NCAA Skaters Named to NHL All-Star Teams

Several former NCAA skaters were recently named to the 2025-26 NHL All-Star Teams:

First All‑Star Team

D – Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche (Massachusetts)

D – Zach Werenski, Columbus Blue Jackets (Michigan)

Werenski also claimed the Norris Trophy as the top defenseman in the NHL last season. 

Second All‑Star Team

LW – Cole Caufield, Montreal Canadiens (Wisconsin) 

Caufield also claimed the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for sportsmanship and gentlemanly play.

All-Rookie Team

G - Jakub Dobes, Montreal Canadiens (Ohio State)

F - Jimmy Snuggerud, St. Louis Blues (Minnesota)

Dobes led the Canadiens to the 2026 Eastern Conference final, while Snuggerud tied for second on his team with 51 points.

UMass' Makar Wins Second Norris Trophy

Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar (Massachusetts) is this year's recipient of the Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenseman.

It is the second Norris Trophy ever for Makar, 26, who recorded 30 goals and 62 assists for 92 points during the 2024-25 campaign, the second straight season he has reached the 90-point threshold in his NHL career. He had previously won the award in 2022. Colorado went 49-29-4 this year, but fell to Dallas in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

In six NHL seasons to date, Makar has notched 116-312—428 points in 395 regular-season games, all with the Avalanche, who drafted him fourth overall in 2017 after two years of junior hockey with Brooks (AJHL). He has also registered 22-63—85 points in 79 career Stanley Cup playoff contests, and was a key member of Colorado's 2022 Stanley Cup title team when he also claimed the Conn Smythe Trophy that spring as NHL playoff MVP.

Makar, who hails from Calgary, skated at UMass from 2017-19, notching 21-49—70 points in 75 total outings while helping the Minutemen to the 2019 NCAA championship game. In his second and final collegiate season, he won the Hobey Baker Memorial Award as the NCAA's top player, and was also a First Team All-America selection.

Kings, BGSU's Blake Part Ways

The Los Angeles Kings parted ways with former NHL defenseman Rob Blake (Bowling Green) last week after he served the past eight seasons as vice president and general manager. The Kings did not win a Stanley Cup Playoff series during his tenure, and were eliminated by Edmonton in the first round the last four years, despite 309 regular-season wins overall in his tenure as GM.

Blake, 55, played 20 years in the NHL, notching 240 goals and 537 assists for 777 points and 1,679 penalty minutes in 1,270 regular-season games with Los Angeles, Colorado, and San Jose before retiring in 2010. He also added 26-47—73 points and 166 PIM in 146 playoff outings, and won the Stanley Cup with Colorado in 2001. He won the Norris Trophy in 1998 as the NHL's best defenseman, and also earned an Olympic gold medal with Canada in 2002, plus gold and silver medals at the IIHF World Championship in his career.

The 6-4, 220-pound blueliner from Simcoe, Ont., was drafted 70th overall by the Kings in 1988 following his freshman season at Bowling Green. In three seasons with the Falcons, he notched 39-65—104 points and 368 PIM in 131 appearances, while helping BGSU to three NCAA tournaments. He also earned First Team All-America accolades as a junior after collecting 23-36—59 points and 140 PIM in 1989-90 in his final NCAA campaign.

After retiring as an active player, Blake returned to the NHL in 2013-14 with the Kings as assistant general manager and vice-president of hockey operations, before being elevated to GM in 2018. He also served as general manager with Manchester (AHL) and Ontario (AHL) in his time with Los Angeles.

Michigan State's Keith Retires after 17 NHL Seasons

Former NCAA defenseman Duncan Keith (Michigan State) has hung up his professional skates for good. The Winnipeg native, who skated 17 seasons in the NHL and won three Stanley Cups, has called it a playing career after 1,256 regular-season contests and 151 Stanley Cup Playoff appearances.

Keith, 38, played 16 seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, before spending the 2021-22 campaign with Edmonton, where he helped the Oilers to the Western Conference final for the first time since 2006. He finished with 106 goals and 540 assists for 646 points in NHL regular-season competition, while adding 19-72⁠—91 points in postseason play. 

Keith was a member of Chicago's Stanley Cup championship teams in 2010, 2013, and 2015, and was also the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as playoff MVP in 2015 after recording three goals and 21 points in 23 playoff games that spring. He also served as an assistant captain from 2007 to 2021 for the Blackhawks, who prior to 2010 had not won the Cup since 1961.

After playing two years of junior hockey with Penticton (BCHL), Keith skated in 56 games over two years with Michigan State, including the outdoor Cold War contest in fall 2001 at Spartan Stadium. He had six goals and 24 points in his short time with the Spartans, before joining Kelowna (WHL) for the remainder of the 2002-03 campaign, where he tallied 11-35⁠—46 points in 37 outings while also helping the Rockets to a Memorial Cup berth. 

Drafted 54th overall by Chicago after his freshman year at MSU, he spent two seasons with Norfolk (AHL), registering 16-35⁠—51 points in all in regular-season action. He then moved up to the NHL for good in 2005-06.

A two-time winner of the Norris Trophy (2010, 2014) as the NHL's best defenseman, Keith also represented his native Canada several times in international competition, twice at the World Championships and twice at the Olympic Winter Games. He was also a member of Canada's Olympic gold medal squads in both 2010 and 2014.