GRAND FORKS, N.D. – A trio of North Dakota sophomores were honored by the National Collegiate Hockey Conference on Tuesday morning, as forward Cole Reschny, defenseman Keaton Verhoeff and goaltender Jan Špunar were named to the 2026-27 NCHC Preseason All-Conference Team.
 
The three selections to the team are the most for UND since the 2020-21 season when the Fighting Hawks also had three named to the squad.
 
Reschny returns for his second campaign with the program following a strong rookie season. The Macklin, Saskatchewan, native paced all UND freshman skaters and ranked tied for seventh nationally among rookies with 35 points while also sitting third nationally for rookies with 29 assists -- the third-most by a UND freshman this century behind only Zach Parise and Brock Boeser. He paced NCHC rookies in both overall points (35) and league points (23) to earn NCHC Rookie of the Year honors while also finishing with 301 faceoff victories and a 54.8 winning percentage in the dot. Reschny was selected in the first round (18th overall) by the Calgary Flames in the 2025 NHL Draft.
 
Verhoeff also put up near-historic numbers in his freshman season as the second-youngest player in college hockey in 2025-26. He was top-5 nationally among rookie blueliners in goals (6) and points (20) to earn All-NCHC Rookie Team honors while sitting third among UND blueliners in points and pacing the NoDak backend in goals. Verhoeff's six goals were the second-most by an under-18 blueliner in the NCAA over the last 20 years while his 20 points were the 14th most by a U-18 defenseman in college hockey history. This past summer, he became tied for the fifth-highest selection in program history after going ninth overall to the San Jose Sharks in the 2026 NHL Draft.
 
Špunar put together one of the most decorated seasons by a freshman goalie in program history in 2025-26, finishing the season with just two regulation losses in 27 appearances. He became the first freshman netminder in league history to win NCHC Goaltender of the Year while also earning All-NCHC First Team and All-NCHC Rookie Team honors. Špunar sat top-5 nationally in wins (20), save percentage (.919), goals against average (1.91) and shutouts (6), with the latter leading the nation and sitting second all-time in UND history. His GAA and shutout numbers set new freshman records at NoDak while his 10-0-0 start to his career is the best in program history. Last March, he became the first UND netminder to record multiple shutouts in the same national tournament with back-to-back blankings over Merrimack and Quinnipiac in the Sioux Falls Regional.  
 
Media members voted for three forwards, two defensemen and one goaltender on their ballot with each vote worth one point. The top three vote-getters at forward, top two defensemen and highest vote-getting goaltender make up the NCHC Preseason All-Conference Team. A total of 33 ballots were submitted by media members covering each NCHC team, as well as select national college hockey media.
 
2026-27 NCHC Preseason All-Conference Team
F: Max Plante, Minnesota Duluth, Jr. - 33 votes (unanimous)
F: Zam Plante, Minnesota Duluth, Jr. – 18 votes
F: Cole Reschny, North Dakota, So. – 17 votes
D: Ty Hanson, Minnesota Duluth, Jr. – 26 votes
D: Keaton Verhoeff, North Dakota, So. – 23 votes
G: Jan Špunar, North Dakota, So. – 17 votes
 
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