Ohio State men’s hockey saw four players drafted on Saturday in the 2026 NHL Draft.
Midwest
Milwaukee police officer charged with child abuse after suffocation, strangulation accusations
A Wisconsin police officer was suspended after being charged with a slew of disturbing child abuse offenses, including strangulation.
Frank Williams, 30, was charged with felony child abuse, suffocation and strangulation, according to FOX 6 Milwaukee. He was arrested on Thursday morning.
The officer was recently suspended by the Milwaukee Police Department due to the accusations. He reportedly worked for the department for more than 7 years.
According to documents obtained by FOX 6, police were alerted to an injured child staying at Children’s Wisconsin, a hospital in the city.
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Frank Williams, 30, was reportedly charged with felony child abuse, suffocation and strangulation. (Milwaukee Police Department via FOX 6)
Speaking from the emergency room, the child said that they were “whooped” with a belt by Williams.
According to the criminal complaint, authorities observed “7 to 8 distinct brown and reddish bruises on (the child’s) left thigh” during the initial interview.
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Milwaukee police car at a crime scene. A Milwakee officer is accused of abusing a child. (Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images)
During a forensic interview conducted on Thursday, the child said that they were punished by Williams because they stayed awake when they were supposed to be napping.
The victim also alleged that Williams choked him with his hands, in addition to beating him with a belt. The child told investigators that the physical abuse had happened before.
FILE – The Milwaukee County Courthouse in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Raymond Boyd/Getty Images)
“The Milwaukee Police Department holds all members to the highest degree of integrity and if any member violates the code of conduct, they will be held accountable,” the police department said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “He is fully suspended. An internal investigation is pending.”
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North Dakota
EPA invests $1.6 million to improve drinking water in South Dakota, five other states
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Ohio
4 incoming Ohio State hockey players were selected in the 2026 NHL Draft
Unlike the NFL and NBA Drafts where when a player is drafted they can no longer play at the college level, the NHL allows players to play college hockey and the team that drafts them retains their rights for a certain amount of time.
Then again, using the NBA Draft as an example to describe how college eligibility works might not be the smartest thing to do since we saw some strange rulings over the past year on players who were already drafted and wanted to return to college.
The Buckeyes finished the 2025-26 season with a 14-21-2 record, missing the NCAA Tournament after losing in the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game. All four of the players drafted on Saturday are incoming freshmen and are still scheduled to come to Columbus in the fall to don the scarlet and gray.
With these four additions to the roster, Ohio State could be in for a bounce-back season in 2026-27.
Ben Wilmott – 92nd overall pick – Las Vegas Golden Knights
The Las Vegas Golden Knights traded forward Pavel Dorofeyev on Friday to the New York Rangers for a number of draft picks. One of those picks Las Vegas received was the 92nd overall pick, which the Golden Knights used on Saturday to select Ben Wilmott, who will turn 20 years old in August.
The Seattle native split last season between the London Knights and Barrie Colts in the Ontario Hockey League. In 37 games with London, Wilmott scored 12 goals and dished out 22 assists in 37 games. Wilmott would then play in 27 regular season games for Barrie, netting 15 goals and 17 assists before adding 11 goals and 11 assists in 20 games in the playoffs.
What stood out about Wilmott during his time in the OHL is the work he does around the net. Wilmott is a bit of a late bloomer and needs to work on his speed and his play away from the puck. If Wilmott is able to build on what he did in the OHL last year, the rest of the Big Ten could be in trouble this season.
Evan Jardine – 121st overall pick – Columbus Blue Jackets
The most notable pick involving an Ohio State player on Saturday was the selection of Evan Jardine by the Columbus Blue Jackets with the 121st overall pick. The Blue Jackets traded down a couple times earlier in the fourth round, accumulating a few more picks before taking Jardine.
While Jardine was already committed to Ohio State, where he is playing his hockey in a few years could just be a few miles down the road from campus.
Jardine has played in the USHL with the Youngstown Phantoms since 2023-24. Last year Jardine not only scored 27 goals and recorded 34 assists, he showed a bit of a mean streak, racking up 70 penalty minutes in 53 games. Much like Wilmott, Jardine has the ability to get under the skin of his opponents.
Jardine has a great mix of skill and grit, which could lead to him being a fan favorite in Columbus for both the Buckeyes and the Blue Jackets.
