Dreams came true on Saturday for defenseman Alec Regula (Cranbrook, 2018) when the Detroit Red Wings selected him in the third round of the 2018 NHL Draft.

Regula was the first Michigan High School Hockey product to be selected in the NHL Draft since MacKenzie MacEachern (Brother Rice, 2012) was selected in 2012 by the St. Louis Blues. Oddly enough, MacEachern was also the 67th overall player taken in his draft year.

One major difference between the two routes though, is that MacEachern was drafted directly out of MI-HS whereas Regula has spent the previous two seasons playing elite-level junior hockey.

In his freshman and sophomore seasons, Regula totaled 54 games and scored six goals and 31 points while patrolling the blue line, winning a Division-III state championship in 2015. After that, he made the jump to Tier-I junior hockey playing in the USHL for the Chicago Steel for one season. 

Regula then scored seven goals and 25 points in 67 games this season which was spent in the OHL with the London Knights. 

Now a member of the Wings' organization, the West Bloomfield, Mich., native is one-of-10 players in the team's draft class that will hope to have an early impact. The Wings are no stranger to MI-HS alums either, as Regula joins the likes of Justin Abdelkader (Muskegon Mona Shores, 2005) and Luke Glendening (East Grand Rapids, 2007).