Three SCSU hockey recruits drafted to NHL and first alumna drafted to PWHL

SAINT CLOUD – St. Cloud State’s hockey programs were well represented in this year’s NHL and Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) drafts.

The Huskies had three commits taken by NHL teams, and five-year player Klára Hymlárová made history as the first Husky to be selected by a PWHL team. She signed a two-year contract with inaugural season champions Minnesota on June 21.

“We feel like we have a good thing going at SCSU, for players to be able to play at a high level,” women’s coach Brian Idalski said. “We have players who want to play for their country at the world championships, the Olympics and now for teams in the PWHL.”

The players selected by NHL teams were 18-year-old defenseman Colin Ralph of Maple Grove, 17-year-old defenseman Tanner Henricks of Mission Viejo, California and 19-year-old winger Austin Burnevik of Ham Lake.

It was the most Huskies taken in a single draft since the 2009 Boon seven-player draft. The selections of Ralph and Burnevik join four previous NHL draft picks on SCSU’s 2024-25 roster, joining Adam Ingram (2022 third round to Nashville), Daimon Gardner (2022 fourth round to Vancouver), Barrett Hall (2022 sixth round to Seattle) and Warren Clark (2023 sixth round to Tampa Bay).

Ralph was selected in the second round by the St. Louis Blues, 48th overall. He is the seventh-highest Husky draft pick ever and will join SCSU this fall after two seasons in the USHS-Prep league with Shattuck St. Mary’s, where he scored 10 goals and had 91 assists in 111 games. Last season, Ralph’s 58 assists led all defensemen in the USHS-Prep league and ranked third overall, while his 66 points ranked second among defensemen and 19th overall. He previously played AAA hockey in the St. Louis area.

“It’s crazy, it’s kind of a full circle moment for me,” Ralph said in an interview with media in Las Vegas after the draft.

Ralph said he has built a good relationship with coach Brett Larson and the SCSU coaching staff and is happy to be close to friends and family in Minnesota.

The Husky’s second-selected commit won’t be moving to Minnesota for another year. Taken in the fourth round with the 101^st Pick by the Columbus Blue Jackets, Henricks plans to play a second season in the USHL for the Lincoln Stars, where he had nine points and was minus-12 in 59 regular season games last year. Henricks was the first SCSU player ever drafted by the Blue Jackets.

Burnevik was selected in the sixth round with the 182nd pick by the Anaheim Ducks after a third-team all-USHL campaign with the Madison Capitols. Burnevik scored 40 goals and had 31 assists in 61 games, which ranked him second in the league in scoring, seventh in points and seventh in power-play goals (11). For junior hockey, Burnevik began two years as an underclassman at Totino-Grace High School

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Hymlárová was selected in the 3rd round (15th overall) by PWHL Minnesota in the second round of the competition on June 10 at Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul. Coming off her fifth year at St. Cloud State, the former assistant captain was selected less than two weeks after Minnesota won the PWHL’s inaugural regular season championship against Boston.

“I am incredibly excited to officially join this great organization, and I am truly grateful for the opportunity to represent the team and the State of Hockey,” Hymlárová said in a statement released by PWHL Minnesota. “After five seasons with St. Cloud State, Minnesota holds a special place in my heart, and I am thrilled to continue being a part of our rich hockey tradition!”

Hymlárová led SCSU in scoring last season — the second straight that the Huskies have gone .500 after more than a decade of losing years. She had 36 goals and 53 assists in her 142-game collegiate career. Originally from Opava, Czech Republic, Hymlárová has won bronze medals at the 2022 and ’23 world championships and played in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

“The second half of the year, those draft questions start to come up and I remember reassuring her that she was going to get drafted, that she had that quality of player,” Idalski said. “Her versatility is dazzling.”

He said that as a skater and defender, Hymlárová can play with the best players in the world.

Hymlárová will attempt to join Czech national teammate Denisa Křížová on Minnesota’s PWHL roster. A spot will be tough to come by: Only 42 of the 167 draft-eligible players were selected and the six teams have just 23 available roster spots plus up to three reserves. SCSU captain forward Taylor Lind went undrafted and will have the opportunity to be invited to team tryouts as a free agent, along with 2020 graduate Laura Kluge.

Idalski said Lind’s IQ and hockey mentality would fit well at the next level and that her perseverance would draw attention during training camps.

The PWHL considers its inaugural season a success, with 392,259 fans attending regular-season games and all Minnesota games airing on Bally Sports North. The league announced that additional team branding would be released in August and that schedules would be extended from 24 to 30 games.

Contact reporter Reid Glenn at [email protected].

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Three SCSU hockey recruits drafted to NHL and first alumna drafted to PWHL

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