Will Horcoff: Shawn's Son, Penguins Pick, Michigan Stats

Will Horcoff is a forward in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization who plays college hockey at the University of Michigan and internationally for the United States, and is the son of former NHL center Shawn Horcoff. Pittsburgh traded up twice on draft night in 2025 to take Will Horcoff 24th overall. He went from four goals as a freshman to 25 as a sophomore, seven of them game-winners.

Fast facts: Will Horcoff
Rights held by	Pittsburgh Penguins, NHL
Current level	University of Michigan, NCAA
Shirt number	44 at Michigan. He has no NHL number
Position	Center
Shoots	Left
Born	23 January 2007
Height / weight	Measured at 6-foot-4.75 at the 2025 NHL Combine. Michigan lists him at 6-5 and 204 lbs; the NHL’s register says 6’5″ and 190 lbs
Drafted	2025, first round, 24th overall, Pittsburgh Penguins
Contract status	Unsigned. He has no entry-level contract and has not played an NHL game
Previous clubs	U.S. National Team Development Program, Little Caesars, Detroit Honeybaked

Yes. Shawn Horcoff is his father, and he played 1,008 NHL games between 2000 and 2016, scoring 186 goals and 511 points for Edmonton, Dallas and Anaheim, with a spell as the Oilers’ captain. He joined Detroit’s front office in 2016, became assistant general manager and general manager of the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins, and on 15 September 2026 he was named the Red Wings’ interim general manager.

What Will took from him is not technique. “I try to model my work ethic after him,” he told NHL.com. “Growing up, I would always go to the rink when he was on the Stars or the Oilers. Sometimes, he’d be the only one there, only one going on the ice. Just me and him. Just showed me how bad he wanted it.”

The family loyalty has a limit, and it is a school. Will chose Michigan; his father went to Michigan State. “He’s totally on board. He always just told me to go where I felt I belonged,” Will said of the decision. Then the catch: “He just won’t wear anything Michigan. He said not until we win a national championship.”

What are Will Horcoff’s career stats?

Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	P	PIM
2023-24	U.S. National U17 Team	NTDP	54	11	8	19	44
2023-24	USNTDP Juniors	USHL	35	5	5	10	16
2023-24	United States U17	U17 World Challenge	7	1	2	3	8
2024-25	U.S. National U18 Team	NTDP	28	8	6	14	34
2024-25	USNTDP Juniors	USHL	7	2	1	3	12
2024-25	United States U18	U18 Worlds	7	2	2	4	8
2024-25	University of Michigan	NCAA	18	4	6	10	6
2025-26	University of Michigan	NCAA	40	25	14	39	64

The table covers completed seasons at junior level and above. He joined Michigan mid-season in 2024-25, straight out of the development program, and made his college debut on 3 January 2025 against Ohio State at Wrigley Field, scoring and adding an assist.

Horcoff scored four goals in 18 college games as a freshman and 25 in 40 as a sophomore, and seven of those 25 were game-winners, as many as any player in American college hockey that season. He tied Michigan State’s Charlie Stramel for that national lead, and finished second on his own team in penalty minutes.

Why did Pittsburgh trade up to draft Will Horcoff?

Twice, in fact. The Penguins first sent the 12th pick to Philadelphia for the 22nd and 31st, then packaged the 31st and 59th to the Los Angeles Kings to move back up to 24, where they took Horcoff. It was their last first-round pick.

The club’s pitch was about what had not happened yet. “The progression in his game from the start of the year to the end of the year from going to the program at Michigan was immense,” said Wes Clark, Pittsburgh’s vice president of player personnel, who called him “super athletic at 6-foot-5” and “still very early in his development curve.”

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How tall is Will Horcoff?

He was measured at 6-foot-4.75 and 203 pounds at the NHL Combine in June 2025. Michigan rounds him up to 6-5 and lists 204 pounds; several draft-season sources rounded him down to 6-4.

The more interesting number from that week was horizontal. Horcoff set a new Combine record in the broad jump at 124.75 inches, beating the previous mark of 123, and finished top of the field in the no-arm jump as well. For a player that size, that is the part scouts talk about. He has described it plainly himself: “I’m a player who’s blessed with my size, and I have a good, unique skill set.”

Where does Will Horcoff play?

He plays for the University of Michigan, where he is a junior. Pittsburgh holds his NHL rights, but he has not signed an entry-level contract. In June 2026, he said he would go back to Michigan rather than turn professional: “I just think for my development it’s the best decision.”

Before Michigan, he spent two seasons with the United States National Team Development Program, playing for the under-17 and under-18 teams and in the USHL alongside them. Before that, he played youth hockey in Detroit: Honeybaked, then Little Caesars, where he put up 173 points in 80 games at the under-16 level.

Who are Will Horcoff’s parents?

His father is Shawn Horcoff, and he has two sisters. Beyond that, the family has kept its own details private.

What is documented is how much the family moved while his father was playing. “Growing up, I think I’ve been to like nine different schools,” Will told NHL.com. “To this point, I’ve lived in four different places. So I’ve kind of been all over the map. I’ve had to meet new people, so I think it’s really just helped my personality.”

Jason Spezza, now a Penguins assistant general manager and once his father’s teammate in Dallas, saw the effect. “He was a rink rat. He’s always been a rink rat,” Spezza said. “I think that’s one of the benefits of being the son of an NHL player, you get to be around.”

Has Will Horcoff been injured?

He hurt his right shoulder in December 2025, played through the second half of the season with it, and had surgery once the season was over. The injury is known only because he said so himself, months later: “I hurt it pretty bad in December, kind of right before Christmas break,” he told Pittsburgh Hockey Now.