Buffalo — When he was growing up, J.P. Hurlbert used to ride around in his grandpa’s car while listening to stories of Gordie Howe and the old Detroit Olympia. Now, he’s the latest NHL Draft pick of his grandpa’s Detroit Red Wings.
J.P. Hurlbert, an incoming freshman forward for the Michigan hockey team, was drafted 23rd overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft at Buffalo’s KeyBank Center.
The Red Wings moved up to select Hurlbert by trading goalie Sebastian Cossa to the Utah Mammoth.
“As a kid, this is the spot that I would have chosen,” Hurlbert said, grinning behind a microphone. “For me to actually be in it now, it’s crazy.”
Make it 10 straight NHL Drafts that a Michigan hockey player has gone in the NHL Draft. Hurlbert will play there after starring for the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers last season. That’s the same major junior team that produced Red Wings seventh rounder Emmitt Finnie, who earned a roster spot with the big club last season.
Hurlbert scored 42 goals and notched 55 assists in 68 games. He was the league’s Rookie of the Year for his efforts, and a first-team all-star. Now, he’s a first-round draft pick — and he’s about to play some meaningful hockey before his NHL future gets started.
Hurlbert said that one of his favorite players growing up is Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin, who also went to Michigan before becoming a star with Detroit. Larkin, however, demanded a trade this offseason after scoring 643 points in 808 career games across 11 seasons. Only once, as a rookie, did Larkin get to play in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Detroit’s front office is extensively familiar with Michigan’s hockey program — two of the Red Wings brass sent their sons there. Assistant general manager Kris Draper’s son, seventh-round Detroit pick Kienan Draper, played four years at Michigan before graduating this year. Current Wolverine Will Horcoff, son of assistant general manager Shawn Horcoff, will play with Hurlbert this season.
Though he grew up in Texas, Hurlbert is the fourth generation of his family to attend Michigan, though the first to do so as a college athlete. That streak includes his father, who was a classmate and friend of UM goaltender Marty Turco.
Now, Turco and Hurlbert are connected by college hockey ties, too, and Hurlbert will be a part of chasing Michigan’s first national championship since Turco ended his senior year on top in 1998. Michigan came close in a double overtime loss to Denver in the Frozen Four this past April. Hurlbert knows the stakes of what this season means for Michigan, which benefits from many top players including Michael Hage (Montreal), Will Horcoff (Pittsburgh) and Garrett Schifsky coming back.
“I think this is the team and year that can really do it,” Hurlbert told The Detroit News earlier this month, “and to be a kid who has watched it since they were 3 years old, going to Frozen Four games and watching the team lose, it’s just extra motivating to do it this year.”
Hurlbert is part of a strong freshman class for Michigan that includes projected No. 1 pick in 2027 Landon DuPont, a defenseman, as well as 2025 first round pick Jack Nesbitt (Philadelphia).
cearegood@detroitnews.com
@ConnorEaregood
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Red Wings trade goalie Cossa; draft Michigan winger Hurlbert
Reporting by Connor Earegood, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Connor Earegood, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
