It turns out Talan Blanck’s efforts in the 2026 Robertson Cup Playoffs did not just establish new Minnesota Wilderness records, his goal scoring in the post-season tied a NAHL record.
Blanck’s 12 tallies in his 12 post-season games tied the league mark for goals in a single playoff. He joins Karl Sellan of the Texas Tornado in 2006 and Dain Prewitt of the Fargo-Moorhead Jets in 2005 as the only players in NAHL history to reach the 12-playoff goal plateau.
Blanck added 11 assists, which gave him 23 points, which had also tied the league record, but that total was surpassed by Harrison Smith of the Maryland Black Bears in Tuesday night’s championship game. Smith’s goal and assist gave him 24 playoff points and established a new NAHL post-season points record.
Blanck is among three Minnesota Wilderness players recognized by the NAHL for their performance over the weekend at the Robertson Cup tournament. Blanck and Noah Dziver were named as forwards to the all-tournament team, while Matt Hauser joined them as a defenseman.
All three were pivotal in the Wilderness’ sweep over the Austin Bruins in the semi-final round. In the two games, Blanck finished with five goals and two assists for seven points. Dziver followed with six points in the series, posting two goals and four assists.
From the blue line, Hauser recorded three assists in the semi-final series.
Minnesota defeated Austin 4-3 in overtime in game 1, with Blanck recording a hat trick along with the game-winning goal. The Wilderness followed with a 7-3 victory in game 2.
The Wilderness trio was joined by three players from the Black Bears on the all-tournament squad. Forward Ryan Franks, defenseman Will Esterbrooks (from Hermantown, MN) and goaltender Ryan Denes were the Maryland representatives. Smith was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
Maryland won the championship, beating the Wilderness in the title game, 4-3 in overtime.