Men’s hockey announces 2026 class of signees
November 18, 2025 | Men's Hockey
Badgers welcome six forwards, one defenseman to the program
MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin men's hockey team and head coach Mike Hastings announced its early group of recruits for the class of 2026 on Tuesday, welcoming six forwards and one defenseman to the program.
The class includes forwards Chase Jette (Lake Forest, Illinois), Eetu Orpana (Lempäälä, Finland), Brent Solomon (Camplin, Minnesota), Gavin Uhlenkamp (Chanhassen, Minnesota), Zach Wooten (Apple Valley, Minnesota) and Lukas Zajic (Plainfield, Illinois), as well as defenseman John Stout (Minnetonka, Minnesota).
"We're very excited about the class," Associate Head Coach Todd Knott said. "They're not just good hockey players – they're good human beings. They bring leadership – nearly everyone that's a second-year player on their team is wearing a letter right now. They meet our very specific needs."
Chase Jette
Forward, 5-10, 174, R
Lake Forest, Illinois
Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL)
Jette has skated for the USHL's Waterloo Black Hawks for the past two seasons, notching five goals and 14 points in 11 games played in 2025-26 as an alternate captain. Despite only playing in 11 of the Black Hawks' 16 games so far, his 14 points are tied for first on the roster, and his five goals rank third. In 2024-25, he tallied 15 goals and 24 points in 59 games played for Waterloo, skating with current Badger freshman forward Grady Deering. Last year, Jette broke out offensively in the Clark Cup playoffs, notching five goals and 13 points in 15 games before the Black Hawks fell in the finals. The Lake Forest, Illinois, native also skated for Team USA at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, scoring two goals in five games played to help the United States to a fourth-place finish, and he's part of the U.S. roster set to compete at the 2025 World Junior A Challenge, alongside Badger signees Brent Solomon and John Stout.
For the 2023-24 season, Jette played for multiple teams, including two games for the Black Hawks, where he notched two assists, as well as two games for the U.S. National U-17 team and two for the U.S. National Team Development Program in the USHL. His main team for the season was the Bishop Kearney Selects 16U AAA, where he recorded 41 goals and 80 points in 53 games played, ranking second on the team in both goals and scoring. The forward played for Bishop Kearney Selects from 2021 to 2024.
Associate Head Coach Todd Knott on Jette: "He's brain-driven, just a very smart, cerebral player. He can be utilized in a lot of different spots. He can be played through the middle of the ice as a centerman, he can play down the right side – I just think he can wear many hats."
Eetu Orpana
Forward, 6-1, 196, L
Lempäälä, Finland
Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL)
Orpana is skating for the USHL's Dubuque Fighting Saints this year, and he has two goals and 10 points in 18 games played so far, with his eight assists tying for sixth on the roster. The forward's season marks his first year skating in the United States after spending the majority of his playing career in his home country of Finland, where he skated for Tappara from 2021 to 2025. In his final year with the program, skating for Tappara U20, the Lempäälä native racked up nine goals and 24 points with the squad in 2024-25 to rank fifth on the roster in scoring.
Orpana has skated for Team Finland on the international stage multiple times, including notching two assists in five games played for the U20 team at the 2025 Five Nations Tournament after notching five goals and 16 points in 18 games played for the U18 team at the 2024 tournament. He was also part of Team Finland for the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and represented his country at the 2025 U18 World Championships, tallying two goals and six points in five games played. The forward will be the fourth Finnish-born player to skate for the Badgers, joining Niki Siren (1996-2000), Jesper Peltonen (2018-22) and Daniel Lebedeff (2018-19).
Associate Head Coach Todd Knott on Orpana: "I think he's got intelligence and plays through the middle of the rink. He's a natural, cerebral centerman. He's got big size – he's 6-foot-1 – so another added element of size. We've been looking at that with our last couple classes and keep on getting better in the middle of the rink, which has really been helping us right know – I think he'll be a big addition that way."
