skip navigation

12 Minnesotans Selected in 2019 NHL Draft

By Minnesota Hockey, 06/23/19, 3:45PM CDT

Share

The 2019 NHL Draft, which was held June 21-22, featured the selection of 12 players from Minnesota and a total of 59 Americans.

Bobby Brink, who led Minnetonka in scoring during the 2017-18 season and helped the Skippers win their first ever Minnesota Boys High School State Championship, was the first Minnesotan selected. Brink was chosen early in the second round by the Philadelphia Flyers.

Later in the second round, Eden Prairie native Jackson LaCombe was chosen by the Anaheim Ducks and Drew Helleson (Farmington, MN) was selected by the Colorado Avalanche. 

Minnesota high school stars Aaron Huglen (Roseau) and Ryder Donovan (Duluth East) were chosen less than ten picks apart in the fourth round, going to the Buffalo Sabres and Vegas Golden Knights, respectively.

In the fifth round, a pair of players from both Chaska, MN and Maple Grove, MN were selected in quick succession. Rhett Pitlick was selected by the Montreal Canadiens, followed immediately by the Anaheim Ducks picking Trevor Janicke. Then, another Maple Grove native in Ethan Haider was taken by the Nashville Predators, just two picks after the Toronto Maple Leafs selected Mike Koster, who was named the 2019 All-Metro Player of the Year after tallying 61 points from the blue line for Chaska High School.

The Anaheim Ducks rounded out their trio of selections from Minnesota in the sixth round, taking Centennial product Will Francis. Then, Ben Brinkman made it nine consecutive NHL Drafts at least one player from Edina has been selected, as he was picked by the Dallas Stars later in the sixth round.

Bryce Brodzinski, a Blaine, MN native and the 2019 Mr. Hockey Award, was the final Minnesotans selected in this year’s draft, going in the seventh round to the Philadelphia Flyers.

NOTES:  All of the players selected participated in the CCM High Performance programs, which are designed to identify and develop the top players in Minnesota … Ten of the twelve Minnesotans selected played at least one season of Minnesota high school hockey, including five who were drafted directly from their high school team … The players selected represent ten different communities.

Name Round Pick Overall NHL Team Amateur Team Association
Bobby Brink 2 3 34 Philadelphia Flyers Sioux City (USHL) Minnetonka
Jackson LaCombe 2 8 39 Anaheim Ducks Shattuck-St. Mary's Eden Prairie
Drew Helleson 2 16 47 Colorado Avalanche USNTDP Farmington
Aaron Huglen 4 9 102 Buffalo Sabres Roseau Roseau
Ryder Donovan 4 17 110 Vegas Golden Knights Duluth East Duluth
Rhett Pitlick 5 7 131 Montreal Canadiens Chaska Chaska Chanhassen
Trevor Janicke 5 8 132 Anaheim Ducks Central Illinois (USHL) Osseo-Maple Grove
Mike Koster 5 22 146 Toronto Maple Leafs Chaska Chaska Chanhassen
Ethan Haider 5 24 148 Nashville Predators Minnesota Magicians (NAHL) Osseo-Maple Grove
Will Francis 6 8 163 Anaheim Ducks Cedar Rapids (USHL) Centennial
Ben Brinkman 6 18 173 Dallas Stars Minnesota (NCAA) Edina
Bryce Brodzinski 7 10 196 Philadelphia Flyers Blaine Blaine

Most Popular