Local Talents Make Waves At The NHL Draft From Wenatchee

Two Wenatchee Wild players were selected on Saturday in the NHL Draft.

Forward Blake Vanek and defenseman Brendan Dunphy heard their names called on Saturday.  Vanek was the 93rd overall selection in the third round by the Ottawa Senators.   Dunphy was a seventh-round pick for the back-to-back NHL Champion Florida Panthers as the 197^th overall selection.

Blake Vanek

Vanek just signed a scholarship and development agreement in early June with Wenatchee.  He hails from Minnesota where he helped his Stillwater High School Ponies reach the Minnesota high school championship game last season.  He scored 22 goals and 31 assists in 29 games.  He tallied 114 points in 79 league games during his high school career in Minnesota.  NHL fans will recognize the Vanek name.  Blake's father is 14 year NHL veteran and Team Austria Olympian Thomas Vanek.

Vanek will be the fourth Wild player since joining the WHL history to be chosen in the NHL Draft. Three players on Wenatchee’s 2023-24 regular season roster were drafted by NHL clubs.  The draft board had Vanek ranked 146^th among North American skaters on NHL Central Scouting’s final ranking list.

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Brenden Dunphy

Dunphy performed well last season with the Wild and the Langley Riverman of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL).   He is a 6-foot-5-inch defenseman from San Diego, California.  Dunphy came to Wenatchee last fall in a trade with the Regina Pats, and signing with the club from Langley. He had 12 points in 68 BCHL games over a season-and-a-half with Langley and was third among Wenatchee defensemen with 22 points in 47 games with the Wild despite joining the team two months into the regular season.  Dunphy had the 194^th ranking on NHL Central for North American skaters.  He has a commitment to the NCAA Division 1 University of Connecticut, and is currently set to join the Huskies for the upcoming campaign.