Miami's Morozov selected in first round of NHL draft
Center is highest NHL draft pick ever from RedHawks' ice hockey program
Miami's Morozov selected in first round of NHL draft
Center is highest NHL draft pick ever from RedHawks' ice hockey program
This story originally appeared on MiamiRedHawks.com.
Miami University center Ilia Morozov was selected in the first round of the NHL Draft today. Morozov was picked 20th overall by the Buffalo Sabres. The 17-year-old prospect from Moscow, Russia becomes the highest NHL draft pick ever from Miami University and is the RedHawks' first first-round selection since Jack Roslovic in 2015.
Morozov, who began the 2025-26 season as the youngest player in Division I hockey, appeared in all 36 games as a freshman and put up 20 points (8-12-20). He produced back-to-back three-point nights in an October sweep at RPI to earn NCHC Forward of the Week honors, and scored his first overtime game-winner later that month at Lindenwood. Morozov lit the lamp in back-to-back games three different times during the season and scored the game-winning goal in the regular-season finale at Omaha to help Miami earn a playoff spot.