NCAA Stock Watch: Oscar Hemming bulldozes his way into top-ten debates
As 2025 passed into the rearview, January presented opportunities to new faces to make their mark in Boston. Where Tynan Lawrence has translated his two-way impact and faltered offensively at Boston University through ten games, Oscar Hemming’s bruising, triple-threat, power-forward game has hit the ground running at Boston College, skyrocketing his stock into the top-ten.
Where previously there had been a clear top-three of both USA-based draft-eligibles with a distinct drop-off after them, Hemming’s arrival has shaken up not only Hockey East but draft rankings as well. The Beanpot final saw the two faceoff in what was a tight back-and-forth affair until the back half of the second frame, where the Eagles started getting bounces and seeing their pacy middle-driven attacks rewarded with goal horns.
Beyond the new transfers of big-name talents, January saw the top-seeded teams entrench their position high up the power rankings, with Michigan and Michigan State retaining both momentum and intensity. We’re nearing the most important stretch of games of the season, so let’s dive right into the results of four freshmen who gained traction as gamebreakers this past month.
Stock Rising 📈
Oscar Hemming, LW, Boston College (2026 NHL Draft)
It had been a bizarre first half to a draft-eligible campaign for Oscar Hemming, who seemed destined to round out the year 2025 without playing a single game in the new season due to a contract dispute with Kiekko-Espoo in Finland. Then, as all the hockey world fixated on the World Juniors, he joined Boston College in late December.
In just nine games since getting his debut on North American ice, the big power forward has burst his way into our scouting group’s hearts, winning us over with a special blend of tools, runway, and a violent array of net-front skills and habits. He’s a battering ram of a player, and though the youngest player in men’s college hockey upon arrival, Hemming looks like a man amongst boys on most nights, all the same, driving the net with opponents draped over his back and winning inside positioning with seeming ease.
Despite his youth, Hemming’s maturity has stood out. He’s taking dangerous routes, finding pockets down low off-puck, winning most of his battles, and threatening defences with his blend of soft hands and a wicked shot. With six assists and no goals to his name so far in the NCAA, the dam is waiting to break on the goals, as his release clocks in among the heavier and most precise in college already.
The Finnish winger has already established himself as one of the biggest back-half risers in the 2026 NHL Draft, with just over a month of action under his belt. Though he’s shown flashes of his youth in rushed, late, or tunnel-visioned decision-making, and he’s not yet a finished product, the fluidity and pace with which he’s stepped into a new level of hockey after half a year on the sidelines is impressive.
As my colleague Whittaker Heart writes in a January 16th game report, however, there are many more layers to what makes Hemming special:
“This game highlighted Hemming’s incredibly high compete level. He’s not going to back down from anyone, even as the youngest player on the ice. In the third, he established proactive contact multiple times and bulldozed through checks to earn space at the net front[...] The reach on his skillset is exciting. Hemming’s hands are soft, allowing him to protect pucks in his hip pocket. Offensively, he created a few strong plays off the pass in the cycle game. He may not be the most prolific transition creator, but he can pull up and leverage seams.”
Ethan Wyttenbach, LW/RW, Quinnipiac (Calgary Flames)
A clever freshman winger who has shocked many in his emergence this season, Ethan Wytthenbach’s blend of meticulous details, supportive habits, and a never-say-die motor has catapulted him atop the NCAA scoring charts, pulling six points ahead of second place this weekend with a hat trick among a pair of three-point performances against Yale and Brown, respectively.
Understandably, his recent surge in scoring has sparked excitement amongst Calgary Flames fans dreaming of a top-six – even top-line – piece, while Quinnipiac’s season could very well be determined by how far Wyttenbach’s output can carry them. He’s a fascinating player, however. Going back to last season, he emerged out of nowhere as the crux of his team’s offence in the USHL. For the second time in as many years, Wyttenbach has hit the ground running, lighting up a league he wasn’t expected to, as he’s never been the most dynamic or toolsy player on the ice, but through quick processing and high energy, he creates advantages at a rate few others can contend with.
Wyttenbach’s proficiency as a supporter, checker, and facilitator has made him seem to find chemistry with every linemate he gets paired with, and it’s that versatility as a reliable line elevator that could earn him a long NHL career in a middle-six. If he can learn to more frequently leverage his quick hands and shot to beat opponents one-on-one, maybe there’s even Artturi Lehkonen upside here, and at least a contending portfolio for Hobey Baker consideration this season. Wyttenbach’s been the most surprising freshman star in college, and he’s only heating up further – Quinnipiac and the Flames alike struck gold.
