Defenseman recruit Brian McFadden saw his dreams realized when he was selected in the fifth round of the 2026 NHL Draft by the Washington Capitals. McFadden committed to Northeastern on August 1st, 2025, and recently completed his prep hockey career at Thayer Academy. He is the third Northeastern player or recruit to be drafted by Washington, and will join fellow Capitals draft pick Jo Lemay at Development Camp this summer. Of note, Northeastern has never had an alumnus play for Washington in the NHL.
McFadden has incredibly tantalizing raw tools, largely stemming from his pro-ready frame. He stands 6-foot-5, 183 pounds per Elite Prospects, and shoots right handed. His ability to shut down rushes and be a physical nightmare for opposing players will be his ticket to the upper levels of hockey. He scored 17 points (2 goals) in his final season at Thayer, so he is not a player that should be expected to light up the scoresheet; rather, he will be the one ensuring the other team’s scoresheet stays empty. He will progress to junior hockey next season, likely heading to Saint John of the QMJHL, where he was a 7th round draft pick in 2024. There is also a chance he signs on to play with a USHL team.
In his post-draft press conference, Washington Assistant General Manager Ross Mahoney shared thoughts about the McFadden selection: “Our US scouts really liked him alot…6-foot-5, skates well, competitive guy. We caught up to him at the US Nationals in Las Vegas and he probably played almost the whole game. We thought we were fortunate to get him where we did. It’s sometimes hard with high school players, but we told our scouts, ‘we can’t control the environment they’re in. My question to them is how does he skate, how does think the game, what’s his work ethic, is he a good teammate…sometimes high school kids don’t get looked at as much as they should…concentrate on the attributes….he’s about 185 pounds, he’s got a big frame, when it’s all said and done he’ll be pretty big, with a long reach…”
McFadden is projected at this time to enroll to Northeastern in 2028, where he would have four years of eligibility. If he thrives in his next season of junior hockey, he very well could accelerate to 2027.
Prior to the draft, there were a couple other players that we felt had a chance to get drafted who ultimately did not. Halifax defenseman Eddy Doyle was ranked 108 by NHL Central Scouting, while defenseman Leo Laschon and goaltender Neilan Johnson were other first-time eligible players. Forward Philippe Veilleux was in his second year of eligibility, yet went undrafted again after finishing second in the QMJHL scoring race with 96 points, which is pretty absurd to us that no one thought to take a flyer on the skilled winger.
As we know from our 2025 analysis of NHL player production, Northeastern is one of the top schools in the country in getting late round and undrafted players to the NHL. And UMass-Amherst reporter Nathan Strauss further corroborated it earlier this summer, looking at the schools that have produced the most NHL players out of rounds 4-7. McFadden and his fellow recruits are in good hands headed to Northeastern as they pursue their dreams of playing in the NHL.
As always, go Huskies!