61 College Hockey Players and Commits Drafted At 2016 NHL Draft

College players are continuing to establish themselves more than ever before at the NHL level, and as a result, the amount of college players drafted continues to increase. This weekend in Buffalo, 61 current or future college hockey players were selected by NHL teams, including a record 11 in the first round.

Boston University dominated the draft board (which we'll discuss in detail this week), placing five recruits in the top 45 - something that's probably unprecedented. The pressure will be on BU to deliver results commensurate with the unbelievable level of talent they've amassed on their roster.

While this is not considered a particularly strong recruiting class by BC standards, the Eagles still fared reasonably well. BC had three players drafted - tied with Denver, Michigan, Northeastern, Notre Dame and Nebraska-Omaha for the 5th most picks. BU (6), North Dakota (5), Wisconsin (5) and Providence (4) led the way among college teams.

The strongest sign of college hockey's increasing influence on the pro ranks is demonstrated by how many schools had players drafted. Ohio State, Bowling Green, Arizona State and St. Lawrence are among the schools that saw draftees this weekend. In total, 28 schools had players selected - nearly half of all teams in D1 hockey.