Four members of the Wisconsin men's hockey program were selected on the second day of the 2011 NHL Draft at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. Three incoming freshman and one current player, sophomore forward Michael Mersch, heard their names called by NHL franchises on day two.
Mersch was ranked No. 83 among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting and was picked in the fourth round, No. 110 overall by the Los Angeles Kings. Mersch scored eight goals and 19 points in his freshman season last year for the Badgers, showing flashes of the talent that led head coach Mike Eaves to bring Mersch to the UW program a year early out of high school.
Along with Mersch, three members of Wisconsin's incoming freshman class were called to the stage. Highly touted recruit Joseph LaBate, a forward from Holy Angels Academy in Richfield, Minn., was the highest selected UW player, going in the fourth round, No. 101 overall to the Vancouver Canucks. LaBate was ranked No. 51 among North American skaters and scored 27 goals and 49 points in his senior season. He was also a finalist for Minnesota's Mr. Hockey award.
The next Badgers to hear their names were incoming freshmen defenseman Patrick Daly and forward Brad Navin, who were both selected in the seventh round, numbers 189 and 197 to the New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres, respectively.
Daly comes to UW from Benilde-St. Margaret's in St. Louis Park, Minn., and was also a finalist for the Mr. Hockey Award, scoring 40 points last season as well as leading the Red Knights with a plus-52 rating.
Navin comes to the Badgers and Buffalo after a prolific Wisconsin high school career. Skating for Waupaca high school, Navin led all players in the state with 53 goals and 92 points in 25 games during his junior season and followed that up with a brilliant 29-goal, 52-point start his senior year before a knee injury cut his season short.
Sophomore defenseman Frankie Simonelli, who was ranked no. 154 by Central Scouting, went undrafted.
