Completed Event: Men's Ice Hockey versus Vermont on February 7, 2026 , Win , 6, to, 1
Men's Ice Hockey
vs Vermont
Final
6
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1
Providence College Athletics
Current and Future Friars Selected on Day Two of the 2016 NHL Draft
6/25/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
June 25, 2016
BUFFALO, N.Y. - Providence College men's hockey sophomore Vincent Desharnais (Laval, Quebec) and commits Kasper Björkqvist (Espoo, Finland), Brandon Duhaime (Parkland, Fla.), and Jake Ryczek (Ludlow, Mass.) were selected on day two of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft held at the First Niagara Center on Saturday (June 25).
Björkqvist was selected in the second round (61st overall) by the Pittsburgh Penguins, while Duhaime was picked in the fourth round (106th overall) by the Minnesota Wild. Desharnais (183rd, Edmonton) and Ryczek (203rd, Chicago) were both selected in the seventh round.
Desharnais, the 6-foot-6-inch, 210-pound defenseman appeared in 19 games with Providence in 2015-16. He notched his first collegiate goal in the Hockey East Semifinals against UMass Lowell on March 18 and recorded his first career assist at Brown on Jan. 3. Prior to joining the Friars last season, Desharnais was a mainstay on the blue line for the Chilliwack Chiefs on the BCHL, appearing in 54 games and totaling a goal and four assists. He is the first Friar to be drafted by Edmonton since Cody Wild in 2006.
Björkqvist is a 6-foot-1-inch, 198-pound forward who will become the first native of Finland to play for the Friars. In 45 games with the Espoo Blues (Jr. A SM-Liiga) last season, Björkqvist led the team with 28 goals and 38 assists and also took home gold with Team Finland at the 2016 World Junior Championships. In 2014-15, he notched 19 goals and 11 assists with the Blues while also claiming silver at the 2015 U18 World Junior Championships as team captain. He is the first Friar to be selected in the second round since Colin McDonald (Edmonton, 2003).
Duhaime is a 6-foot, 185-pound forward who concluded last season with a Clark Cup championship with the Tri-City Storm (USHL). He notched 10 goals and 22 assists in 39 games with the Chicago Steel prior to a midseason trade to Tri-City where he registered 10 points in 18 games and added four goals and four assists in 11 playoff contests. Duhaime was ranked No. 92 for North American skaters in the final NHL Central Scouting rankings prior to the draft and becomes the first Friar to be drafted by the Minnesota Wild.
Ryczek is a 5-foot-10-inch, 180-pound defensemen who split last season with the Sioux City Musketeers and Waterloo Black Hawks of the USHL. Closing out the season strong with the Black Hawks, Ryczek totaled four goals and 16 assists in the final 18 regular season games and added four assists in nine playoff games. In total, he notched seven goals and 27 assists in 47 games for the Musketeers and Blackhawks. He also spent the 2014-15 campaign with Sioux City, registering six goals and 12 assists in 55 games. Prior to Sioux City, Ryczek chipped in with 17 points for the Selects Academy U16 (South Kent, Conn.).
In addition to Desharnais, the Friars will return six other NHL draft picks to their 2016-17 roster - senior Anthony Florentino (Buffalo, fifth round, 143rd overall, 2013), juniors Brian Pinho (Washington, sixth round, 174th overall, 2013) and Jake Walman (St. Louis, third round, 82nd overall, 2014), and sophomores Erik Foley (Winnipeg, third round, 78th overall, 2015), Steven Ruggiero (Anaheim, sixth round, 178th overall, 2015), and Hayden Hawkey (Montreal, sixth round, 177th overall, 2014).
The Friars' four draft picks are the most in a single draft since 2000 when they had five players selected (Jon DiSalvatore, Regan Kelly, Nolan Schaefer, Jason Platt, and Peter Zingoni.
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