5 players to watch in the NCAA hockey tournament

It's NCAA tournament time in more ways than one, and hockey's version of March Madness once again promises to be compelling for multiple reasons.

This year's regionals will begin with a can't-miss matchup Friday afternoon when defending champion North Dakota faces Boston University, a team loaded with first-round NHL prospects.

Here are five players to keep an eye on throughout the tourney:

Henrik Borgstrom

Borgstrom is one of the major reasons Denver enters the tournament as the No. 1 overall seed.

The 19-year-old Finnish freshman posted 21 goals and 38 points in 33 games for the Pioneers in his first season in North America.

Borgstrom was drafted 23rd overall by the Florida Panthers last June, but he'll be appealing to more than just Cats fans this spring.

The center led all Division I freshmen in goals, and only two first-year players (Boston University's Clayton Keller and Penn State's Denis Smirnov) registered more points than Borgstrom this season.

Jake Oettinger

Boston University boasts a quartet of players who were snapped up in the 2016 draft - forwards Keller and Kieffer Bellows and defensemen Charlie McAvoy and Dante Fabbro - but their starting goaltender is a talented freshman who isn't yet property of an NHL club.

Oettinger placed third in NHL Central Scouting's mid-term rankings for North American goalies, and with good reason.

The 18-year-old went 20-10-3 with a 2.09 GAA and a .927 save percentage in his first collegiate season, and he'll be worth watching as the Terriers appear poised to make a deep run if they can knock out the defending champs in the opening round.

Michael Vecchione

Union College is led by a pair of undrafted forwards who may be among the most coveted free agents as soon as the season ends for the Dutchmen.

Vecchione ranked second in the nation with 29 goals and third with 62 points in his senior campaign.

The 24-year-old led all Division I NCAA skaters in points per game (1.68) and tied for the most game-winning goals (7) in the country this season.

Spencer Foo

Vecchione's teammate has been impressive in his own right.

Foo racked up 24 goals and 60 points in his junior season, ranking sixth and fourth in the nation in those categories, respectively.

The 22-year-old doubled his goal total and more than doubled his point production from his sophomore season, posting the country's third-best points-per-game (1.62) and ranking eighth in the country with 10 power-play goals.

Adam Fox

Calgary Flames fans have a little extra incentive to watch Harvard, because the East Region's top seed is anchored by a promising defenseman taken by Calgary in the NHL draft last June.

Fox tied for the lead among all Division I blue-liners with 36 points and finished second with 31 assists as a freshman this season.

He helped the Crimson win the ECAC, capture the Beanpot tournament in Boston, and post the best winning percentage in the nation.