The Florida Panthers went off the board and selected Joe Wegwerth with their fourth round selection at the NHL Entry Draft. Wegwerth is a 6’3″, 230 pound forward from the USNTDP. He has committed to Norte Dame, but will reportedly play in the USHL this upcoming season and looks to be a long-term development prospect. He will likely need a few years at the NCAA level before turning pro.
Wegwerth is not much of a scorer, but he is a big, hard-nosed forechecker that could one day be effective on a team’s bottom six. For him to go in the fourth round is surprising, most scouts had him pegged as a sixth or seventh-round selection.