Ohio State men’s hockey saw four players drafted on Saturday in the 2026 NHL Draft.
Ohio
Ohio woman stabs couple, steals their car after setting building on fire, deputies say
Desjavae Conway (Troup County Sheriff’s Office)
TROUP COUNTY, Ga. – An Ohio woman is accused of stabbing two women and setting fire to a building on their property all before stealing their car and taking off, according to the Troup County Sheriff’s Office.
What we know:
Desjavae Conway, 34, of Dayton, Ohio, is charged with home invasion, arson, armed robbery, and two counts of aggravated assault, which are all reportedly connected to a single event that happened in the early morning of March 12.
Deputies say they were called around 4:50 a.m. to the 4000 block of New Franklin Road to a reported home invasion and structure fire. When they arrived, they say they found a small building in the front yard of the residence was fully in flames and two women inside the home with stab wounds.
According to Troup County Sheriff’s investigators, Conway set fire to the building before entering the home for reasons that are not yet known and stabbed the two women multiple times with a pair of scissors. They say she then stole the couple’s vehicle.
Conway was located a short time later and taken into custody.
What we don’t know:
Even more bizarre, deputies do not believe Conway knew the couple, nor do they know what her motive was for her actions.
She was being held in the Troup County Jail without bond.
You wanted summer weather?
You got it.
For everyone who spent spring and early summer wondering if the sun had permanently relocated to Florida, congratulations.
Your reward is a week that may have you questioning every life decision involving long pants.
The National Weather Service in Cleveland said Sunday that north central Ohio is headed for a prolonged stretch of hot, humid weather, with temperatures climbing into the middle 90s by midweek and heat indices pushing toward the triple digits.
The area includes Richland, Ashland and Knox counties.
After a perfectly reasonable Sunday with highs in the low 80s and a mix of clouds and sunshine, Mother Nature will likely turn the thermostat to “Ohio sauna” as residents head back to work.
Monday reaches the upper 80s before the real heat arrives. Forecast highs climb to 94 degrees Tuesday and peak around 96 degrees Wednesday, flirting with daily record highs. Thursday won’t provide much relief, with temperatures expected to remain in the lower 90s.
The NWS has issued a heat advisory in effect from Tuesday at noon to Thursday at 8 p.m.
Even overnight temperatures won’t offer much comfort. Lows will struggle to fall below the mid-70s. That means air conditioners across north central Ohio are about to earn every penny of our rapidly climbing electric bills.
The NWS warns the combination of heat and humidity could create dangerous conditions for anyone spending extended periods outdoors.
You remember the advice from last summer, right?
Drink plenty of water. Take frequent breaks in air conditioning or at least a cooling fan. Avoid strenuous afternoon activities unless sweating through every article of clothing is part of the plan.
Complete outdoor chores during the morning hours. Wear lightweight clothing and check on elderly neighbors and others who may not have access to air conditioning.
Never leave children or pets inside parked vehicles. When in doubt, always check when you leave your vehicle.
Please.
The first half of the week should stay mostly dry as a large dome of high pressure parks over the Great Lakes. By Friday, however, the atmosphere may finally decide enough is enough.
Scattered afternoon and evening thunderstorms are expected to return Friday and continue into the Independence Day weekend, adding potential natural fireworks to the evening skies.
The storms could briefly interrupt backyard cookouts and fireworks preparations, but they’ll also offer at least a chance to knock temperatures down a few degrees.
Even so, highs are expected to remain around 85 to 90 degrees through next weekend, keeping conditions well above normal for early July.
If you’re looking for one positive takeaway, remember this: six months ago people in north central Ohio were complaining about scraping ice off windshields, shoveling snow and wondering if spring had been canceled.
This week, nobody will be asking where summer went.
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.
There are several sign posts on the way to the start of the college football season and the ability to see Ohio State on the banks of the Olentangy again, and one of them is when single-game tickets go on sale. In that case, you rejoice a little because the ability to purchase tickets to a game of your choice is now available.
Ohio State welcomes Ball State, Kent State, Illinois, Maryland, Oregon, Northwestern, and Michigan to Ohio Stadium this year, and you can now try to score tickets by going to the Ohio State football section of Ticketmaster and selecting the game you want to attend.
A quick search shows that tickets are still available for any home date if you are willing to buy resale tickets in most cases, though “The Game” against the Wolverines is much steeper in price than others. There’s a good bet that those tickets will disappear along with others, or become more expensive as the days go by, so if you were planning on trying to make that a day to remember, you might want to jump on things quickly.
The link to Ticketmaster also has the links to away games if that’s something you are interested in. The Buckeyes will travel to play at Texas, Iowa, Indiana, USC, and Nebraska. Likewise, some are resale tickets and will set you back much more significantly, but there are tickets available if you want to spend the money.
Ohio State has a daunting schedule this year both at home and with away games and it’s almost a sure bet that some of these games will be hard-fought fourth quarter affairs.
Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.
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