27 Intriguing Prospects Hit Free Agency After Signing Deadline Passes: Kyle Dubas Could Act

Aug. 15 is the deadline when NCAA prospects completing their four years of eligibility are required to sign.

Those players who graduated after the end of the 2024-25 season have until this date to sign with their draft teams, or else they will be free agents. In this offseason, the 27 players below became free agents today as the deadline has passed.

This season also brought an end to the extra year of NCAA eligibility that was granted following the COVID-disrupted 2020-21 season.

Two players took advantage of a fifth year as graduate students but did not sign when they graduated, and are eligible for free agency 30 days after they tell the NHL Central Registry they are no longer legitimate students.

That process already made defensemen Michael Koster (TOR, 2018 5th round) and Jake Boltmann (CGY, 2020 3rd round) unrestricted free agents, but there are still two other players remaining, listed below.

For NHL players, free agency hinges on submitting graduation paperwork or formally leaving school. Players who remain on paperwork or early-departure status can have their NHL rights held in limbo forever.

A quirky exception: Pittsburgh's 2013 fourth-rounder Ryan Segalla left UConn before his senior year and hasn't laced up pro hockey since 2017, yet still is on the Penguins' reserve list.

With several highly promoted young free agents hitting the market, Penguins GM Kyle Dubas could look to this group as a cost-effective way of adding youth to an aging roster.

Dubas has had a pattern of seeking under-the-radar or undrafted players with potential, and the NCAA pool could give Pittsburgh some fresh legs and future value without forfeiting draft picks or significant cap space.