AP Photo University of North Dakota’s Jackson Blake (9) gained a pair of new teammates at the college and professional level when a pair of future UND Fighting Hawks were selected by the Carolina Hurricanes during the NHL Draft on Thursday.

University of North Dakota hockey games are going to get a lot of viewership coming from the Carolinas. With the Fighting Hawks already having Jackson Blake on their roster, a fourth-round selection by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2021 NHL Draft, a pair of incoming Fighting Hawks were selected by the Hurricanes on Thursday during the 2023 NHL Draft.

The first to go to the Hurricanes was incoming freshman forward Jayden Perron, who was taken in the third round with the 94th overall selection. Perron spent last season playing for the Chicago Steel of the United States Hockey League (USHL), where he posted 72 points (24 goals and 48 assists) in 61 games.

With the 190th overall pick, the Hurricanes continued building the North Dakota to North Carolina pipeline by selecting incoming UND forward Michael Emerson in the sixth round of the draft. Also playing for the Chicago Steel of the USHL last season, Emerson scored 30 goals and had 34 assists for a total of 64 points in 60 games.

While the Fighting Hawks will have three Carolina Hurricanes on their roster this upcoming season, the pipeline goes even deeper than that. All three of Blake, Perron and Emerson went from playing for the Chicago Steel to playing for the Fighting Hawks and were drafted by the Hurricanes in the process.

The duo of Perron and Emerson were not the only future Fighting Hawks who were selected on Thursday, as UND had two more future players hear their name called.

Future UND defenseman Andrew Strathmann was selected with the 98th overall pick (third round) by the Columbus Blue Jackets. Strathmann played for the Youngstown Phantoms of the USHL, where he totaled 38 points (three goals and 35 assists) in 56 games.

Rounding out the future UND selections on Thursday was David Klee, a forward who went to the San Jose Sharks with the 196th overall pick (seventh round). Klee played for the Waterloo Black Hawks of the USHL last season where he put up 13 points (three goals and 10 assists) in 57 games.

Following the conclusion of the NHL Draft and with more Fighting Hawks hearing their name called, UND continues its streak of having at least one player selected in each NHL Draft since 1999.