, mural painting, mascots, special guest athletes, and giveaways — and you’ve got yourself a jam-packed day of fun.

“This is what it’s all about — building community and creating opportunities through sport while getting everyone hyped for the iconic World Junior Championship coming to town this winter,” said Wendy Williams Blackshaw, president and CEO of Minnesota Sports and Events, the state’s sports commission and tournament host in partnership with USA Hockey.

What to Expect:

  • Street hockey, basketball clinics, and open swim (bring your suit!) with water safety programming
  • Hip-hop dance class from V3 Fitness
  • Double-Dutch demos, live mural painting, and mascot mayhem
  • Food trucks, prize giveaways, and chances to win World Juniors tickets
  • Live music from a killer DJ lineup: Bdot (voice of the Minnesota Lynx), DJ McShellen, Miss Brit, and Shannon Blowtorch
  • Athlete appearances and interviews hosted by Henry Lake of WCCO Radio

The Northside Jamboree is part of the lead-up to the 2026 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship coming to Saint Paul and Minneapolis this December. It’s all about making sports more accessible, sparking curiosity in new activities, and sharing the excitement of one of hockey’s biggest international tournaments.

EVENT DETAILS
📅 Saturday, July 26
🕚 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
📍 V3 Center – 701 Plymouth Ave. North, Minneapolis, MN 55411
🎟️ FREE and open to the public
🎤 Hosted by Henry Lake, WCCO Radio
The event is part of the Assist26 Legacy Program, Minnesota Sports and Events’ statewide initiative to grow the game, expand access to hockey, and build excitement for the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship coming to Minnesota this winter, all while leaving a lasting impact on local communities. For more information about the Northside Jamboree or the Assist26 Legacy Program, visit WorldJuniorsMN26.com/Assist26.
Concurrently, USA Hockey will host the World Junior Summer Showcase at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis from July 25-Aug. 2. The event, which also includes Canada, Finland and Sweden, serves as an evaluation for athletes seeking to make their respective national teams for the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship. All total, 11 international games will be played and tickets are now on sale by clicking here.

 

About Minnesota Sports and Events

Minnesota Sports and Events works to attract, promote, and host major sporting events that showcase Minnesota’s communities and create positive economic and social impact throughout the state. The organization is committed to leveraging sport as a catalyst for community development and connection.

About the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship

The IIHF World Junior Championship showcases the best men’s ice hockey players in the world under 20 years of age competing for the gold medal. The tournament, which features the future stars of the National Hockey League, will be held from Dec. 26, 2025 – Jan. 5, 2026, at Saint Paul’s Xcel Energy Center, soon to be known as Grand Casino Arena, home of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild and PWHL’s Minnesota Frost, and 3M Arena at Mariucci on the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis. In the lead up to the tournament Bemidji, Duluth, Mankato, and Rochester will host exhibition games called the World Juniors Pre-Tournament Series presented by Delta Dental of Minnesota. The exhibition game schedule, ticket information, and related events will be announced in the coming months.

Minnesota Sports and Events is proud to partner with USA Hockey to host the 50th edition of World Juniors in Minnesota along with local organizing committee partners at the Minnesota Wild, Xcel Energy Center, University of Minnesota, Visit Saint Paul, Meet Minneapolis and Mall of America.



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Three Big Ten Men’s Gymnasts Named to CSC Academic All-America At-Large Team

ROSEMONT, Ill. – Three Big Ten men’s gymnastics student-athletes were recently honored for their performance in the classroom, as College Sports Communicators announced its 2025 Academic All-America At-Large Team. Nebraska’s Asher Cohen and Ohio State’s Kameron Nelson were named to the Second Team, while Nebraska’s Taylor Christopulos received Third Team honors. Cohen scores his second […]

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ROSEMONT, Ill. – Three Big Ten men’s gymnastics student-athletes were recently honored for their performance in the classroom, as College Sports Communicators announced its 2025 Academic All-America At-Large Team.

Nebraska’s Asher Cohen and Ohio State’s Kameron Nelson were named to the Second Team, while Nebraska’s Taylor Christopulos received Third Team honors.