Brent Solomon
Forward, 6-0, 172, R
Champlin, Minnesota
Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)
Solomon, a fourth-round pick of the Detroit Red Wings at No. 109 overall in the 2025 NHL Draft, currently skates for the Sioux Falls Stampede of the USHL, where he leads the team with 10 goals and 22 points in 18 games played. His 22 points are tied for fourth in the league, and his 10 goals are tied for eighth. In 2024-25, the forward played for Team Twin Cities Orthopedics of the Upper Midwest High School Elite Hockey League, posting 28 goals and 38 points in 21 games played. He also played for Champlin Park High School, notching 38 goals and 56 points in 28 games played and becoming a finalist for the 2025 Minnesota Mr. Hockey award. He played in eight USHL games for the Stampede in 2024-25, tallying four goals and six points.
The Champlin, Minnesota, native also skated for Champlin Park High School in 2022-23 and 2023-24, totaling three goals and six points in 26 games played in his first season before improving to 34 goals and 48 points in 22 games played in his second. Prior to participating in high school hockey, Solomon also skated for the MN Green Giants and MN Bruins AAA teams. The forward is part of the 2025 U.S. Junior Select Team Roster, alongside Chase Jette and John Stout, set to represent Team USA at the World Junior A Challenge.
Associate Head Coach Todd Knott on Solomon: "He's a right-shot winger right now for Sioux Falls, and he's got an elite release. He's been a goal-scorer at every level and he's shown that not just this year, but at the end of last season going into Sioux Falls. It's one thing to do it in high school and it's another to do it in junior hockey. The way he shoots the puck is special, and he's rounding out the rest of his game right now in Sioux Falls with a really good staff. We're excited to bring that element of goal scoring and shooting to the Badgers."
John Stout
Defenseman, 6-2, 207, L
Minnetonka, Minnesota
Madison Capitols (USHL)
For the 2025-26 season, Stout, along with signee Gavin Uhlenkamp, is skating just down the road in Middleton with the USHL's Madison Capitols, where he has one goal and four points in 18 games played as an alternate captain. He also has a plus-nine rating, which is tied for first on the team. In his first full year with the Capitols in 2024-25, the defenseman notched four goals and 18 points in 58 games played and recorded a league-leading plus-44 rating while skating alongside current Badger freshman Finn Brink. Stout also played 15 games for the Capitols during the 2023-24 season, earning two goals and three points.
In 2023-24, the Minnetonka, Minnesota, native skated for Team TDS Transportation of the Upper Midwest High School Elite Hockey League, notching four goals and 11 points in 18 games, and for Minnetonka High School, tallying six goals and 30 points in 28 games. At the end of the 2023-24 high school season, Stout was named the winner of the 2024 Reed Larson award, given out annually to the top senior defenseman in the state of Minnesota, as well as a finalist for the Mr. Hockey award. He also played for Minnetonka High School in 2021-22 and 2022-23, totaling four goals and 11 points in 27 games played in his first year before tallying seven goals and 26 points in 31 games in 2022-23. Stout has experience skating internationally for Team USA as part of the United States' gold medal-winning squad at the 2024 World Junior A Challenge alongside current Badgers Brink and freshman defenseman Luke Osburn. He's part of the roster set to represent Team USA at the 2025 World Junior A Challenge, along with Chase Jette and Brent Solomon.
Associate Head Coach Todd Knott on Stout: "Very smart and cerebral. On the back end, he makes very good decisions. The other part with Stout, he's a leader for the Madison Capitols, and so he brings an element into your locker room – as Jette does too as a second-year player at Waterloo – both those guys are wearing letters for them."
Gavin Uhlenkamp
Forward, 5-7, 165, R
Chanhassen, Minnesota
Madison Capitols (USHL)
Uhlenkamp currently skates alongside fellow commit John Stout for the USHL's Madison Capitols, where he has eight goals and 12 points in 17 games played. His eight goals are good for third on the roster, while his 12 points are tied for third. In his first full year with the Capitols in 2024-25, the forward tallied 17 goals and 34 points in 59 games played, with his 17 goals tied for sixth on the team. In 2023-24, Uhlenkamp skated in 21 games for the Capitols, notching four goals and six points.
