Minot, ND – The first major step in the Minotauros Central Cup defense takes place on Tuesday, when the North American Hockey League holds its annual draft at 1:00 p.m. Despite the Tauros dramatic run to the National Championship Title Game they hold the ninth overall pick by virtue of their 28-26-6 record being the 16th best in the regular season.
The first overall pick belongs to the expansion Maryland Black Bears. As for the Tauros’ Central Division rivals, Brookings selects sixth, Bismarck seventh, Minnesota sixteenth, Austin eighteenth, and Aberdeen selects nineteenth.
Aside from the ninth overall selection the Tauros will select ninth in each round. The Tauros also hold the twelfth pick in the second round as compensation from the Minnesota Magicians for Charlie Weiand (2017 eighth round pick). The Tauros will draft 11 players to bring their protected list to 30 players. The protected list is comprised of players eligible to return from last season’s roster and players signed to tender contracts for next season.
Last season’s Tauros team had seven players that had been drafted over the last two summers. The 2017 NAHL Draft produced Nolan Sawchuk and Austin Dollimer in the second and third rounds respectively; the 2018 NAHL Draft produced Lincoln Erne (first round), Jack Robbel (third round), Grant Loven (fifth round), Ondrej Pavel (eighth round), and Spencer Kimball (tenth round).
The NAHL Draft will be broadcast on hockeytv.com, and the Tauros picks will be posted live on Twitter (@minotaurohockey).