Wisconsin men’s hockey: UW picked to finish fifth in the Big Ten

Big Ten hockey media days kicked off on Monday morning with the announcement of the B1G preseason poll and all-conference teams. The Wisconsin Badgers, coming off a disappointing season, were picked to finish No. 5 in the conference, ahead of only Michigan State and Penn State.

Minnesota was picked to win the the conference by the coaches with Michigan in second and Ohio State and Notre Dame tied for third. The Badgers are under the “receiving votes” category in the preseason USCHO.com poll.

Last season’s Big Ten scoring champion and Freshman of the Year, forward Cole Caufield, was named to the first team, the only Badgers player to make the first or second team. Two Badgers were named honorable mention, forward Dylan Holloway (who was recently drafted in the first round of the NHL Draft by the Edmonton Oilers) and defenseman Ty Emberson (who was drafted by the Arizona Coyotes in 2018).

The Gophers and Wolverines tied for the league lead with four players from each school on the list.

Here is the first team:

Sammy Walker, F, Minnesota
Alex Limoges, F, PSU
Cole Caufield, F, Wisconsin
Cameron York, D, Michigan
Dennis Cesana, D, MSU
Strauss Mann, G, Michigan

Here is the second team:

Johnny Beecher, F, Michigan
Mitch Lewandowski, F, MSU
Brannon McManus, F, Minnesota
Jackson LaCombe, D, Minnesota
Spencer Stastney, D, Notre Dame
Tommy Nappier, G, OSU

Honorable mention:

Ben Meyers, F, Minnesota
Quinn Preston, F, OSU
Gustaf Westlund, F, OSU
Dylan Holloway, F, Wisconsin
Owen Power, D, Michigan
Matt Hellickson, D, Notre Dame
Ty Emberson, D, Wisconsin

The Badgers, who are still loaded with talent, will need to pick out a goalie before the season starts and solve some of the special teams problems if they’re planning on getting back to the NCAA Tournament.