Loaded with two top-10 draft picks and six picks overall, the Minotauros looked to add a new layer of talent to bolster their 2023 roster in Wednesday’s NAHL Draft.

Working to improve on last year’s 29-29-2 regular season record and fifth place finish in the Central Division of the North American Hockey League, the Minotauros recognized the need to capitalize on having two first-round picks for the first time in the franchise’s history.

Facing the reality of losing five of their top six forwards, their top-scoring defenseman, and both of their goalies, the Minotauros wasted no time addressing these voids.

Even before Wednesday’s draft, the Minotauros aimed to increase their scoring production by trading for the Minnesota Magicians’ leading scorer last season, Hunter Longhi. Furthermore, to ease their needs in the crease, they proceeded to tender contracts to goalies Carl Lido and Lawton Zacher.

With the process of retooling the roster in motion, Tauros fans wouldn’t have to wait long before they witnessed the first of their six picks on draft night.

Acquired in a trade prior to the draft, the Tauros used the No. 9 pick to select Cameron Smith, a Division I goaltender commit for St. Lawrence. Smith was the second goalie taken in the top-10, going off the board four spots behind North Iowa selection Mitchell Day.

The Stamford, Connecticut native joins the Tauros after ranking in the top-10 of goalkeepers in the National Collegiate Development Conference (NCDC) with a .920 save percentage and a 2.81 goals against average last season for the P.A.L. Jr. Islanders.

Just one pick later, the Tauros would draft 6’2″, 195-pound forward Cooper Rice from the Steinbach Pistons of the Metropolitan Junior Hockey League (MJHL).

Last season, Rice tallied 16 goals and 28 assists for 44 total points in 50 games played, serving as an integral part of a Pistons squad that would finish atop the East Division of the MJHL before falling just short in the MJHL championship series.

Heading into the second round of the draft, the Tauros continued to focus on offense, selecting lefty forward Tory Lund from the Granite City Lumberjacks of the North American Tier III Hockey League (NA3HL).

Along with accumulating 29 goals and 25 assists across 26 games for the Minnesota-based Sartell-St. Stephen High School, Lund also skated 10 games for the Granite City Lumberjacks, adding four goals and four assists to his resume.

The third round of the draft would see a homegrown North Dakota talent join the Tauros in the form of Grand Forks Red River center Carter Sproule. In 25 games last season for Red River, the 6’2″, 185-pound Sproule would post 18 goals and 24 assists.

Finishing out the draft, the final two picks would conclude with a shift from offense to defense for the Tauros.

Round five would see the Tauros choose 6’1″, 200-pound right defenseman Lucas Constantine of the NCDC New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs with the No. 18 pick. During 35 games with the Monarchs, Constantine would post one goal and seven assists for the North Division champs.

Making every selection count, the Tauros would use their sixth and final pick to bring aboard multi-league veteran defenseman Michael Harrel Jr. Hailing from Frisco, Texas, the 5’9″ lefty served as a defensive stalwart for the NAHL Chippewa Steel and NA3HL Louisiana Drillers, in addition to contributing on the offensive end with seven goals and 13 assists over his 30 combined games with the two teams last season.