Gavin McKenna, LW, Penn State (2026 NHL Draft)
Despite an off-ice incident that took social media by storm, Gavin McKenna’s stock has clearly taken a step up a notch or two since the World Juniors wrapped up, returning to NCAA action with a head full of steam and a chip on his shoulder. His seven goals and fourteen points in eight games since returning from Team Canada played a key role in Penn State hitting the ground running in the new year, winning their first six games before losing a pair to Michigan State.
McKenna’s performances are beginning to draw the enthusiasm and excitement we’d hoped to start the season with, spurred not only by a special extent of both creativity and skill but also the re-emergence of physical engagement habits and dogged competitiveness, as Head of Scouting Mitchell Brown writes in a January 23rd game report:
“Just like last week's game, this was much more like the WHL version of McKenna, showing a lot more confidence in his puck protection skills, willingness to battle, and precision with possession than before. This was a great night on breakouts, coming deeper into his own zone, catching pucks along the walls, and finding outlets with quick passes or working back down to take the middle. In transition, his feet were really moving, and he was taking the inside when it became available. That directly led to multiple scoring chances and a nice dish where he cut in and hooked the puck back against the grain for a chance[...] Likely McKenna's best NCAA game and one that suggests a potential high-end producer in the NHL and a potential soon-to-be No. 1 pick.”
Jackson Smith, LD, Penn State (Columbus Blue Jackets)
It may have taken a few months to say with confidence, but it’s now clear that Jackson Smith has arrived in the NCAA, as the big two-way defenceman logged five goals and eight points in ten games since the new year. Activating more frequently and confidently in transition, Smith has charged into space with quick give-and-gos, launched his team up ice with stretch saucer passes on the tape, and beat the first layer of pressure with a head-fake or power move.
His bold, advantage-creating performances have been integral to Penn State’s recent surge. Smith’s minutes saw a significant uptick through January and reflected his rising stock. With the mobility to win a foot race against any forward in the nation and the physicality to box out even the most tenacious power forwards, it’s reliability and elite tools that have made the left-shot blueliner truly special this season, not the offensive output.
While McKenna has garnered all the headlines and attention with the Nittany Lions, Smith has quietly grown his game in strides this season, and looks the part of a future do-it-all top-four NHL defenceman.
Stock Steady ↔️
University of Michigan Wolverines
While steady can indicate stagnation, it can also refer to consistency, and that’s what the University of Michigan has demonstrated time and time again this season, holding onto a spot at the very top of the power rankings since the Fall through all manner of adversity, including the season-long loss of Jack Ivankovic, painfully coming after years of searching for a goaltender of his calibre.
Neck-and-neck with rivals Michigan State for the crown atop the power rankings all season, the Wolverines have found their success through a high-pace, transition-dominant style that has found cohesion and suffocating efficacy with the arrival of the right pieces in the offseason. It hasn’t only been the star-studded offensive performances of first-round picks Michael Hage and William Horcoff or top NCAA free agent T.J. Hughes that have catapulted Michigan into Frozen Four contention, however. Players like Cole McKinney, restricted to bottom-six minutes, but exhausting opponents with pace and middle-drive, have formed the spine and identity of this team.
This well-coached, structured team that knows when to pounce when space opens up and has authored some of the prettiest counter-attacks of the season still has a long way to go before this season is deemed a true success, but with an unbeaten month of January and a split weekend series against the Spartans to kick off February, Michigan continues to strengthen their chances at national glory.
Stock Falling 📉
Tynan Lawrence, C, Boston University (2026 NHL Draft)
Though the Christmas break transfer from Muskegon in the USHL to Boston University was spurred by the goal to challenge for first overall on draft day, Tynan Lawrence seems to have lost a step in that race rather than closed the gap in his first month of collegiate life. This is not to say, by any means, that his performances have been poor so far, however.
Despite only turning 18 in August, Lawrence’s blend of pace, speed, and two-way anticipation and details already stand out as strengths at the college level, and he’s elevated skilled wingers like Cole Eiserman and Ryder Ritchie with his responsibility and playmaking.
Still, a return of just a goal and an assist through 11 games is disappointing for the Terriers. Expect to see a real uptick in points in the coming weeks, but the clock is ticking on his odds of cracking the top three of the draft. Going back to last season, there’s never been an ounce of doubt around Lawrence’s two-way details or projectable transition tools, but in order to stand out as a can’t-miss top-six centre prospect, he’s going to need to show more dare and take over shifts in the back half of the season. He’s got all the necessary elements to do so.