MADISON, Wis. – A total of 154 Wisconsin men's hockey players have been chosen over the years in the NHL Draft and a handful of Badgers are looking to add to that total this weekend when the 2017 NHL Draft takes place on Friday and Saturday in Chicago.
Tops among the Wisconsin hopefuls is freshman defenseman Tyler Inamoto, who is the mostly highly thought of with regards to the draft.
The Barrington, Illinois, native ranks No. 68 among North American skaters in the final NHL Central Scouting Service (CSS) Rankings, with projections having him go in the third round of the draft.
The left-handed blue liner is a product of the U.S. National Team Development Program, which is housed in Plymouth, Michigan. He is planning to attend this year's event at the United Center.
"It is a big thing in our careers, but I am not really worrying about it," Inamoto said about this weekend's draft. "Wherever I go, I go, and whoever takes me, I am just grateful for the opportunity. I am just going to work my hardest to make sure that I follow through with that."
The only other incoming Badger ranked by NHL CSS is Gothenburg, Sweden, native, Linus Weissbach at No. 139 in North America. The 5-9 forward skated last season for the USHL's Tri-City Storm and put up 19 goals and 47 points in 49 games to pace the team.
Among his hockey exploits before his time in the USHL, Weissbach won a silver medal at the 2015 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup with Sweden.
Other incoming Badgers who have potential to hear their names include incoming defensemen Joshua Ess (Lakeville, Minnesota) and Wyatt Kalynuk (Virden, Manitoba), as well as forwards Sean Dhooghe (Aurora, Illinois) and Tarek Baker (Verona, Wisconsin).
There have also been surprises in the past during drafts and anyone born between Jan. 1, 1997 and Sept. 15, 1999, is eligible for the 2017 NHL Draft.
WISCONSIN NHL DRAFT NOTES
• 154 Badgers have been chosen in what is now known as the NHL Draft.
• Twelve Badgers have been selected in the first round.
• The Badgers have had at least one player drafted in every draft since 1970 except 1983 and 1997.
• Dany Heatley is the highest drafted Badger, taken second overall in 2000 by the Atlanta Thrashers.
• UW's record for first-round picks in one draft came in 2007 when Kyle Turris (3rd), Ryan McDonagh (12th) and Brendan Smith (27th) were each chosen.
• Eight Badgers were selected in the 1982 draft, the most in a single draft in program history.
• The 1972 draft is the only one in which Badgers were selected with consecutive picks as Bob Lundeen was chosen 124th by the Minnesota North Stars and Bill Raey, Jr. went 125th to the Chicago Blackhawks.
• Three Badgers were selected in the old supplemental draft, including two in 1988 and one in 1989, bringing UW's drafted player total to 157.
• Of the 157 Badgers drafted in either the entry or supplemental draft, 70 played at least one game in the NHL (44.6 percent) so far.
• Eleven Badgers went on to play in the NHL after going undrafted.