Cohen scores his second consecutive Academic All-America honor after earning Third Team accolades in 2024. The junior finished second at the Big Ten Championships on the still rings, earning Second Team honors, before being named to the All-America Team with a seventh-place finish at the NCAA Championships.

Nelson collected the academic honor after claiming the 2025 NCAA vault title, becoming the first Buckeye to win an individual event title since Alec Yoder won pommel horse in 2019 and the first to win the vault since Pejman Ebrahimi in 2007. Nelson also captured the Big Ten vault crown, matching his 2022vault championship.

Christopulos capped his collegiate career as 2025 Big Ten Gymnast of the Year and winner of the 2025 Nissan-Emery Award, presented to the nation’s most outstanding senior male collegiate gymnast. A 10-time All-American, Christopulos finished fifth and eight, respectively, in the all-around and high bar at the NCAA Championships, after posting a third-place finish in the all-around at the Big Ten Championships.  

For a complete list of the 2025 Academic All-America At-Large Team, please click here.



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Penn State’s Pegula Hockey Investment Paved Way for Star Gavin McKenna

How does a school like Penn State build upon the first Frozen Four appearance in program history? It signs the most prized prospect in NCAA history—and the likely No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, Gavin McKenna. According to ESPN, McKenna received the biggest NIL offer in college hockey history, considered an “extremely […]

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How does a school like Penn State build upon the first Frozen Four appearance in program history? It signs the most prized prospect in NCAA history—and the likely No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, Gavin McKenna.

According to ESPN, McKenna received the biggest NIL offer in college hockey history, considered an “extremely generous six-figure” deal to go to Happy Valley. McKenna chose Penn State over Michigan State, a century-old program with three NCAA titles.

While details were not disclosed, the offer is the latest financial infusion into a program that was playing down at the club level just over a decade ago.

Penn State’s men’s and women’s hockey programs were seeded in 2010, when Terry and Kim Pegula donated $88 million—the largest private gift in school history—to help launch the teams at the NCAA Division I level and build a 6,000-seat arena, known now as Pegula Ice Arena. The university launched a separate fundraising campaign at that same time to secure another $10 million to maintain the arena and create endowments for the programs. In 2012, the Pegulas added another $14 million to the Penn State hockey efforts.

The men’s team went 13-14-0 in its first year in D-I and 8-26-2 in its second before a run of six straight winning seasons. The Nittany Lions made their first NCAA tournament in 2017, and made their first Frozen Four this past season, losing to Boston University in the semifinals.

While it took a few years for the team to compete with the country’s best programs, it has always spent like them. In 2013-14, the team’s first season, Penn State reported spending $3.37 million on men’s hockey, according to numbers submitted annually to the U.S. Department of Education. That ranked eighth in the country.

Penn State ranked ninth in 2016-17 ($3.8 million), and ninth again in 2020-2021 ($3.16 million). In 2023-24, the most recent year of available reporting, the Nittany Lions ranked 14th at $4.17 million.

The investment in the program is paying dividends in the stands. In 2023-24, PSU men’s hockey pulled in $2.2 million in ticket sales, the 12th-most among all FBS public school teams outside of football and men’s basketball. While the data isn’t available yet, there’s reasonable expectation for ticket revenue to have risen this past season amidst the program’s run to the Frozen Four.

The addition of McKenna to the national semifinalists was also made possible thanks to the NCAA’s decision to lift its ban on junior hockey players. Last summer, the NCAA’s Division I Council tweaked an eligibility bylaw regarding pre-enrollment activities, opening a recruiting pipeline for top players from the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The bylaw change will be official on Aug. 1.

The CHL is considered superior to the United States Hockey League (USHL) in terms of developing young talent. Many elite prospects choose to play up north versus the USHL or the NCAA as a pathway to make the NHL. CHL teams pay players a stipend, which previously made them ineligible for the NCAA before the advent of NIL.

McKenna spent three seasons with the Medicine Hat Tigers in the Western Hockey League, which is part of the wider CHL. Leading the club to its first WHL title since 2007, McKenna notched 129 points (44 goals, 85 assists) on his way to CHL Player of the Year honors. At 17 years old, he became the third-youngest player to take home the award after Sidney Crosby and John Tavares pulled off the feat at 16.

With assistance from Eben Novy-Williams.



