Following a disappointing loss to Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals to conclude their season, the Wisconsin Badgers men’s hockey team will be without six players next year due to graduation and two in the transfer portal.
Badgers fans said goodbye to graduating seniors Tommy Scarfone and Daniel Laatsch, as well as graduates Ryland Mosley, Owen Lindmark, Anthony Kehrer and Cody Laskosky, totaling a goaltender, two defenseman and three forwards.
Losing six players to graduation will hit the program hard, especially with the loss of Mosley, a crucial player to Quinn Finley and Gavin Morrissey’s play last season. Wisconsin is also without its former starting and backup goaltenders in Scarfone and William Gramme.
Who’s out?
Sophomore forward Owen Mehlenbacher was one of the first Badgers to enter the transfer portal on March 31. Mehlenbacher played 25 games last season, switching between center and winger. He had four goals and two assists for six points, having only 33 shots on goal the whole season.
Sophomore goaltender William Gramme also entered the portal on March 31. Gramme mostly played behind senior starting netminder Scarfone, totaling 11 games last season. He finished with a .878 save percentage with a 3.23 goals against average.
Who’s new?
With the graduation of Scarfone and the transfer of Gramme, Wisconsin adds Minnesota State Mankato freshman goaltender Eli Pulver. Pulver only played one game last season for the Mavericks, winning 5-1 against Bemidji State University. Pulver recorded a .958 save percentage that night in March.
Pulver, a Vancouver native standing at 6-foot-1 and 166 pounds, previously played in the BCHL for three straight years. In three years, Pulver played for the Surrey Eagles and the Salmon Arm Silverbacks, where he played 94 games and recorded a .921 save percentage with 2.46 goals against average.
On the blue line, Wisconsin added junior defenseman Aiden Dubinsky from the University of Minnesota-Duluth. The 6-foot, left-shot from Highland Park, Illinois, played 36 games last season. Dubinsky recorded four goals and 10 assists for 14 points in his sophomore year, while in his freshman year, he had 15 points in 34 games.
Dubinsky plays a strong defensive game, one not focused on pucks to the net. With two incoming sophomore goaltenders in Pulver and Anton Castro, Wisconsin will need all the strength on their blue line they can play.
Future freshman
Wisconsin fans can get excited about WHL signings of forward Oliver Tulk and goaltender Daniel Hauser. Hauser should be rounding out the trio of Badgers goaltenders this year.
Players coming from the USHL are forwards Finn Brink, Grady Deering and Vasily Zelenov, as well as defensemen Luke Osburn. Forward Blake Montgomery momentarily played in the USHL before signing with the London Knights of the OHL.
Going pro
Laatsch signed a two-year NHL entry-level contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins for the upcoming season. He’s the only graduate from this year’s class currently signed at the NHL level.
Mosley signed an amateur tryout contract this season with the Cleveland Monsters, the Columbus Blue Jackets’ affiliate, and an AHL contract for next season. Kehrer signed the same deal with the Springfield Thunderbirds, the St. Louis Blues’ AHL affiliate.
Linkmark signed a similar deal with the San Diego Gulls, the Anaheim Ducks’ affiliate, but only an amateur tryout contract. Scarfone inked a deal with the Fort Wayne Komets, the Edmonton Oilers’ ECHL affiliate.
