Future Considerations: Five college free agents who could interest NHL teams

With the NHL trade winds blowing, asset management is key to future success because most deals will involve future prospects in the form of draft picks. Some teams have been accruing draft capital as they retool, others find themselves without deep prospect pools and a relatively bare draft grid. Every team is different.

Another way to restock your prospect cupboard is through college free agency. I can’t think of a team that doesn’t employ at least one full-time college free-agent scout.

Every year, starting around Christmas, the top college free agents will start to gain momentum toward signing an NHL entry-level contract.

Here’s an early look at players who have my attention:

Jacob Quillan, Forward, Quinnipiac

Some players are programmed to play the game a certain way. Quillan is one of those players.

The six-foot, 201-pound, left-shot forward is used in all situations at Quinnipiac, and his relentless compete is evident on a nightly basis. He’s producing offence (nine goals, 12 assists), but it’s his three-zone detail and willingness to battle in the hard areas of the ice that stand out for me.

Quillan plays the game quick and he has excellent hand-eye coordination. When he sets up shop in the crease area, he has the ability to tip pucks from range, or corral rebounds and deposit pucks in the back of net.

Quillan has skated in 92 college games, when he is an incredible plus-53.

Here's an example of how relentless Quillan plays, on and off the puck:

NHL Projection: Potential third-line forward who can be used in a variety of roles.

Collin Graf, Forward, Quinnipiac

The defending NCAA champions from Quinnipiac are flat-out a difficult team to play against and skill forward Collin Graf remains part of the reason.

Graf is a six-foot, 180-pound, right-shot forward, but he plays different than his teammate Quillan. Graf is more cerebral with his approach. He lurks in the offensive zone and has a knack for finding “quiet ice” in high-danger areas. When he does have the puck on his stick, between the offensive zone face-off dots, for example, he scores goals more often than not.

Graf provides better than average detail and has displayed an extra gear off the rush. He’s a threat when he gets the puck on his stick in motion between the blue lines.

Here’s an example of Graf loading and attacking off the rush, before skating through a seam for a breakaway goal:

Graf has scored eight goals and 12 assists in 10 games and is a plus-13.

NHL Projection: Potential second-line forward who has a chance to improve a team’s power play.

Jared Westcott, Forward, Lake Superior State

Every prospect develops at his own pace. In Westcott’s case, he transferred from Penn State to Lake Superior State before establishing himself last season and so far he's gone to another level in 2023-24.

Westcott is now listed at six-foot-one, 200 pounds, and he’s already eclipsed his career high in scoring, with 12 goals and 10 assists in 15 games. He has three power play and three game-winning goals and is a plus-7.

Westcott is a bit of a “wide tracker.” His skating isn’t elite, but he arrives on time all over the ice. I especially appreciate his read, react and execute game.

Here’s an example of a four-on-four goal he scored recently at Northern Michigan:

NHL Projection: Trustworthy fourth-line forward who will be responsible in all three zones and potentially provide depth offence.

Luke Grainger, Forward, Western Michigan

Grainger is the captain at Western Michigan and the 5-foot-10, 180-pound forward is being used in all situations. His defensive detail, while responsible, doesn’t project to a penalty killing role at the pro level. His primary element is offence.

Grainger is quick to take away space and create turnovers in the offensive zone. He’s a motion player who’s always looking for open lanes to make plays. He’s best described as a combination of energy and skill.

Through his first 13 games played, Grainger has scored seven goals and 15 assists and is a plus-9.

Here’s a clip of what I’m describing. In this sequence, Grainger reads the play along the boards and out-works two St. Cloud players to win a puck. He jumps to open space once his linemate has possession, and scores moving to the deep slot.

NHL Projection: Third-line forward who can slide into a PP2 and provide a secondary layer of offence.

Ludvig Persson, Goalie, North Dakota

Swedish goalies are scattered throughout the NCAA and Persson is one of them. He started his NCAA career at Miami–Ohio before transferring to North Dakota.

So far things have gone very well playing for the Fighting Hawks.

Persson is an example of a “butterfly/athletic” goalie, but he’s not a big body who takes up a ton of net (6-foot, 181 pounds). Persson relies heavily on his lateral quickness, great low net coverage, quick pads, and compete. He battles to hold his ground and works to find pucks in traffic. If not North America, he has done enough to be on the radar of pro teams in Europe.

Persson leads the NCAA with a 12-2-1 record, to go along with a 2.06 goals-against average and .917 save percentage.

Here is a brief highlight that shows his quickness and focus:

NHL Projection: A 2B or back up goalie