NHL Draft 2019: University of Minnesota Players To Watch & Draft Primer

It could come on Friday. It could come on Saturday. At the very least, the University of Minnesota will see at least one player selected for the 45th time in the past 46 NHL Drafts.

In fact, there will probably be more this weekend.

After 2018 saw a pair of incoming Minnesota freshmen selected on back-to-back third-round picks and little else, the 2019 NHL Draft should be a big one for the Gophers. 11 current and future Gophers are ranked by NHL Central Scouting, which acts as a hypothetical 32nd team. Many of those will not be on campus until 2020-21 or later.

Being ranked does not mean a player will be selected (and vice versa as players not on Central Scouting's list get selected every year). It's a guide, more than anything. No matter what happens in Vancouver, there are several positive takeaways entering Bob Motzko's second year as Gopher head coach that the team has been missing in recent years.

Odds are the first player with Gopher ties to come off the board will be a defenseman early Saturday when rounds 2-7 are held. Ryan Johnson (Sioux Falls - USHL) and Jackson LaCombe (Shattuck-St. Mary's) both have been ranked near the top half of the second round. Johnson is 33rd and LaCombe 44th overall on Bob McKenzie's TSN pre-draft rankings, comprised from 10 NHL scouts to create a consensus.

Both slot in an area where it wouldn't be a surprise to hear their name called during Friday's first round. All it takes is one team towards the bottom of the first round thinking highly of either player for the Gophers to have its second first-round pick in three years, following Casey Mittelstadt in 2017.

Regardless of who selects Johnson and LaCombe, the Gophers get a pair of puck-moving defensemen with tremendous skating abilities in the near future. That's something much needed from a team missing offensive production from the blue line each of the past two seasons.

Besides the two defensemen, four more Minnesota commits are in NHL Central Scouting's Top 100 North American skaters: Chaska D Mike Koster (69), Blaine F Bryce Brodzinski (89), Roseau F Aaron Huglen (90), and Chaska F Rhett Pitlick (98).

Rising sophomore D Ben Brinkman, ranked 115th by NHL Central Scouting, could be the first Gopher to be drafted directly from the team since Jordan Schroeder was selected by Vancouver in 2009. The Edina native accelerated to join Minnesota and was the youngest player in college hockey last season.

Minnesota's draft haul won't be as highly star-studded as the last time the NHL Draft was held in Vancouver. The 2006 NHL Draft saw three Gophers selected in the top seven overall selections and four in the top 20, headlined by Erik Johnson selected with the #1 overall pick. (As of 2019, Johnson is the highest pick to play for the Gophers - a record bound to stand short of new numbers being invented.)

Still, the 2019 Gopher draft class is trending up even if it does not feature a first-round pick. It's something Minnesota has not often had in recent years. For every high riser in their draft year (i.e. Mittelstadt), it's easy to come up with two or three (i.e. Scott Reedy and Brannon McManus, who was ranked by NHL Central Scouting and went undrafted twice) thought to be a high pick a year or two out whose stock dropped to late round/undrafted territory.

Most of Minnesota's commits with a high chance of being drafted are not the early ones who two years earlier were high picks in the USHL Phase 1 Draft. Both Johnson and LaCombe moved up in NHL Central Scouting's final rankings compared to the midterm ones. They're not alone. Huglen made McKenzie's rankings at 91 despite being a late-round prospect in Central Scouting's preliminary rankings. Brodzinski, the 2019 Minnesota Mr. Hockey, moved up nearly 30 spots. Koster was ranked 15 spots higher. Jack Jensen made the list in his second draft.

Even a commit like Jonny Sorenson, who went to the NAHL for a season, found his way onto the tail end of Central Scouting's rankings.

The players lucky enough to hear their names called this weekend join 7 Gophers returning from last year's team plus incoming freshman goalie Jared Moe (Winnipeg Jets) and Michigan transfer goaltender Jack LaFontaine (Carolina Hurricanes).

Gopher Players and Commits in NHL Central Scouting's Final Rankings (All NA Skaters)

33. Ryan Johnson, D (Sioux Falls - USHL/Irvine, CA)
36. Jackson LaCombe, D (Shattuck-St. Mary's/Eden Prairie, MN)
69. Michael Koster, D (Chaska HS-MN)*
89. Bryce Brodzinski, F (Blaine HS-MN)
90. Aaron Huglen, F (Roseau HS-MN)*
98. Rhett Pitlick, F (Chaska HS-MN)*
106. Garrett Pioniemi, F (Holy Family HS-MN/Mound, MN)*
115. Ben Brinkman, D (Minnesota/Edina, MN)
176. Nate Warner, F (St. Cloud Cathedral HS-MN)*
195. Jack Jensen, F (Eden Prairie HS-MN)*
205. Jonny Sorenson, F (Fairbanks - NAHL/St. Louis Park, MN)

*Not expected until 2020-21 at earliest

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