Before playing in the USHL, the Chanhassen, Minnesota, native played for Chanhassen High School for four years from 2020 to 2024, captaining the team in his last year while racking up 23 goals and 58 points to tie for the team-lead in scoring. His effort in his senior year at Chanhassen earned him a Mr. Hockey award finalist nod, and earned him the MN Hockey Life High School Player of the Year for 2023-24. In four years at Chanhassen, Uhlenkamp totaled 57 goals and 141 points in 93 games played. He also skated for Team SIT Financial Services of the Upper Midwest High School Elite Hockey League in 2022-23, tallying nine goals and 22 points in 20 games.
Associate Head Coach Todd Knott on Uhlenkamp: "What I like about this class is that all of them have one trait or ability that separates them, and for Uhlenkamp, that's his speed. I don't think there's three guys faster than him in the USHL right now in terms of how he can get up and down the ice sheet."
Zach Wooten
Forward, 6-1, 181, L
Apple Valley, Minnesota
Green Bay Gamblers (USHL)
Wooten is currently an assistant captain for the USHL's Green Bay Gamblers, notching 11 goals and 17 points in 19 games played to rank second on the team in scoring. His 11 goals rank first on the team and are tied for fourth in the league. The forward split the 2024-25 season between the Omaha Lancers and the Gamblers, racking up two goals and five points in 13 games played for Omaha before getting traded to Green Bay, where he tallied nine goals and 13 points in 36 games.
The Apple Valley, Minnesota, native made his USHL debut in the 2023-24 season, skating in five games for the Tri-City Storm. During that year, he also played for Team MAP South Hockey of the Upper Midwest High School Elite Hockey League, totaling 10 goals and 18 points in 20 games played to sit fourth in the league in scoring, and he was an assistant captain for Eastview High School, where he earned 18 goals and 50 points in 27 games. His 32 assists led the Eastview roster, and his 18 goals and 50 points ranked second. Wooten also skated for Eastview High in 2021-22 and 2022-23, as well as Blue Army AAA from 2020 to 2023.
Associate Head Coach Todd Knott on Wooten: "He can really skate and plays a hard, heavy game. He can really shoot a puck. He's found his offense this year in the USHL, which is great to see. He has a letter on his jersey right now in Green Bay and can play a lot of different roles. He kills penalties, he can play on the left or right side. He's just a very versatile player who adds a lot to the group coming in."
Lukas Zajic
Forward, 5-11, 187, R
Plainfield, Illinois
U.S. Under-18 Team (U.S. National Team Development Program)
Zajic, a 2025 NHL Entry Draft eligible forward, is part of the U.S. National Team Development Program (NTDP) skating against USHL and college clubs for the Under-18 team this year after playing for the Under-17 squad in 2024-25. With the Under-18 team, the forward has five goals and eight points in 20 games played, including two goals in seven USHL games played with the program. In his year with the Under-17 team, the Plainfield, Illinois, native posted 24 goals and 38 points in 57 games played, including 14 goals and 21 points in 35 games played against USHL teams. His 24 goals led the Under-17 roster and his 38 points ranked second.
The forward represented the United States at the 2024 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, helping Team USA to a fourth-place finish, notching four goals and six points in the process. Before joining the NTDP, Zajic played for Shattuck St. Mary's in 2023-24, leading the team with 46 goals and 75 points. He also skated for Chicago Mission AAA from 2021 to 2023.
Associate Head Coach Todd Knott on Zajic: "He's very dynamic and skilled. The talent level – he's got all the tools to be a really good player. Obviously, he's young, and so it's going to take a little bit of time for young guys like that to develop and for points to show up, but at every level prior -- playing for the Mission, playing for Shattuck -- he was one of the more dynamic players."