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DU Hockey’s Davis, Devine Land CSC Academic All-America Nods

Story Links DENVER – Two University of Denver hockey players have been named to the 2024-25 CSC Men’s Division I Academic All-America At-Large Team, College Sports Communicators announced on Wednesday.   Seniors Matt Davis and Jack Devine each landed their first career CSC Academic All-America honors with Davis collecting second-team […]

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DENVER – Two University of Denver hockey players have been named to the 2024-25 CSC Men’s Division I Academic All-America At-Large Team, College Sports Communicators announced on Wednesday.
 
Seniors Matt Davis and Jack Devine each landed their first career CSC Academic All-America honors with Davis collecting second-team recognition and Devine picking up a place on the third team.
 
Together, they won two NCAA national championships in their first three seasons at Denver and added a third Frozen Four appearance in 2024-25 to close out their collegiate careers. In their four years on the DU roster, they helped the Pioneers to 124 wins, two Penrose Cups and four Gold Pan trophies.
 
Davis held a 3.96 GPA on his way to receiving a bachelor’s degree in finance in June 2025. During his final year with the Pioneers, he was named a semifinalist for the 2025 Richter Award presented to the nation’s top goaltender. He finished the season with a 29-10-1 record – the most wins of any goaltender in the country and the second most in program history – a .924 save percentage and 2.07 goals-against average.
 
The 2024 NCAA Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player ends his career as one of the most successful goaltenders in Denver history, ranking in the top five all-time for career wins (63) and goals-against average (2.13), and in the top 10 for career save percentage (.921).
 
This season’s CSC Academic All-America award joins an established list of academic honors for the Calgary, Alberta, native, who also finishes as a three-time AHCA All-American Scholar, a four-time NCHC Academic All-Conference Team member and a four-time NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete.

Devine graduated with his bachelor’s degree in finance in June 2025 with a 3.72 GPA. He led the NCAA in points (57) and assists (44) during the 2024-25 season and was a top-10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Award for the second year in a row.

 

A two-time AHCA (West) First Team All-American and two-time All-NCHC First Team member, he finishes his time in Denver as the program’s leading scorer in the modern era with 163 career points (57 goals and 106 assists) and is one of 10 players in program history to end his career with at least 50 goals, 100 assists and 150 points.

 

In each of his four years at DU, he collected NCHC Academic All-Conference Team and NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete honors.

 

Devine was a seventh-round draft pick by the Florida Panthers in 2022 and has signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the club. Following the end of the 2024-25 season, Davis signed a one-year contract with the San Jose Barracuda.

 

The duo become the seventh and eighth players in program history to earn Academic All-America status. This marks the first time that Denver has had multiple hockey players land on the CSC Academic All-America teams in the same season.

 

Denver student-athletes combined for nine CSC Academic All-America Team appearances in 2024-25, the most in a single season in school history and topping the previous record of six set just last season.

 

DU has now had at least one CSC Academic All-American in each of the last five years and in 11 of the last 12. Over the last two academic years, Denver has boasted 15 combined honors.

 

The CSC Academic All-America Teams honor the top student-athletes in the nation based on their combined athletic and academic performances. The Academic At-Large teams are open to student-athletes from fencing, golf, gymnastics, hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, volleyball, water polo and wrestling. Nominees must hold at least a 3.50 cumulative GPA and have met participation requirements as determined by each sport.

 

DENVER’S HOME FOR COLLEGE SPORTS  

Visit 
DenverPioneers.com for complete coverage of all 18 of DU’s NCAA Division I sports

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College football media days begin amid NIL chaos and confusion

By the end of July, college football’s Power 4 conferences will all have held their media days. The Big 12 is up first, the SEC will hold theirs next week and the Big Ten and ACC will hold theirs the following week. If the same comments and stories come from the other media days like […]

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By the end of July, college football’s Power 4 conferences will all have held their media days. The Big 12 is up first, the SEC will hold theirs next week and the Big Ten and ACC will hold theirs the following week.

If the same comments and stories come from the other media days like what’s being said in Frisco, Texas this week (on top of the normal drama that comes from media days), we’re in for a fun month.

Well, that probably depends on your definition of fun. But either way, buckle up for a month of chaos.

