Minot, ND – The Minotauros, like 31 other North American Hockey League teams, will take the next step in their pursuit of the 2024 Robertson Cup Championship tomorrow selecting players in the annual NAHL Draft. The NAHL Draft kicks off at 1:00 p.m. (Central Time) with a free draft show on HockeyTV.
All junior eligible players who are not currently protected by an NAHL team are available to be drafted. This is why teams, including the Tauros, will often draft a mix of veteran junior players from the USHL, the NA3HL, Canada, or Europe; along true rookies from high school, u-18, and u-16 programs. The way teams prioritize among those strategies often leads to later round picks being just as productive as early picks, and makes the draft a valuable tool for completing a roster despite those players being the last added to the roster behind returning players and tenders.
The Tauros most successful team ever, the 2018 team that lost the Robertson Cup Championship game had key contributors added over two drafts and saw players from both of those philosophies selected. The 2016 draft brought Nolan Sawchuk and Austin Dollimer from Minnesota high schools, Sawchuck had five post season goals in 2018 and Dollimer’s 45 points in the regular season were third on the team. The 2017 draft saw the additions of Minnesota high schooler Lincoln Erne, USHL drop Grant Loven, and u-16 phenom Ondrej Pavel. Erne played 55 regular season games and all 12 playoff contests as a rookie, Loven centered Dollimer’s line and put up 48 points of his own, and of course Pavel scored the biggest goal in Tauros history with the overtime winner in Game 3 of the semi-final against Fairbanks.
Of course as with any draft there are risks to any of the strategies. A veteran junior player from another league may choose to stay where they are rather than come to a new organization while a high schooler or u-16/18 player may not be ready to make the jump the a higher level of play. As such the more picks a team has the more likely they are to be successful.
Which brings us to the 2023 draft; the Tauros will have 10 total selections including two in both the second and third rounds. It is the first time that the Tauros have double digit picks since 2018 when the Tauros selected Wilmer Skoog with the 225th overall selection in the 10th round.
As of today the Tauros will have the 16th overall pick in the first round, 48th and 52nd in round 2, 80th and 88th in round 3. After that the Tauros will have one pick each round with picks 112, 144, 176, 208, and 235.
For live coverage of the 2023 NAHL Draft brought to you by 28 Tastes and Taps follow the Tauros on socials, (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) and check back here at GoTauros.com for a full draft recap after the draft.