In one of the biggest recruiting swings in college hockey in recent memory, the University of North Dakota received verbal commitments from bluechip prospects and future first-round NHL Draft picks Cole Reschny and Keaton Verhoeff, according to multiple reports including from Grand Forks Herald reporter Brad Schlossman, who was first with the Reschny news.

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The duo played for the Victoria Royals in the WHL last season with Reschny growing into a likely top-20 pick for the 2025 NHL Draft and Verhoeff putting together a season that has him trending towards top-three selection in the 2026 NHL Draft.

Verhoeff is still just 16 years old, but it is believed he will have completed the necessary requirements to be eligible to play for UND in the fall. He turns 17 in June.

Reschny, meanwhile, turned 18 in April and is expected to be eligible to start in the fall as well.

These are two of the biggest commitments to come to the public eye out of one of the Canadian Hockey League’s three member leagues since the NCAA announced that players from the CHL would no longer be ineligible for competition.

Several high-profile CHL players have made verbal commitments, including a number of already-drafted and soon-to-be drafted players, but Reschny and Verhoeff represent two of the highest-ranked players to make the commitment to an NCAA program.

The fact that they’re both coming from the same WHL team and committing to the same school at the same time is also notable.

For the University of North Dakota, they’re gaining two elite-level players that should be able to impact their lineup immediately next season.

Who Is North Dakota Commit Cole Reschny?

Reschny shined on the international and junior stages this year with tremendous numbers. The 5-foot-10 playmaking winger had 92 points in 62 games during the WHL regular season and another 25 in just 11 games during the playoffs. He represented Canada at the preseason Hlinka-Gretzky Cup, putting up seven points in five games, and joined Canada at the IIHF World Men’s Under-18 Championship this spring, posting eight points in five games. Canada won both of those tournaments.

The Macklin, Saskatchewan native has been projected to be selected in the 15 to 25 range of the first round of this year’s NHL Draft.

Reschny has tremendous hand skills, which made him an effective producer. Despite not being especially big, he thinks the game at a high pace and is able to move pucks effectively with or without pressure. His one-on-one skills helps him beat defenders and keep goalies guessing, while he always seems to be in control. If he were bigger, we'd be talking about a player that is more in the top-10 discussion than top-20 for this year's draft.

Who Is North Dakota Commit Keaton Verhoeff?

Verhoeff, meanwhile, has been viewed as a prodigious talent who already has the frame of a NHL defenseman at just 16 years old. The 6-foot-4, 212-pound teenager is a right-shot defenseman with a nose for the net. 

He scored 21 goals for Victoria this season, third-most by a defenseman 16 or younger in WHL history. He was the first U17 blueliner in 40 years to eclipse 20 goals in a season in the league.

Verhoeff also won gold with Reschny at the U18 Worlds in the spring and was a standout performer at last fall’s World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.

He is a quality defender with good mobility for his size and has shown signs he is growing into his physical game. He projects as a two-way defenseman who should be equally capable on both ends of the ice.

He will be North Dakota’s bet defense prospect since Jake Sanderson entered the school five years ago after being selected fifth overall by the Ottawa Senators.

Verhoeff is viewed by some at this very early stage as a likely No. 2 prospect behind projected No. 1 Gavin McKenna for 2026.

What This Means For North Dakota Hockey

The University of North Dakota made some big changes to their program this season, replacing longtime head coach Brad Berry with longtime assistant Dane Jackson. The school also hired a general manager for their program, bringing in alumnus Bryn Chyzyk who served in that same role for the USHL’s Waterloo Black Hawks. UND also brought back alum Matt Smaby, a former NHL defenseman, to be an associate head coach after a successful four-year run as Waterloo’s head coach.

Chyzyk has become known in the UND fanbase for his cryptic GIF posting on X when the team has landed a new big recruit. Most, however, probably didn't realize how big today's recruiting news would be.

pic.twitter.com/erFWYHMJDC

— Bryn Chyzyk (@brynchyzyk) May 30, 2025

One of the blue blood programs of college hockey, North Dakota is coming off a season in which it missed the NCAA tournament and saw a number of key players including Chicago Blackhawks first-round pick Sacha Boisvert transfer out of the program.

Adding a pair of blue-chippers like Reschny and Verhoeff puts them right back on track in rebuilding its reputation as one of the top outlets for future NHL players.

Oddly enough, these commitments come at the expense of one of North Dakota's all-time greats, James Patrick, who is the head coach of the Victoria Royals.

While Victoria is losing two of its best players, the team recently signed one of its own top prospects, Eli McKamey, who received exceptional status to play in the BCHL at 15 last season. Now 16, McKamey is also verbally committed to play college hockey in a few years -- at North Dakota.

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