(UW ATHLETICS) LOS ANGELES – Logan Hensler joined 18 other Wisconsin men’s hockey players chosen in the first round when he got picked at No. 23 by the Ottawa Senators on the first day of the 2025 Upper Deck NHL Draft on Friday at L.A. Live’s Peacock Arena.
Hensler, a 6-2 defenseman, scored two goals and 12 points in 32 games played during his freshman season last year at Wisconsin. His 12 points ranked second among UW freshmen and tied him for second among Badger defensemen. The blue liner was named to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team for his efforts throughout the 2024-25 campaign.
The Woodbury, Minnesota, native is the ninth first-round pick for the Badgers over the past 10 NHL drafts and is the 19th first-round pick for Wisconsin all-time. His selection extends UW’s streak to 28 consecutive drafts with at least one player picked. UW has had a player picked every draft since 1970 except 1983 and 1997.
Before skating for UW, Hensler played for the U.S. Under-18 Team as part of the U.S. National Team Development Program. He was also part of the United States’ gold-medal-winning team at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship in Ottawa, Canada.
The defenseman is the fourth Badger to be drafted to the Senators all time, including two other members of UW’s 2025-26 roster: rising senior forward Tyson Dyck (2022 seventh round, #206 overall) and incoming freshman forward Blake Montgomery (2024 fourth round, #117 overall). Also drafted to Ottawa was goaltender Brian Elliot, who was taken in the ninth round of the 2003 NHL Draft at No. 291 overall.
The 2025 NHL Draft finishes with rounds 2-7 on Saturday, beginning at 11 a.m. CT. The draft airs on NHL Network and streams on ESPN+.
Up to four incoming UW freshmen could be picked on day two of the draft, with forward Bruno Idžan leading the pack after checking in at No. 67 in NHL Central Scouting’s final ranking for North American skaters. 2005-born forwards Finn Brink, Grady Deering and Oliver Tulk are also eligible for the draft.
Wisconsin’s All-Time NHL First-Round Draft Picks
Mike Blaisdell – Detroit (1980 – 11th)
Patrick Flatley – NY Islanders (1982 – 21st)
David Tanabe – Carolina (1999 – 16th)
Dany Heatley – Atlanta (2000 – 2nd)
Ryan Suter – Nashville (2003 – 7th)
Jack Skille – Chicago (2005 – 7th)
Kyle Turris – Phoenix (2007 – 3rd)
Ryan McDonagh – Montreal (2007 – 12th)
Brendan Smith – Detroit (2007 – 27th)
Jake Gardiner – Anaheim (2008 – 17th)
Luke Kunin – Minnesota (2016 – 15th)
Trent Frederic – Boston (2016 – 29th)
K’Andre Miller – NY Rangers (2018 – 22nd)
Alex Turcotte – Los Angeles (2019 – 5th)
Cole Caufield – Montreal (2019 – 15th)
Dylan Holloway – Edmonton (2020 – 14th)
Corson Ceulemans – Columbus (2021 – 25th)
Charlie Stramel – Minnesota (2023 – 21st)
Logan Hensler – Ottawa (2025 – 23rd)
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