Eighteen Badgers invited to NHL development camps
July 03, 2019 | Men's Hockey
Camps give prospective players feel for life as a pro
Each year after the draft, NHL teams invite their new draftees, past picks from recent years not yet in the franchise, as well as a select few undrafted players who may be of interest to the teams, to see what the big league are like with their potential future employers.
The camps usually involve both on-ice and off-ice development with drills and scrimmages plus nutrition classes and team-building activities.
In total, 18 Badgers were invited to take part, including five of the incoming freshmen.
The four newly drafted Wisconsin skaters included first-round picks Alex Turcotte, center for the Los Angeles Kings, and Cole Caufield, forward for the Montreal Canadians. Fourth-round pick Ryan Donovan went to camp with the Vegas Golden Knights, and fifth-round pick Owen Lindmark, went to Florida Panthers's camp. Defenseman Mike Vorlicky, although undrafted, joined Donovan at the Knights camp.
Donovan showed his awe in playing with the pros in a series of blog posts for the Knights last week.
Three of last year's picks took part once again in the camps include K'Andre Miller (New York, first-round 2018), Ty Emberson (Arizona, third-round 2018) and Jack Gorniak (Montreal, fourth-round 2018).
Past draft picks who also returned include Josh Ess (Chicago, 2017), Tyler Inamoto (Florida, fifth-round 2017), Wyatt Kalynuk (Philadelphia, seventh-round 2017) and Max Zimmer (Carolina, fourth-round 2016). Linus Weissbach (Buffalo, seventh-round 2017) was invited to camp, but did not make the trip.
Wyatt Kalynuk can really skate, he said that's his biggest strength. He's an impressive seventh-rounder. Expect a big junior year for him with @BadgerMHockey. pic.twitter.com/lqyGSKLtJz
— Jordan Hall (@JHallNBCS) June 28, 2019
Free agents invited to camps include Roman Ahcan (Pittsburgh), Tarek Baker (New York, participated 2018 with Vegas), Brock Caufield (LA), Sean Dhooghe (Arizona, participated 2018 with Columbus, 20017 with San Jose) and Mick Messner (Vegas).
"I loved it at camp, there's a lot of high-end skill...I'm happy I'm a part of the Rangers."
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) June 30, 2019
- #NYR prospect @kandre_miller on this year's #NYRPDC pic.twitter.com/Y4PKX5K55o
On his first day of camp, @colecaufield got some valuable advice from a couple of fellow first-round Draft picks.
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) June 26, 2019
READ ➡ https://t.co/woS9KLR9eZ#GoHabsGo
Ryder Donovan signing off from camp!
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) June 29, 2019
Read @rydesdono's last blog of the week here: https://t.co/RM92UEY5vs pic.twitter.com/wcZPpecVgL
.@InamotoTyler ties it up! 2-2 game.
— Jameson Olive (@JamesonCoop) June 30, 2019
He led Wisconsin in blocks last season, but he can also do that.
