The Minnesota Wilderness drafted 13 players and added another through a trade in the 2023 NAHL Draft held Wednesday afternoon.
The new additions include one goaltender, seven forwards and six defensemen. 11 of those acquired hail from the USA, while the team also brought in one each from Switzerland, Latvia, and Canada.
Goaltender Loris Uberti from Martigny, Switzerland, became the Wilderness’ first pick when he was selected 14th overall in the first round. The Wilderness acquired that pick from Anchorage due to a trade completed last February. At just 18 years old, Uberti is going into his 4th season of Jr. hockey and has spent his entire career playing in his home country.
The Wilderness followed the Uberti pick by making a deal with Minot to acquire the Minotauros’ third pick in the draft—Latvian forward Peteris Purmalis—who was selected in the 2nd round at 52nd overall. Purmalis is 20-years old and is committed to play in the NCAA with Lake Superior State. He began his junior career with Sioux City of the USHL in 2021-22, when the coaching staff included current Wilderness head coach Colten St. Clair. Purmalis began last season with Corpus Christi of the NAHL, before finishing the season in Latvia. He has also represented Team Latvia in the last three World Junior Championships, playing alongside current Wilderness defenseman Gustavs Ozolins in two of those tournaments.
Minnesota made its final pick to bring back forward Makhai Sparks. Sparks played two games with the Wilderness in 2022-23 while spending most of the season with Sheridan of the NA3HL.
Along with Purmalis, two other Wilderness selections have committed to Division 1 schools. They include Logan Morrell, who is headed to Michigan Tech, and Michael Murtagh, who will play at Connecticut.
All Wilderness 2023 draft selections are noted below:
| Round | Pick # | Name | Position | DOB | Hometown | 2021-22 team |
| 1 | 14 | Loris Uberti | G | 8/5/04 | Martigny, SUI | Lausanne Jr./Swiss U19 |
| 2 | 52 | Peteris Purmalis | RW | 1/7/03 | Liepaja, LAT | Zemgale/Corpus Christi/Team Latvia |
| 3 | 89 | Logan Morrell | C | 8/2/03 | Mesa, AZ | Omaha/Cedar Rapids |
| 5 | 153 | Brandt Dubey | LD | 2/12/06 | Orchard Park, NY | Windy City Storm 16U/Tri-City |
| 6 | 185 | Jean-Sebastian Pack | RD | 8/29/04 | Manhattan Beach, CA | Lawrence Academy (MA prep) |
| 7 | 217 | Nolan Bettens | LD | 10/4/03 | Winnipeg, MB | Winnipeg Blues (MJHL) |
| 8 | 249 | Evan Williams | RW | 11/2/04 | Champlin, MN | Champlin Park HS |
| 9 | 281 | Jack Roberts | LW | 4/19/05 | Glencoe, IL | Kent School (CT prep) |
| 10 | 313 | Michael Murtagh | C | 9/11/04 | E. Greenbush, NY | Nanaimo Clippers (BCHL) |
| 11 | 345 | Cade Kozak | LD | 11/6/06 | Isanti, MN | Windy City Storm 16U |
| 12 | 377 | Dominic Vansaghi | RD | 8/21/03 | St. Louis, MO | Boston Advantage (NCDC)/Maine |
| 13 | 409 | Brody Dietz | LD | 7/6/05 | Hudson, WI | St. Thomas Academy |
| 14 | 441 | Alexander Senf | F | 5/22/03 | Valley City, ND | Dauphin Kings (MJHL) |
| 15 | 473 | Makhai Sparks | RW | 5/28/03 | Meridian, ID | Sheridan Hawks (NA3HL)/MN Wilderness |
This draft marks the first major event involving St. Clair, who was just named head coach last week.
“First I would like to thank the staff for all their hard work in preparing for this draft,” said St. Clair.
“We knew there was going to be a lot of turn-around from last season, so finding the right players, not only for the identity we want to play with, but we also wanted to put together a team for our fans and community to be excited about. The overall depth and type of players we selected were specific to the type of winning hockey we want to play. Just being able to get a brief look at what our group could potentially shape out to be, makes me very excited to get the upcoming season started.”
Each player selected in the draft will be invited to participate in the Wilderness’ main tryout camp scheduled for July 17-20 at Northwoods Credit Union Arena in Cloquet. They’ll be joined by six other newcomers Minnesota has already tendered, veterans protected from the 2022-23 roster and others invited through pre-draft camps held over the last few weeks in Trenton, MI, Hudson, WI, and Las Vegas, NV.
The NAHL 2023-24 season is expected to commence in September.