It’s official: Calgary Flames forward prospect Ethan Wyttenbach will return to Quinnipiac University in 2026-27 for his sophomore year of NCAA competition.

Wyttenbach, 19, led the nation in scoring as a freshman in 2025-26, racking up 59 points (25 goals, 34 assists) in 40 games with the Bobcats while helping the team reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Roslyn, N.Y. product is one of 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award, given each year to the top player in NCAA Division I men’s ice hockey competition.

Daily Faceoff digital reporter Jonny Lazarus was the first to report the news of Wyttenbach returning to Quinnipiac on Wednesday morning. The Bobcats subsequently confirmed the report just past 12 p.m. Eastern the same day.

The Flames originally selected Wyttenbach in the fifth round (No. 144 overall) of the 2025 NHL Draft. The 5’10”, 181-pound winger made the jump from the USHL’s Sioux Falls Stampede to Quinnipiac a year ahead of schedule after racking up 24 goals and 51 points in 44 games with Sioux Falls in 2024-25.

Wyttenbach led the Bobcats in scoring by a significant margin in his freshman year. He was their only player to exceed 20 goals and 40 points, as well as the only teenager among their top eight players in scoring. Late in his freshman year, Wyttenbach met with Flames executives, including GM Craig Conroy, during their game against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

Top 2026 draft prospect Gavin McKenna and Boston Bruins 2025 first-round pick James Hagens are among the other players named as finalists for the Hobey Baker Award this year, with Trey Augustine (DET), Max Plante (DET), Eric Pohlkamp (SJ), Charlie Stramel (MIN), T.J. Hughes, Hayden Stavroff, and Felix Trudeau rounding out the Top 10.

Wyttenbach was the fifth player the Flames selected in the 2025 NHL Draft, following Cole Reschny, Cullen Potter, Theo Stockselius, and Maceo Phillips; Aidan Lane, Jakob Leander, and Yan Matveiko rounded out the draft class.