GRAND FORKS — For the first time in more than 40 years, players from the three Canadian major junior hockey leagues are eligible to play college hockey.

This year's freshman class includes 174 CHL players and 40 USports transfers.

The massive increase in the player pool has led to a deep group of college hockey teams. There might be more parity than ever before this season.

Here's the Grand Forks Herald's preseason top 20 for 2025-26.

The Spartans have it all. They’ve got the high-end players — nine taken in the top two rounds of the draft, including four first-rounders (No. 4 pick Cayden Lindstrom, No. 6 pick Porter Martone, No. 21 pick Charlie Stramel and No. 26 pick Ryker Lee). They’ve also mixed in some toughness and older players, which have been critical to successful college hoc

See Full Page