Six undrafted players are playing prominent roles in this year’s Stanley Cup Final: Carolina’s Jalen Chatfield, Brandon Bussi, Eric Robinson and Sean Walker, and Vegas’ Dylan Coghlan and Cole Smith. Those players have logged significant minutes and contributed at key moments in the postseason, according to ESPN.
Undrafted skaters are one of the largest single groups in the modern NHL. Nearly 15% of players who appeared in at least one game in the 2025-26 regular season were undrafted, ESPN Research found. Undrafted players represented the third-largest group in the league behind first-round picks (35.65%) and second-rounders (16.09%).
ESPN Research shows the share of undrafted players has risen over time. In 1995-96, 10.6% of NHL players were undrafted, while first- and second-round selections comprised larger shares (25.7% and 14.85%, respectively). By 2015-16, undrafted players made up about 15.35% of the league, nearly matching the percentage of second-round picks (15.66%).
Jalen Chatfield, who was not selected in the NHL draft, attended multiple development and rookie camps before making his NHL debut in January 2021 with the Vancouver Canucks and now logs top-four minutes for Carolina. His agent, Darren Ferris, said, “When you go to these training camps, you have to earn every inch. That’s what makes Jalen special. He never let being undrafted define him.”
Other undrafted contributors include Brandon Bussi, who moved up from the AHL to win 31 games in his first NHL season in 2025-26 and relieved Frederik Andersen in Game 3 to help force double overtime. Eric Robinson has become a consistent offensive presence on Carolina’s fourth line, and Sean Walker has worked into the Hurricanes’ top-four defense pairings. In Vegas, Dylan Coghlan has averaged more than 14 minutes per game, while Cole Smith, acquired before the trade deadline, has provided a physical bottom-six presence; Coghlan set up Smith for the series-clinching goal in the Western Conference final sweep of Colorado. Smith said, “I take a lot of pride in the path I took,” noting undrafted players often face pressure only to improve and stick.
