Muskegon Lumberjacks build another deep NHL Draft class

Six Lumberjacks landed in NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings, and Muskegon went into the 2026 NHL Draft weekend in Buffalo with another hard number behind its reputation: 64 NHL Draft picks since 2012. The run is not a one-off spike. Muskegon has had at least two players selected in every draft in that stretch, and the club now points to three first-round selections over the last two years as evidence that NHL teams are not just checking in on the roster, they are coming back for premium talent.

That is what separates Muskegon from a lot of good junior stops. The Lumberjacks are not surviving on one elite name carrying the pipeline. They keep producing draftable players in different molds, and this year’s class reflects that spread. NHL Central Scouting’s final list included six Muskegon players, while the USHL said 69 league-developed players appeared in the final North American rankings ahead of the draft. In other words, Muskegon is not only putting players into the conversation, it is putting multiple players into the same conversation at once.

Tynan Lawrence is the headliner. The 17-year-old center from Fredericton, New Brunswick, entered the season with first-round buzz, then had his year interrupted after a preseason lower-body injury landed him on injured reserve. He later moved to Boston University and settled into a shutdown, two-way role, but the damage to his draft stock never really stuck. In his best stretch, Lawrence posted 10 goals and 17 points in 13 games, and his range is now viewed in the 8-12 slot. That kind of recovery matters because it says scouts are buying the player, not just the timing. Lawrence has pace, compete and two-way responsibility, the same profile that has made Muskegon players so attractive to NHL teams. He also has a chance to become the highest-drafted Lumberjack since Andrei Svechnikov went second overall in 2018.

Rudolfs Berzkalns gives the class a different edge. Central Scouting ranked him No. 30 among North American skaters, and the USHL’s playoff-stock roundup put real numbers behind the rise: 4 goals and 10 points in 16 postseason games, plus a 58 percent clip on faceoffs. At 6-foot-4, he leaned on size, strength and a heavy work rate to control the middle of the ice, including key games against Dubuque and in the Eastern Conference finals. That is the kind of playoff production NHL teams still trust. Tomáš Chrenko adds another layer, with a five-goal World Junior Championship and a strong season with HK Nitra’s men’s team after Muskegon selected him in the 2026 Phase II Draft.

The broader proof is in the trend line. In June 2024, Muskegon already had at least one player chosen in each of the previous 12 NHL Drafts and 43 total picks in that span, with Gavin McCarthy, Sutter Muzzatti and Emil Jarventie among the 2023 selections. Two years later, the total has climbed to 64, and the pipeline looks deeper than ever. NHL clubs keep returning to Muskegon because the Lumberjacks keep turning raw talent, playoff performers and pro-ready roles into draftable inventory.