With NCAA rosters being finalized and CHL training camps starting up soon, there’s been a flurry of activity involving NHL prospects finding new homes to continue their development for 2025-26. One of those names is ex-Kings prospect Matthew Mania, whom Ryan Sikes of Puck Preps reports will play for the University of Michigan after he announced his commitment in June.
Mania, 20, had one year of OHL eligibility remaining as an overager, but taking advantage of it is rare for a prospect with NHL aspirations. He’ll make the jump to a more challenging environment in the Big 10 conference after seeing some stagnant development since L.A. selected him in the fifth round of the 2023 draft.
The 6’1″ right-shot defenseman spent his first three junior seasons with the Sudbury Wolves before getting dealt to the Flint Firebirds last offseason. As would be expected, Mania recorded a career-high 38 assists and 45 points with a +10 rating in 2024-25, but that wasn’t much of a significant pop from his draft-year production with the Wolves three years ago (10-28–38, +21, 67 GP).
Mania joins a Michigan blue line that also landed some younger, higher-profile freshmen for 2025-26, including fellow ex-OHLer and 2024 Flames third-rounder Henry Mews. He’ll look to stand out and eventually earn an NHL contract as a free agent. Since he was drafted out of the CHL, L.A.’s signing rights expired on June 1 of this year and will not be re-extended by virtue of his move to college.
More from the NCAA/CHL world:
- Officially moving on from Michigan after entering the transfer portal months ago is Blue Jackets center prospect William Whitelaw. He’s not going very far, though – reigning national champions Western Michigan announced on Instagram they’ve brought him in for his junior campaign. It’ll be the third school in as many years for the 2023 fifth-rounder, who spent his freshman year at Wisconsin before transferring to Michigan last summer. The undersized (5’9″, 174 lbs) pivot has a 21-14–35 scoring line in 72 career collegiate games.
- After selecting him first overall in this year’s CHL Import Draft, the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets officially announced they’ve signed Islanders prospect Tomas Poletin. The Isles selected Poletin, 18, in the fourth round back in June. The Czech winger spent his draft year in Finland, scoring 13 goals and 20 points in 25 games for Pelicans’ under-20 club while also appearing in 15 Liiga games without a point.