The Wisconsin men’s hockey team announced the signing of three student-athletes to National Letters of Intent on Thursday. They include defensemen Joshua Ess (Lakeville, Minnesota) and Wyatt Kalynuk (Virden, Manitoba), as well as forward Linus Weissbach (Bothenburg, Sweden).
Ess, a 5’11, 185-pound defenseman, will arrive in Madison after his senior year at Lakeville south High School in Lakeville, Minnesota. He finished his senior year with eight goals and 28 points in 23 regular season games. He then scored three goals and five points in three sectional playoff games, before adding two goals and an assist in the state tournament, to finish with 13 goals and 36 points in 29 games.
Following a high school campaign that finished with an Associated Press All-State Third Team nod, Ess skated in two games with the USHL’s Cedar Rapids Rough Riders, collecting one assist.
Kalynuk, a 6’1, 185-pound defenseman, paced his Bloomington Thunder in scoring among defenseman with 31 points on six goals and 25 assists. Playing in all 60 of Bloomington’s games, he finished fifth on the Thunder and seventh among all USHL defensemen with 31 points. His six goals and 26 assists both tied him for eighth among league defensemen.
Kalynuk will be the first Manitoba native to join the Badgers since Morden, Manitoba, native and goaltender Duane Derksen played at Wisconsin from 1988-92.
Weissbach, a 5’9, 168-pound forward, led the USHL’s Tri-City Storm with 19 goals and 47 points in 49 games, good enough to share 16th in USHL scoring. He also led the team with four game-winning tallies, including a p air in overtime. His 28 assists also put him in the top-20 among all USHL players. he recorded 12 multi-point games over the course of the season, including a pair of three-point performances.
Along with Kalynuk, Weissbach was named to the All-USHL Third Team.
The trio join four early signees expected on campus in the fall. The early signees include brothers and forwards Sean and Jason Dhooge, defenseman Tyler Inamoto and forward Tarek Baker.
