North Dakota back at Frozen Four, with top NHL draft prospect Keaton Verhoeff in tow

By Canadian Press on April 8, 2026.

Keaton Verhoeff has experienced some big changes over the last 10 months.

The hulking defenceman switched from the Western Hockey League to the NCAA, went from living with a billet family to figuring out dorm life on his own, and competed against opponents sometimes seven or eight years his senior on a tough, unforgiving university circuit.

A highly touted six-foot-four, 215-pound, right-shot blueliner for the University of North Dakota, Verhoeff also navigated a pressure-packed season ahead of the NHL draft. And before the 17-year-old hears his name called in June, he’s aiming to secure two more victories.

The Fighting Hawks are back at the Frozen Four tournament for the first time since 2016 as the school looks to return to the top U.S. college hockey’s heap.

North Dakota (29-9-1) will face Wisconsin (23-12-2), making its first appearance since 2010, in Thursday’s early semifinal at T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip before Michigan (31-7-1) meets Denver (27-11-3). The final goes Saturday.

“When you play and coach in North Dakota, you’re expected to be in the games at the end of the year,” said head coach Dane Jackson, a former NHLer from Castlegar, B.C. “We’ve had a lot of good years and won our league trophies and stuff, but trying to win those one-game (elimination) shots can be tough.

“We have a lot of really special people — character guys — that are really willing to play a team-first game.”

One of those pieces is Verhoeff, a projected to be a top-5 pick, who was aiming to be in Sin City this week when he announced his move from the WHL’s Victoria Royals to North Dakota, which has won eight national titles, last spring.

“It’s unbelievable,” he said. “You look to the left and right in the room … every single guy has one goal, one vision.”

The Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., product — a member of Canada’s bronze-medal outfit at the world junior hockey championship — has also had to handle the intense scrutiny that comes with a player’s draft year.

Verhoeff said the process that led him to going fourth overall to Victoria in 2023 impacted him on and off the ice. He’s done his best to push chatter to the fringes with even more eye balls dissecting his every shift.

“Looking at all that stuff and having it sit in the back of my head was something that I probably struggled with,” he said of the WHL draft process. “Everyone has different opinions. There’s going to be different things written about you, there’s different things written about every single guy in this draft.”

Jackson said Verhoeff, who has put up six goals and 14 assists for 20 points across 35 games this season, has shown both humility and character on a steep learning curve.

“A real maturity and growth in his game,” Jackson said. “He’s simplified things. He’s a special player with a lot of high-end abilities, but he’s learned when he can pick his spots to use those special talents to affect the game, and when he has to just play simple and take the first option or fire pucks off the glass.”

North Dakota winger Dylan James said Verhoeff’s transition to the NCAA has been impressive.

“Never easy for a guy that young to come in and play versus men,” said the Calgary native. “A lot of pressure on him with the draft, but he’s handled it very well. He’s a really mature 17-year-old. I’m proud of him.”

Jackson, a third-round pick of the Vancouver Canucks in 1988, said players like Verhoeff are under a scrutiny not experienced by past generations.

“You get judged on video, in a public forum on any social media site,” he said. “I give him a lot of credit. Keaton’s a very grounded, very solid, very mature for his age. He’s done a tremendous job of handling the ups and downs.”

GOAL CAUFIELD

Cole Caufield sits one goal shy of becoming the first member of the Montreal Canadiens to score 50 since Stéphane Richer in 1989-90.

The 25-year-old has been filling the net over the last two seasons, sitting second in NHL goal-scoring with 86, one back of Edmonton Oilers centre Leon Draisaitl.

SECOND-HALF SURGE

The Winnipeg Jets sat last in the NHL’s overall standings with just 15 victories from 42 games on Jan. 8.

Some three months later, they remain alive in Western Conference playoff race. The Presidents’ Trophy winners from 2024-25 are 19-9-7 over their last 35 games to rest four points back of the second wild-card spot with five contests left on their schedule.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 8, 2026.

Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press

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