Buzz around NHL draft for Wisconsin hockey
June 22, 2016 | Men's Hockey, Andy Baggot
Projected first rounder, four or more Badgers, coaching staff all interested parties
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BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
MADISON, Wis. — Down through history, the Wisconsin men's hockey program has produced some extraordinary NHL draft classes.
The best might have been in 1981 with a six-person group that featured goaltender Marc Behrend and defensemen Chris Chelios and Bruce Driver.
Behrend was a U.S. Olympian who was unbeaten in two NCAA championship starts (1981 and '83). He's the only man in Frozen Four history to be a two-time consensus Most Outstanding Player.
Chelios was a four-time U.S. Olympian who won an NCAA title with the Badgers in 1983 and three Stanley Cups with Montreal (1986) and Detroit (2002, '08). He's the only UW player enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Driver, meanwhile, was an Olympian for Team Canada and won a Stanley Cup ring with New Jersey in 1995. He was a first-team All-American, is one of 10 players to skate on two NCAA title-winners with the Badgers and was a captain at both UW and in the NHL with the Devils.
Other classes in the discussion include 1975, which features a pair of All-American defensemen Brian Engblom and Craig Norwich; 1977, which was comprised of Olympic gold-medal-winning center Mark Johnson and defenseman Bob Suter; and 1985, which included U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender Mike Richter and defenseman Paul Stanton, an All-American and a two-time Stanley Cup-winner.
Looking down the road, 2003, a class that includes All-America and NHL all-star goaltender Brian Elliott, two-time U.S. Olympic center Joe Pavelski and two-time U.S. Olympic defenseman Ryan Suter, has a special feel to it.
It's far too early to know about the Class of 2016, but its potential seems vast.
The Badgers have four players generally ranked among the top 100 prospects in the world and could have more than that taken when the two-day, seven-round NHL Entry Draft is conducted Friday and Saturday in Buffalo, New York.
Topping the list is center Luke Kunin, a sophomore-to-be who, according to all reputable rankings, is a lock to be chosen in the opening round when it's held Friday night.
He would be the 11th first-rounder in UW history and the first since 2008 when defenseman Jake Gardiner was taken 17th overall by Anaheim.
After leading the Badgers with 19 goals last season as a freshman, Kunin, listed at 5-foot-11 and 192 pounds, wowed NHL talent evaluators with his physical testing results and sense of maturity during a league-sponsored combine last month in Toronto.
Kunin, from Chesterfield, Missouri, fully expects to be among the first 30 picks.
"Yes, definitely," he said. "I'm a pretty goal-oriented person. I set it as a goal of mine at the beginning of the year to be drafted in the first round – to be drafted as high as possible – and I think I did everything I could do to show them. Now it's up to them."
According to the various prospect rankings, three incoming UW freshmen are projected to be taken in the first 120 picks (four rounds). Center Trent Frederic, defenseman JD Greenway and winger Max Zimmer make up that list.
Frederic, from St. Louis, and Greenway, from Potsdam, New York, played at the prestigious U.S. National Team Developmental Program in Ann Arbor, Michigan, while Zimmer, from Wayzata, Minnesota, skated for Chicago of the U.S. Hockey League.
Another incoming freshman, defenseman Philip Nyberg from Karlskrona, Sweden, is also a potential draft target as is goaltender Matt Jurusik, a sophomore-to-be from La Grange, Illinois.
Current UW wingers Matthew Freytag, a sophomore-to-be from Wayzata, Minnesota, and Seamus Malone, a sophomore-to-be from Naperville, Illinois, also are eligible.
Wisconsin has had 150 prospects taken in the NHL Entry Draft since 1970. The last time it had six or more was 1985. The most ever was eight in 1982.
Kunin is looking to join a select group of Wisconsin first-round picks that also includes winger Mike Blaisdell (Detroit, 1980), winger Pat Flatley (New York Islanders, 1982), defenseman David Tanabe (Carolina, 1999), winger Dany Heatley (Atlanta, 2000), Ryan Suter (Nashville, 2003), winger Jack Skille (Chicago, 2005), defenseman Ryan McDonagh (Montreal, 2007), defenseman Brendan Smith (Detroit, '07) and center Kyle Turris (Phoenix, '07).
Mock drafts have Kunin going between No. 13 and No. 26, but the guy who led the Badgers last season in goals and shots on goal with 127 says he's not dialed into the speculation.
"I try to stay away and worry about what I can control," Kunin said. "I can't control a ton there, so why bother?
"Obviously, because it's the draft, that's in the back of your mind, but you try not to let it get the best of you."
Kunin and Frederic, who had 20 goals and 40 points for the NTDP under-18 team, plan to be at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo for the draft festivities. They'll be accompanied by their families and new UW coach Tony Granato and his brother, Don, an associate head coach.
Frederic, listed at 6-2 and 203, also attended the invitation-only NHL combine. He was limited in his physical testing – no upper-body work because of a broken hand suffered last season – but said feedback from teams suggested he'll be taken late in the first round all the way to the third.
"If it happens," Frederic said of a top-30 slot, "obviously I'll be pretty thrilled."
Greenway, listed at 6-4, 205, and Zimmer, listed at 5-11 and 185, also performed well at the NHL combine, according to published test results. Greenway has the size, skating ability and wingspan to translate into a slot in the first three rounds. Zimmer, meanwhile, is ranked 95th overall by HockeyProspect.com thanks in part to his tenacity and speed.
As a prelude to the draft, it was announced Tuesday that Kunin, Frederic and Greenway were among 42 players invited by USA Hockey to its evaluation camp that will determine who's chosen to play in the World Junior Championships later this year.
UW has had some notable undrafted free agents achieve success over the years – Canadian Olympian and record-setting NHL goaltender Curtis Joseph, U.S. Hockey Hall of Famer and three-time Stanley Cup winning defenseman Brian Rafalski and Stanley Cup-winning center Steve Reinprecht to name three – but having your named called on draft day is the preferred route to the NHL.
Zimmer, who had 16 goals and 37 points last season for Chicago, said being drafted has long been a dream of his. He expects to be chosen on Saturday when rounds two through seven are staged.
"For me it's a really big deal because it's been one of my goals for years and it shows how hard you've worked the last few years and how all that work has paid off to get to this point," Zimmer said.
"I talked to a lot of teams (at the combine) and they all seemed pretty interested, so I'll just have to see how it goes on Saturday." Â
Tony Granato is a former NHL coach – head coach at Colorado; an assistant at Colorado, Pittsburgh and Detroit – but brother Don might be a more sought-after target of the media while in Buffalo.
Prior to signing on to work alongside his brother and close friend Mark Osiecki at Wisconsin, Don Granato spent five years recruiting and developing young talent at the NTDP. There he coached six current projected first-round picks, including Kunin, center Auston Matthews, winger Matthew Tkachuk, defenseman Charlie McAvoy, center Clayton Keller and center Tage Thompson.
Matthews is expected to go first overall, while Tkachuk, McAvoy and Keller are seen as potential top-10 picks.
Kunin not only played with that group last season as a member of the NTDP under-18 squad, he was the captain. He said Don Granato's impact is reflected in the draft projections.
"It speaks volumes, obviously," Kunin said. "He's a great coach."
