Yale lands Edina forward William Mikan, Green Bay holds USHL rights

Yale committed to Edina, Minnesota forward Will Mikan, and the Green Bay Gamblers still hold his USHL rights. The 2009-born forward posted 52 points in 28 games for his prep team, a scoring line that immediately stands out in a development chain built on offense.

Mikan’s college landing fits the roster Yale introduced when it announced its incoming class on Aug. 22, 2025, and Elite Prospects later listed William Mikan as officially joining Yale University in a transaction posted Aug. 1 from St. Thomas Academy. For Yale, the appeal is obvious: a young forward with numbers that suggest he can drive production before he reaches a college rink in New Haven.

Green Bay’s side of the story is just as important. The Gamblers retain Mikan’s USHL rights, which means any path into junior hockey still runs through Wisconsin first unless that changes through the league’s transaction process. That matters because Green Bay is led by head coach and general manager Mike Leone, who was introduced on April 26, 2022, and has been part of a program that keeps a close hold on player movement and future fits.

Mikan’s prep scoring is the clearest sign of upside. Fifty-two points in 28 games is the kind of output that suggests finish, pace and the ability to create offense quickly, and those are the traits Green Bay fans should watch if he eventually enters the USHL. The question will be how that production translates against older, stronger junior defenders and whether he can keep generating chances when the rink gets tighter and the game gets heavier.

The broader development context is why this pipeline gets attention in the first place. The USHL said in October 2024 that it had more than 910 alumni on NCAA rosters, a reminder that junior rights and college commitments often move together long before a player reaches a game-day lineup. Mikan now sits squarely in that system, with Yale as his college destination and Green Bay positioned as the next junior stop if his route to the NCAA continues through the USHL.