More Than 70 Alumni Win NCAA Conference Championships

Clarkson Creative/NCHC

Men's Ice Hockey | 3/21/2026 9:22:30 PM

More than 70 United States alumni won NCAA conference championships over the weekend, ensuring their place in the NCAA tournament.

Skating as an extra forward for Michigan, Kason Muscott was among a group of freshmen to hoist a conference title. The forward joined the Wolverines during the season as he was 29 games into his third USHL season and second with the Sioux City Musketeers, where he had five goals and six assists at the time of the move. Since joining the NCAA ranks, he has scored twice in 15 games.

See the full list of USHL alumni to win conference championships below.
 
NAME NCAA TEAM NCAA CONFERENCE USHL TEAM(S) USHL YEARS NHL RIGHTS
 Nicholas Moldenhauer (F) Michigan Big Ten CHI 2020-2023 TOR
 Jayden Perron (F) Michigan Big Ten CHI 2021-2023 CAR
 Garrett Schifsky (F) Michigan Big Ten WAT 2020-2023
 Michael Hage (F) Michigan Big Ten CHI 2022-2024 MTL
 Aidan Park (C/W) Michigan Big Ten GB 2022-2025 EDM
 Ben Robertson (D) Michigan Big Ten OMA, WAT 2020-2023
 Kason Muscutt (F) Michigan Big Ten CR, SC 2023-2026
 Adam Valentini (F) Michigan Big Ten CHI 2024-2025
 Cole McKinney (F) Michigan Big Ten NTDP 2023-2025 SJS
 Luca Fantilli (D) Michigan Big Ten CHI 2020-2022
 Drew Schock (D) Michigan Big Ten NTDP 2023-2025 ANA
 Joshua Eernisse (F) Michigan Big Ten TC 2020-2022
 Hunter Hady (D) Michigan Big Ten CHI 2021-2024
 Tyler Duke (D) Michigan Big Ten NTDP 2020-2022
 Dakoda Rhéaume-Mullen (D) Michigan Big Ten NTDP 2022-2024
 William Horcoff (F) Michigan Big Ten NTDP 2023-2025 PIT
 Asher Barnett (D)E Michigan Big Ten NTDP 2023-2025 EDM
 Kienan Draper (F) Michigan Big Ten OMA 2018-2021 DET
 Miles Gust (D) Michigan Big Ten OMA 2023-2024
 Stephen Peck (G) Michigan Big Ten MUS 2023-2025
 Andrew Clarke (F) Dartmouth ECAC DM 2023-2025
 Colin Grable (D) Dartmouth ECAC CR 2022-2024
 Cooper Cleaves (D) Dartmouth ECAC GB 2024-2025
 Tyler Grahme (F) Dartmouth ECAC MAD, FGO 2022-2025
 Emmett Croteau (G) Dartmouth ECAC WAT 2020-2023 MTL
 Nick Pierre (F) Merrimack Hockey East SC, CR, OMA 2020-2024
 Michael Emerson (F) Merrimack Hockey East CHI 2020-2024 CAR
 Ben Yurchuk (F) Merrimack Hockey East CHI 2022-2025
 Daniel Astapovich (F) Merrimack Hockey East CR, DM 2022-2025
 Seamus Powell (D) Merrimack Hockey East MAD, DM, CR 2020-2024
 Austin Oravetz (D) Merrimack Hockey East DBQ, GB 2020-2023
 Filip Nordberg (D) Merrimack Hockey East MUS, SF 2023-2025 OTT
 Ryan O'Connell (F) Merrimack Hockey East CR 2022-2024
 Michael Mesic (F) Bentley Atlantic NTDP, OMA, LIN, YNG 2020-2025
 Peter Kramer (F) Bentley Atlantic DBQ, GB 2021-2023
 Arlo Merritt (F) Bentley Atlantic LIN, SF 2018-2021
 Seth Bernard-Docker (D) Bentley Atlantic SF 2021-2022
 Lukas Swedin (G) Bentley Atlantic MUS 2023-2024
 Tristan Lemyre (F) Minnesota State CCHA DBQ 2020-2022 CCHA
 Charlie Lurie (F) Minnesota State CCHA FGO, YNG,  OMA, CR 2020-2023
 Reid Morich (F) Minnesota State CCHA WAT 2023-2025
 Jakob Stender (D) Minnesota State CCHA FGO 2020-2023
 Liam Watkins (F) Minnesota State CCHA DM 2023-2024
 Sawyer Scholl (F) Minnesota State CCHA GB, SC 2020-2023
 Liam Hupka (D) Minnesota State CCHA SC 2022-2025
 Jordan Ronn (F) Minnesota State CCHA SC, FGO 2023-2025
 Rylan Bonkowski (D) Minnesota State CCHA TC 2024-2025
 Felikss Gavars (F) Minnesota State CCHA FGO 2021-2022
 Evan Murr (D) Minnesota State CCHA SF 2022-2023
 Mason Wheeler (D) Minnesota State CCHA TC 2020-2022
 Jack Smith (F) Minnesota State CCHA SF 2020-2022 MTL
 Ralfs Bergmanis (D) Minnesota State CCHA SC 2021-2022
 Ean Somoza (F) Minnesota State CCHA SF 2019-2022
 Easton Hewson (D) Minnesota State CCHA SC, WAT 2024-2025
 Finlay Williams (F) Minnesota State CCHA CHI, WAT 2023-2024
 James Reeder (F) Denver NCHC DBQ 2022-2024 LAK
 Sam Harris (F) Denver NCHC SF 2021-2023 MTL
 Kieran Cebrian (F) Denver NCHC TC 2020-2023
 Brendan McMorrow (F) Denver NCHC NTDP, WAT 2022-2025 LAK
 Eric Pohlkamp (D) Denver NCHC CR 2021-2023 SJS
 Reid Varkonyi (F) Denver NCHC SF 2024-2025
 Jake Fisher (F) Denver NCHC FGO 2022-2024 COL
 Boston Buckberger (D) Denver NCHC LIN 2022-2023
 Kristian Epperson (F) Denver NCHC NTDP 2022-2024 LAK
 Cale Ashcroft (D) Denver NCHC TC 2022-2023
 Garrett Brown (D) Denver NCHC SC, WAT 2020-2023 WPG
 Tory Pitner (D) Denver NCHC YNG 2022-2024 COL
 Kent Anderson (D) Denver NCHC GB 2021-2022
 Hagen Burrows (C/W) Denver NCHC SC 2023-2024 TBL
 Payton Nelson (F) Denver NCHC DM, WAT 2022-2024
 Paxton Geisel (G) Denver NCHC DBQ, MUS 2021-2024

About the USHL

The United States Hockey League (USHL) and its 16 teams are committed to being the world's leading junior hockey league. This season, more than 50% of NCAA Division I men's hockey players and nearly 25% of NHL players have USHL experience. The USHL has developed more than 285 direct NHL Draft picks since 2020, and eight of the last 10 Hobey Baker Award winners, including Macklin Celebrini (Chicago Steel).

Elevated through the recently announced Declaration of Excellence with the NHL and USA Hockey, the league's player-first approach, including a 2:1 practice-to-game ratio and a schedule with 90% of games played on weekends, provides its players with the optimal environment for athletic and personal growth, creating pathways for the next generation of stars like Auston Matthews (NTDP), Kyle Connor (Youngstown Phantoms), Jeremy Swayman (Sioux Falls Stampede), and Johnny Gaudreau (Dubuque Fighting Saints).