Schlossman: What level of prospect is new UND commit Cooper Williams? – Grand Forks Herald

GRAND FORKS — Since Dane Jackson was hired as UND’s head coach in late March, and Bryn Chyzyk as general manager in April, the Fighting Hawks have been in a sprint to finish the 2025-26 roster.

The new regime, along with retained assistant Dillon Simpson, has made seven new additions to the roster and has three or four to go.

While the 2025-26 roster has been the focus, they’ve also been working on future recruiting.

The staff landed its first in-the-pipeline commit last week in Cooper Williams, a center for the Western Hockey League’s Saskatoon Blades.

Williams is UND’s second overall commit from Canadian major juniors. Forward Josh Zakreski of the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks committed under former coach Brad Berry.

Due to an NCAA rules change last November, Canadian major junior players are allowed to retain their college eligibility for the first time in decades.

Williams is a bit of a unique Canadian Hockey League-NCAA commitment.

Most players committing out of the three major junior leagues — the WHL, Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League — have been older, and are entering college this season.

According to

Chris Heisenberg’s recruiting database,

Williams is the second-youngest CHL player — and the youngest from the WHL — to commit to an NCAA program so far.

Only Miami commit Maxim Dube, who plays in the QMJHL, is younger.

What type of prospect is Williams? What should fans expect?

That can be hard to measure with CHL players because there are no past examples of how they produce in the NCAA to use as a comparison.

Instead, I looked at how many players have tallied 50-plus points in the WHL during their U17 season. Williams tallied 57 this season.

In the last 15 seasons, 27 players have done it.

The most notable part? Nearly all of them have been picked in the top two rounds of the NHL Draft — or will be.

So far, 19 of them have gone through their drafts. Fourteen were taken in the first round, four in the second round and one in the third. Notably, that third-rounder was Tampa Bay Lightning first-line center and two-time Stanley Cup champion Brayden Point.

Eight have not gone through their drafts.

Two are projected to go No. 1 overall in upcoming drafts — 2026-eligible Gavin McKenna and 2027-eligible Landon DuPont.

Three are draft-eligible in June and are all ranked inside TSN’s Bob McKenzie’s top 30 — Ben Kindel (No. 25), Cole Reschny (No. 29) and Cameron Schmidt (No. 30).

The other three are 2025-eligible Jordan Gavin, a potential late-round pick, 2026-eligible Ryan Lin, a potential first-rounder, and Williams.

Williams hasn’t been a part of much NHL Draft speculation to this point, but his numbers indicate that might change this year.

Williams will head back to the Blades for the 2025-26 season. He’ll come to UND in 2026 or 2027.

If he lands in the same sphere as his U17 peers in the WHL, 2026 seems more likely.

Since 2010
100 — Connor Bedard (Round 1, Pick 1)
97 — Gavin McKenna (2026, expected No. 1 overall)
69 — Andrew Cristall (Rd. 2, Pick 40)
69 — Tanner Howe (Rd. 2, Pick 46)
63 — Zach Benson (Rd. 1, Pick 13)
62 — Sam Reinhart (Rd. 1, Pick 2)
60 — *Landon DuPont (2027, expected No. 1 overall)
60 — Ben Kindel (2025, Central Scouting No. 21)
59 — Brayden Yager (Rd. 1, Pick 14)
59 — Dylan Guenther (Rd. 1, Pick 9)
59 — Cole Reschny (2025, Central Scouting No. 24)
58 — Cameron Schmidt (2025, Central Scouting No. 43)
58 — Riley Heidt (Rd. 2, Pick 64)
58 — Nick Merkley (Rd. 1, Pick 30)
57 — Cooper Williams (2026)
57 — Brayden Point (Rd. 3, Pick 79)
57 — Kailer Yamamoto (Rd. 1, Pick 22)
56 — Nolan Patrick (Rd. 1, Pick 2)
55 — Berkly Catton (Rd. 1, Pick 8)
55 — Ryder Ritchie (Rd. 2, Pick 45)
54 — Matt Barzal (Rd. 1, Pick 16)
54 — Peyton Krebs (Rd. 1, Pick 17)
54 — Sam Steel (Rd. 1, Pick 30)
54 — Jordan Gavin (2025)
53 — Cole Sillinger (Rd. 1, Pick 12)
53 — Dylan Cozens (Rd. 1, Pick 7)
53 — *Ryan Lin (2026)
*DuPont and Lin are defensemen

Former UND star Jackson Blake is producing for the Carolina Hurricanes, who are playing the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Final.

Blake is tied as the top rookie scorer in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with five points in 10 games.

Teammate Logan Stankoven, who qualifies as a rookie, also has five points in 10 playoff games.

Blake is one of three UND players left in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Tyson Jost, who played 39 games with Carolina this season, is on the roster but hasn’t suited up yet in the playoffs.

Troy Stecher and the Edmonton Oilers are taking on the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final.

Matt Kiersted played in two games with Florida this season, but is currently with American Hockey League affiliate Charlotte. Kiersted and the Checkers are one win away from the Eastern Conference Final.

James Guillory / Imagn Images

• UND commit Keaton Jundt of West Fargo has signed with Calgary Hitmen of the WHL. Jundt was a Fargo Force draft pick in the USHL.
• Jake Livanavage, back at home in Arizona, skated with former UND star Jonathan Toews on Monday. Toews is looking to sign an NHL deal for next season. Livanavage is returning to UND for his junior season.
• Ralph Engelstad Arena hosted a camp with top young prospects last weekend. R.J. Thompson, a 2010-born forward, was one of the notable players at the camp. Thompson is eligible to commit on Aug. 1, 2026.
• Incoming UND freshman defenseman Sam Laurila was named the team MVP of the Fargo Force this season.
• Chris Jandric is tied as the leading defenseman scorer in the ECHL’s Kelly Cup Playoffs. Jandric plays for Trois-Rivières, which holds a 2-0 series lead on three-time champion Cam Johnson and the Florida Everblades.
• St. Thomas announced it will open Lee and Penny Anderson Arena on Oct. 24 against Providence.
• Michigan State commit Tyson Jugnauth, the WHL’s Defenseman of the Year, will sign with the Seattle Kraken rather than attend college. To fill that roster void, the Spartans picked up Ferris State transfer Travis Shoudy, who was originally scheduled to go to Colorado College. Shoudy’s brother, Tiernan, is a senior at Michigan State.