With the 2026 NHL Draft now completed, the final tally shows that five current and committed Notre Dame Fighting Irish players were selected. Incoming freshman centerman Beckham Edwards was the first on the list to hear his name called, selected 143rd overall by the Detroit Red Wings (fifth round). Future Irish stars and committed skaters to join Edwards include Eric Frossard, André Mondoux, Cole Zurawski, and Parker Trottier. The good news there is that with the 5th round being the first time anyone was drafted, it’s likely all those selected will continue playing for the Golden Domers.
“As a program we are proud to have five current and future Fighting Irish go in the NHL Draft,” head coach Brock Sheahan said in an official statement. “It is a dream come true for these young men, and something to be truly proud of. Our goal is to continue to add the right kind of people and talent, and build our depth through recruiting. Today shows that we are on the right track. They know that being drafted is just a step toward playing in the NHL one day. The work to get there continues day in and day out. We are excited to help them develop into the type of players, and people that will have long term success on and off the ice.”
The 2026 draftees mean that the Notre Dame Fighting Irish streak now stands at 23 consecutive drafts in which a current or future student-athlete was selected by an NHL organization. That streak dates back to Victor Oreskovich in the second round of the 2004 Draft.
Julius Jones Sr. has glowing praise for Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman
Former Notre Dame and NFL running back Julius Jones saw both Julius Jones Jr and his brother Andre Jones commit to the Fighting Irish last week. Over the weekend, he spoke on the Always Irish podcast about why, even with some serious negative recruiting going on, he feels comfortable with his sons attending school in South Bend.
“You know we've had that discussion before, and I think, from many of the conversations I've had with Coach Freeman, the impact that he's able to make on young men. And I'm not bulls—- you when I say this because, you know, I've seen it firsthand,” the former Notre Dame great said. “The impact that he's able to make on these young players, young men, young college students is way greater than in the NFL.”
More Notre Dame Fighting Irish news
- As more and more reports come in on how good CJ Carr has looked this offseason, including at the Manning Passing Academy, there’s more and more talk about where he might go if he enters the 2027 NFL Draft. Some analysts think he might be a perfect fit for the Tampa Bay Bucs as an understudy to Baker Mayfield, learning from him and eventually taking over.
- Mega-Corp Comcast has indicated it might be open to spinning off its sports broadcasting arm, NBCUniversal, which could mean some bad, bad things for Notre Dame, depending on how that all shakes out.
- For the second straight day, a former Notre Dame Fighting Irish target committed elsewhere. Markus Fakatou committed to Ohio State after once being considered a near lock to join Marcus Freeman’s stellar 2027 class. He joins quarterback Kingstron Preyear, who committed to Alabama on Sunday.
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