Miami RedHawks rising sophomore Ilia Morozov is heading to the NHL.
Morozov was drafted No. 20 overall by the Buffalo Sabres on Friday night, in the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft. He becomes the highest NHL draft pick to come out of Miami, surpassing Tyler Biggs, who was selected No. 22 overall in 2011. He is also the first Miami player drafted since Jonathan Gruden in 2018.
The 17-year-old from Moscow played the 2025-26 NCAA season as the RedHawks' top center, recording eight goals and 12 assists while helping the the team to its best record since the 2014-15 season. He is expected to return to Miami for his sophomore season – NHL draftees are not required to sign immediately with their team once selected. Miami head coach Anthony Noreen told The Enquirer that Morozov's decision to stay was to help him gain more NCAA-level experience, but Noreen says the question of when to turn pro will be evaluated "year-by-year."
In Buffalo, Morozov joins a team that finished the 2025-26 season with a 50-23-9 record, winning the Atlantic Division and making the playoffs for the first time since 2011. The Sabres won their first-round matchup against the Boston Bruins, before falling to the Montreal Canadiens in seven games during round two.
Morozov joins No. 4 overall pick Daxon Rudolph amongst the Sabres' first-rounders selected in front of a local Buffalo draft crowd. Buffalo is led by star center Tage Thompson, who was a part of the United States' 2026 gold medal-winning Olympic men's hockey team.
Morozov moved from Russia to Illinois when he was 14, and graduated Schaumburg Christian School in just two years while playing for the Illinois-based Windy City Storm 15 AAA team and later the U.S. Hockey League's Tri-City team. Noreen, a former coach for Tri-City while Morozov was there, recruited the Russian to come play in Oxford.
During the 2025-26 NCAA season, Morozov was the second-youngest NCAA men's hockey player. He turns 18 on Aug. 3. Standing at 6-3 and 200 pounds, Morozov was praised by his coach for using physicality and strength to his advantage, as well as for being strong on both the offensive and defensive end of the puck. He appeared in all of Miami's 36 games and, according to Noreen, was critical on the team's penalty kill.
Miami's 2026-27 hockey season kicks off on Oct. 2. Meanwhile, the Sabres will host a prospect development camp for draftees that runs from June 29 to July 2.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Miami RedHawks C Ilia Morozov picked 20th overall by Buffalo Sabres