After the first day of the Big 12’s two-day event, there have already been several stories with national interest and they’re related to the same topic: NIL.

Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger published a story Tuesday night with multiple quotes from people that makes it clear there is still a lot of chaos.

In the story, multiple coaches are quoted talking about the uncertainty of the current rules, including Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham.

“We don’t know the rules,” he said. “The settlement passed, but who knows what Deloitte is going to clear. Until there is clarity, you’re living in limbo.”

Dellenger also reports the NIL Clearinghouse run by Deloitte, roughly one third of the 1,200 submitted deals to the clearinghouse have been approved, 80 have been denied and the rest are still being reviewed. (The entire story is worth a read and isn’t behind a paywall.)

On3 Pete Nakos also has a similar story about the current Wild West of college sports and recruiting.

“With no oversight or cap on spending in recruiting, schools are offering more money than ever before. As two Power Four general managers previously speculated to On3, they believe the number of recruits receiving upfront payments sits between 50 to 100 prospects in the 2026 cycle. Recruiting staffers have said some top prospects are making anywhere from $20,000 to $25,000 monthly.”

Nakos added, “Aug. 1 marks the official offer date for when institutions can begin offering revenue-sharing contracts to recruits. But that has not stopped schools from making verbal offers or informally sending contract numbers.”

Basically, what the stories by Dellenger and Nakos prove is that while a lot has changed, nothing has truly changed.

Are we surprised schools are finding ways to circumvent caps? Front-loading deals so they don’t have to be cleared the NIL Clearinghouse? The clearinghouse being slow and bogged down by delays? Rich boosters finding ways to pay players?

Not one bit.

This type of thing, in one way or another, has been going for all of college football’s history and it likely will never go away.

Yes, I know, your favorite school is innocent and your rival is guilty as hell. Unless your favorite school is SMU, in which case, everyone is guilty.

The only thing that has really changed between the past and now is that now everything is a little more out in the open. A bunch of rules, caps, oversight and etc. will only send everything back into the dark.

So, yes, the Wild West is still here and the chaos will continue. And that’ll only make the next month of media days all the more entertaining.





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Kalthoff lands CSC First Team Academic All-America honors

Story Links 2025 CSC Academic All-America Men’s At-Large Teams St. Olaf’s All-Time CSC Academic All-Americans AUSTIN, Texas – Recent graduate Connor Kalthoff ’25 became the first member of the St. Olaf College men’s hockey program to be named a College […]

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AUSTIN, Texas – Recent graduate Connor Kalthoff ’25 became the first member of the St. Olaf College men’s hockey program to be named a College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-American ® by claiming first-team honors in the at-large category, as announced on Wednesday.

Kalthoff was one of 15 first-time selections out of the 46 student-athletes honored at the NCAA Division III level in the men’s at-large list, which includes the sports of fencing, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, volleyball, water polo, and wrestling. The Sartell, Minn. product was one of four hockey student-athletes on the three teams and was the lone Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) student-athlete on the men’s teams.

Wednesday’s announcement made Kalthoff the 16th St. Olaf student-athlete to earn CSC Academic All-America ® honors, with the 16 accounting for 22 accolades. He is the second Ole to be honored in 2024-25, joining men’s soccer standout Shea Bechtel ’25. Fourteen of St. Olaf’s 22 Academic All-Americans have come since the start of the 2019-20 academic year.

Kalthoff wrapped up his decorated career with a second consecutive CCM/American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) First Team West All-America accolade this winter and was a finalist for the Sid Watson Award, which is given to the best NCAA Division II-III men’s hockey player in the country. He was also named the MIAC Defensive Player of the Year and St. Olaf’s Male Athlete of the Year, in addition to earning a third All-MIAC accolade in a row.

Over his career, Kalthoff finished fifth in points (66) among blue-liners in recorded program history after compiling 18 goals and 48 assists in a program-record 112 games. He helped the Oles to 53 victories over his four-year career, as well as four MIAC Playoff berths, two MIAC Playoff championships, and two NCAA Tournament appearances. An economics major with a 3.91 grade-point average, Kalthoff was a three-time CSC Academic All-District ® honoree, a three-time Academic All-MIAC selection, and was named to the Dean’s List every semester.

 



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