Keaton Verhoeff of the University of North Dakota in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference will file a draft diary for NHL.com this season leading up to the 2026 NHL Draft. The 17-year-old freshman defenseman (6-foot-3, 208 pounds), who was born in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada, is No. 2 on NHL Central Scouting’s midterm ranking of North American skaters eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft. The third youngest player in men’s college hockey has 18 points (six goals, 12 assists), 33 blocked shots and 49 shots on goal in 26 games. He had 45 points (21 goals, 24 assists) in 63 games with Victoria of the Western Hockey League in 2024-25, scoring the third-most goals by a defenseman 16-or-younger in WHL history.
Hello hockey fans,
I’m looking forward to filing a monthly diary for NHL.com over the second half of this season in my freshman year at North Dakota.
Growing up in Fort Saskatchewan, my family was very much into hockey. I have many cousins who played hockey, uncles and family members who are just around the game. Growing up in a smaller town, you kind of have two options — there’s hockey in the winter and baseball in the off-season. I just kind of took the hockey route. Some of my fondest memories are just being on the outdoor rink with some of my buddies. I remember getting home from school, grabbing my skates and heading to the outdoor rink, where I’d stay until 8:30, 9:00 p.m. I’d call my mom to bring me some hot chocolate or a pizza while I was out there. Whether it was playing games or just shooting pucks, no matter what the temperature was, we were always out there.
I actually started out as a goalie. My dad’s side of the family are all goalies. My dad was a goalie. My uncle was a goalie. My grandpa was a goalie. My other uncles were also goalies. So going into my first year of organized hockey, I played goalie and played the position until I was 11 years old. In my final year as goalie, I tried out for the Brick Invitational but ended up getting cut. That next summer I played inline hockey, which was on rollerblades. I was lucky enough to play in California for a little tournament there and I loved it, played with lots of my buddies and it was a really good time. It was then I started playing defense.