Tobias Tvrznik – 126th overall pick – Colorado Avalanche
This season we saw Jakub Dobeš take over as the starting goaltender in Montreal, helping the Canadiens reach the Eastern Conference Finals before they were eventually eliminated by the Carolina Hurricanes, who went on to win the Stanley Cup.
Tobias Tvrznik hopes to find success in the NHL in the future after he was drafted by the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday in the fourth round.
The Czechia product will have a few years before he reaches the NHL, as he won’t even turn 19 until the end of July. Before committing to Ohio State, Tvrznik appeared in 39 games for the Wenatchee Wild of the Western Hockey League, posting a 3.10 goals against average and .913 save percentage.
While the goals against average is a little high, Tvrznik’s save percentage is impressive. With a pretty crowded pipeline at goalie, Tvrznik can afford to spend some time in Columbus to develop.
Will Tomko – 204th overall pick – Seattle Kraken
The final future Buckeye selected on Saturday was Will Tomko, who was drafted by the Seattle Kraken in the seventh round with the 204th overall pick.
There are a lot of similarities between Tomko and Evan Jardine, who was taken in the fourth round by Columbus. Tomko and Jardine are similar in size, standing at six-feet tall and weighing about 185 pounds.
In 59 games with the Sioux City Musketeers, Tomko scored 24 goals and handed out 36 assists. Tomko also spent a lot time in the penalty box, racking up 115 minutes in the sin bin last season. If his play with Sioux City is any indication of what he brings to the table, expect to see Tomko all over the ice during his time as a Buckeye.
South Dakota
Team South Dakota gets strong performances at National Junior High Finals Rodeo
GUTHRIE, Okla. — Hadley Peppel and Team South Dakota had a strong showing at the National Junior High Finals Rodeo, which ran from June 21-27 at the Lazy E Arena.
Peppel, who hails from Herrick, was the winner in the bareback riding short-go on Saturday and finished second in the aggregate over three runs, finishing with 192 points and earning $870.71. Jace Wild Green, of Dexter, New Mexico, was the aggregate champion with a score of 198 and claiming $1,160.95.
Peppel was first in the short-go with 67 points and Wild Green was second with 62 points. Wild Green won both of the first two performances during the week, scoring 73- and 63-point rides, respectively. Peppel also took fourth in the first-go with a ride of 66 points.
In boys goat tying, Henry’s Ace Lammers finished as the champion with a total time of 27.99 seconds, powered by a first-place effort in the short-go (8.28 seconds). Lammers earned $1,608.53, plus another $618.66 for the short-go.
Powered by Lammers and Peppel, South Dakota’s boys participants finished third as a team with 4,525 points, only behind Texas (7,080) and Utah (6,585). Overall, South Dakota finished fourth in the team standings with 5,865 points, which was won by Texas (10.208.33), followed by Utah (7,780) and Oklahoma (7,520) and South Dakota. The South Dakota girls participants were fifth in the girls team standings with 1,920 points.
In the second-go of the ribbon roping event, a pair of South Dakota teams fared well. Colome’s Jakob Heath and Miller’s Grace Saiegna had the second-best time in 7.64 seconds, earning $1,497.02. Salenga was also sixth in the all-around cowgirl final standings, scoring 670 points. Wessington Springs’ Wyatt Fagerhaug and Buffalo’s Tommi Holmes teamed up to finish fourth in their ribbon roping performance in a time of 7.87 seconds, earning $953.63.
In barrel racing, Fort Pierre’s Emry Dowling took third in the aggregate timing with a time of 45.51 seconds, good for $1,201.43. Hadlee Landers, of Lawton, Oklahoma, won with a time of 44.514 seconds won the overall title, with Williams, Arizona’s Crosslyn Vest taking second (45.22 seconds). Dowling was also third-fastest in the short-go finals (15.031 seconds), which earned her $462.09, and she was fourth in the first-go (15.193 seconds).
Valentine, Nebraska’s Talon Scheer, who competed for Team South Dakota, had top-10 performances in the girls breakaway and goat tying in the first round of performances, taking fifth in the breakaway and 10th in the goat tying.
In the light rifle shooting competition, Ruger Pelster, of Harrison, Neb., finished third with a three-event score of 327 targets. Chisum Pelster was 11th (312 targets) and Grace Gesinger, of White River, was 13th (307 targets) in the finals.
Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of “Mitchell Republic.” Often, the “Mitchell Republic” byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.
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