2017 NHL Draft: Four Wisconsin Badgers selected on Saturday

The 2017 NHL Entry draft concluded Saturday with four Wisconsin men’s hockey players selected on the final day, for a program that now boasts 158 Badgers drafted all-time in school history.

As expected, rugged incoming freshman defenseman Tyler Inamoto was the first Wisconsin player off the board, going to the Florida Panthers in the fifth round (No. 133 overall). As noted by UW, Inamoto follows former Badgers Eddie Wittchow and Zach Pearson as Badgers drafted by the organization.

The seventh round saw three Badgers go off the board, starting with forward Linus Weissbach, being selected by the Buffalo Sabres 192nd overall. Weissbach was the only Badgers forward taken in the draft.

Defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk went four picks later to the Philadelphia Flyers 196th overall.

The Chicago Blackhawks made Joshua Ess the fourth Wisconsin player taken—and the third in the seventh round—when they selected the defenseman 215th overall.

All four of the Badgers selected saw time in the USHL last season. All have signed their National Letters of Intent, including early signee Inamoto. They join brothers Sean and Jason Dhooghe and forward Tarek Baker in the 2017-18 freshman class.

Fun fact, according to UW:

Of the nine drafted defenseman who played at least one season for Wisconsin during Associate Head Coach Mark Osiecki's first tenure as a UW assistant coach (2004-10), eight reached the NHL (Tom Gilbert, Jamie McBain, Ryan McDonagh, Brendan Smith, Jake Gardiner, Cody Goloubef, Justin Schultz, John Ramage).