Braydon Beahm Pat Czarnecki Turner Richards
The Wisconsin Windigo, proud members of the North American Hockey League, made seven selections in the 2023 NAHL Entry Draft held June 14, 2023. Head coach Blake Hietala, assistant coach Casey Kirley, and director of scouting Justin Demartino evaluated players in preparation for the draft with the help of other members of the scouting staff. The number of draft picks available for each team is determined by the number of returning players and tendered players that a team protects prior to the draft. The NAHL Entry Draft is held at the conclusion of each season. Teams are eligible to draft 16- to 20-year-old players who are not protected by other teams in the NAHL.
The Windigo’s first round pick (29th overall) was used to select forward Tyler Grahme of Bloomington, MN . The 5’11”, 175 lbs. forward played 21 games for the Windigo last fall, prior to advancing to the Madison Capitols of the United States Hockey (USHL) in November of 2022. While with the Windigo, Grahme had 4 goals and 6 assists. Shortly after joining the Capitols, Grahme earned a commitment from Dartmouth College to play NCAA D-1 hockey upon conclusion of his Junior hockey career. In 38 games played for the Capitols, he scored 4 goals and added 5 assists. Sticking to offense and maintaining an eye on USHL talent that may become available in the Fall, the Windigo selected Waupun, WI, native and Clarkson University commit, Braydon Beahm. The 6’4”, 205 lbs. forward played 34 games with the Omaha Lancers last season, recording 2 goals and 3 assists. Beahm is familiar with the NAHL, by virtue of his 50 games (14 goals, 10 assists) with Minot during the 2021-22 season. In the third round, with the 93rd pick of the draft, the Windigo turned their attention to defense and selected 5’10” defenseman Pat Czarnecki. Czarnecki spent the 2022-23 season splitting time between the Madison Capitols and Omaha Lancers of the USHL. Czarnecki is familiar with the precursor of the Windigo, the Minnesota Magicians, where he played 47 games during the 2021-22 season.
Having traded their 4th and 5th round picks previously, the Windigo were next on the board in round 6, in which they selected 5’11” forward Turner Richards, of nearby Minocqua, WI. Richards spent the past season in the BCHL, splitting time with Cowichan Valley and Powell River. In 44 BCHL games, Richards scored 4 goals and added 7 assists. The 7th round, saw the Windigo using the 221 overall selection of the draft to pick Zephyr Tangri of View Park-Windsor Hill, CA. The 6’3”, 190 lbs. defenseman played for the U18 BWC Prep Academy in British Columbia, Canada, last season. The Windigo used their 8th round pick to select forward Owen Schrader. Schrader hails from Muskegon, MI, where he played for the Fox Motors 18U Tier 1 hockey team, scoring 5 goals and 8 assists in 13 games. The final pick for the Windigo came in the 9th round, in which they selected Spencer Wilkinson. The 6’2” forward played for his hometown Bozeman (MT) Icedogs of the NA3HL last season. Wilkinson notched 16 goals and 13 assists in 33 games for the Icedogs.
“Overall, I’m pleased with the draft. We had a group of a dozen or so experienced Junior A players that we had been in contact with. We were able to select several of them,” noted Windigo head coach Blake Hietala after the draft. “Heading into the draft, I felt good about our returning players and those we tendered prior to the draft. Our draft picks will join a competitive group of players that will push each other in our tryout and training camps,” concluded coach Hietala.
With the 2023 Entry Draft complete, the Windigo look forward to their main tryout camp August 2-6 in Anoka, MN. The schedule for the 2023-24 season will be released shortly.