Goalie Connor Hasley started his career at Bentley University in Massachusetts. Friday night he’ll be in net for Arizona State against Penn State. (Photo by Greg M. Cooper/Associated Press)

TEMPE – College hockey is entering its golden age. A monumental rule change by the NCAA last year deemed Canadian Hockey League players eligible for collegiate competition.

Over the past five years, two college players were selected No. 1 overall in the NHL. This year, Penn State freshman forward Gavin McKenna is on track to be the sixth player to be drafted first overall by the NHL out of college.

McKenna’s draft year journey begins Friday at Mullett Arena in a highly anticipated showdown between the Nittany Lions, ranked No. 5 in preseason polls, and No. 14 Arizona State, in the season opener for both teams. In part because of the interest surrounding McKenna, a national and worldwide audience is expected to tune in for both games Friday and Saturday, which will be broadcast on the NHL Network and on the NHL’s YouTube feed.

McKenna, the reigning CHL Player of the Year, was the most sought after incoming freshman by college hockey programs over the summer after registering 295 points in 164 games across the last 2 1/2 seasons with the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League.

The last time a consensus first overall pick garnered this much hype out of college was Boston University’s Macklin Celebrini, who was selected by the San Jose Sharks with the first pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.

Celebrini’s college career began with a road game against Bentley University in Massachusetts. The Terriers won 3-2 in overtime, and Celebrini had a goal and primary assist on the game-winner. Bentley’s goaltender that night was sophomore Connor Hasley, who made 26 saves.

Hasley’s path is again in direct line with one of North America’s top prospects. Hasley, now a Sun Devils senior, will be in net for ASU this weekend.

Hasley took a big step with Bentley last season, leading the NCAA with 11 shutouts and a 21-13-2 record with a .925 save percentage and a 1.96 goals against average. Hasley led Bentley to an Atlantic Hockey Conference championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

Arizona State took notice and swiftly grabbed him when he hit the transfer portal last spring. Now Hasley is in Tempe and preparing to start against yet another consensus first overall pick. It’s a rare situation, but oddly familiar to the senior.

“I just remember trying to focus on my own game,” Halsey said. “It’s not about the other team.”

After losing their starting goaltender to North Dakota in the portal each of the last two years, the Sun Devils had to act quickly to find starters. ASU coach Greg Powers is thrilled to have him between the pipes.

“We’ve got a guy who’s good enough to get us to where we want to go right now,” said Powers, whose team finished 21-14-2 last season.

Besides this weekend’s series drawing more attention than usual thanks to the NHL Network, the games will also be broadcast on Fox 10 in the Valley, as well as on NCHC TV.

With CBS not renewing its deal with the National Collegiate Hockey Conference for the first time since it was formed in 2013, it will be interesting to see how the conference handles the lack of national TV coverage. Seven of the last nine national champions have come from the NCHC.

This is a historic moment for college hockey, as Celebrini’s first game two years ago was only streamed on FloHockey. As the season progresses, the NHL Network may be inclined to pick up more Penn State games, along with others.

Powers remains excited not only for the season to start, but also for fans to see some of the best talent in college hockey on display. Despite most of the attention revolving around Penn State’s McKenna, the Sun Devils don’t seem fazed.

“While we have an immense amount of respect for them, we will not be afraid of what we see on that ice,” Powers said.

Hasley, who is hoping for a better result this time around against a top prospect when he makes his first start as a Sun Devils player in the national spotlight, echoed his coach.

“Just looking at them, yeah, they have some big names,”Hasley said. “But we also have some great players on this team, so we just need to focus on playing our game.”