USHL spotlights Harvard commit Justin Graf ahead of NHL draft

Justin Graf turned his first USHL season into a legitimate NHL draft argument. The Boston native led the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders with 23 goals and 32 assists for 55 points in 52 games, then saw his year end early with wrist surgery. Now the Harvard commit is forcing scouts to decide whether he looks like a high-upside scorer or a polished college-track forward who will keep climbing at the next level.

Graf’s rise carries a familiar family frame. Born July 10, 2007, and raised just outside Boston, he grew up watching older brother Collin Graf move from the NCDC to Union College, then Quinnipiac University, and eventually the San Jose Sharks. That path gave Justin a front-row view of how a forward can build value the hard way, and it helps explain why his own route has drawn so much attention in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

At 5-foot-11 and 175 pounds, Graf arrived after being selected in the USHL Phase II Draft in 2025 and quickly found a place in the RoughRiders’ lineup. Early on, he produced six goals and six assists through his first 13 games, most often settling into the third line and showing enough pace and puck skill to stick. By Dec. 29, he had strung together a 10-game point streak and piled up 17 points over that stretch, a stretch that confirmed the offensive touch was not a brief hot spell.

The broader season only strengthened the case. A Jan. 26 USHL power-rankings story listed Graf among Cedar Rapids’ team leaders alongside UMass commit Jason Musa, and playoff preview coverage later noted that Graf reached the 55-point mark. That mattered for a RoughRiders attack that also featured Nick Romeo and Jason Musa at 56 points each, with Connor Davis joining Graf at 55. Cedar Rapids did not lean on one scorer alone, but Graf’s production still sat at the center of the team’s offense.

That output has put him on the draft map. USHL coverage labeled him a top 2026 NHL Draft prospect and re-entry candidate, while NHL Central Scouting ranked him No. 139 among North American skaters. The draft will be held June 26-27 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York, and Graf’s profile gives teams a clean debate: his age, birthdate and first-year production point to upside, but his Harvard commitment and developmental runway also make him a safer long-view bet. For a player who entered the league with family pedigree and left it with a 55-point line, that is exactly the kind of decision NHL clubs will be making in Buffalo.