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Buffalo, N.Y. — Count another NHL draft pick on the Michigan hockey team’s upcoming roster.
Adam Valentini, a 5-foot-10 forward from Toronto, went 96th overall to the Utah Mammoth in the third round of Saturday’s 2026 NHL Draft at Buffalo’s KeyBank Center. He is the second Wolverine drafted this year, joining Red Wings pick J.P. Hurlbert, who went 23rd overall.
Valentini joins an NHL draft class including a future rival: Ethan Belchetz, a power forward joining Michigan State this season who went 17th overall to Utah in Friday’s first round. Both Michigan and Michigan State are expected to contend for the Big Ten championship this season, and with it a national championship. That path to both may run through each other.
Valentini was supposed to be a part of this year’s freshman class alongside Hurlbert and commit Landon DuPont, who is the projected No. 1 pick in the 2027 NHL Draft. Instead, an open roster spot allowed Valentini to get a head start on his college career last season.
In 40 games for Michigan as a 17-year-old, Valentini notched 27 points with 11 goals. He scaled his way up into the top six as the season progressed. He also added five points in five games against his age group on Canada’s Hlinka-Gretzky team.
The biggest knock for Valentini, his height, was out of his hands. In recent years, Michigan has thrived with shorter players, turning Gavin Brindley into a second-round pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2023 and an eventual Big Ten Player of the Year.
Valentini came to Michigan by way of the USHL’s Chicago Steel, where he scored 39 points in 58 games two years ago. He played AAA in the GTHL, Toronto’s youth league that produced the likes of Hobey Baker winner Adam Fantilli.
[email protected]
@ConnorEaregood
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Michigan forward Adam Valentini picked in NHL Draft by Utah Mammoth
Continue reading...
Adam Valentini, a 5-foot-10 forward from Toronto, went 96th overall to the Utah Mammoth in the third round of Saturday’s 2026 NHL Draft at Buffalo’s KeyBank Center. He is the second Wolverine drafted this year, joining Red Wings pick J.P. Hurlbert, who went 23rd overall.
Valentini joins an NHL draft class including a future rival: Ethan Belchetz, a power forward joining Michigan State this season who went 17th overall to Utah in Friday’s first round. Both Michigan and Michigan State are expected to contend for the Big Ten championship this season, and with it a national championship. That path to both may run through each other.
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Valentini was supposed to be a part of this year’s freshman class alongside Hurlbert and commit Landon DuPont, who is the projected No. 1 pick in the 2027 NHL Draft. Instead, an open roster spot allowed Valentini to get a head start on his college career last season.
In 40 games for Michigan as a 17-year-old, Valentini notched 27 points with 11 goals. He scaled his way up into the top six as the season progressed. He also added five points in five games against his age group on Canada’s Hlinka-Gretzky team.
The biggest knock for Valentini, his height, was out of his hands. In recent years, Michigan has thrived with shorter players, turning Gavin Brindley into a second-round pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2023 and an eventual Big Ten Player of the Year.
Valentini came to Michigan by way of the USHL’s Chicago Steel, where he scored 39 points in 58 games two years ago. He played AAA in the GTHL, Toronto’s youth league that produced the likes of Hobey Baker winner Adam Fantilli.
[email protected]
@ConnorEaregood
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Michigan forward Adam Valentini picked in NHL Draft by Utah Mammoth
Continue reading...
