Rochester natives Zmolek, Haskins enter NCAA transfer portal

Apr. 4—MANKATO — Former Rochester Century boys hockey defenseman Bennett Zmolek has entered the NCAA transfer portal.

Zmolek spent the past two seasons playing for Minnesota State University, Mankato.

He didn't play at all in the 2022-23 season, while recovering from an injury. Zmolek was a lineup mainstay as a freshman, playing in 28 games and recording two goals and five assists.

He'll likely take a medical redshirt for this season and have three years of eligibility remaining.

The 6-foot-3, 193-pound right-shot defenseman played two-plus seasons in the USHL before arriving at Minnesota State. He had 10 points in 51 games for the Cedar Rapids Roughriders, then had two goals and 10 points in 28 games with the Youngstown Phantoms in 2020-21.

Zmolek joined Cedar Rapids after his junior season at Century ended, in the spring of 2019.

In his two seasons of high school hockey, he recorded 12 goals and 53 total points, including 32 points as a junior in 2018-19.

Zmolek is the son of former John Marshall standout and NHL veteran Doug Zmolek. Bennett's older brothers, Riese and Will, both play professional hockey. Riese Zmolek — who played his college hockey at MSU, Mankato — has bounced back and forth between the Minnesota Wild's top two minor-league teams, the Iowa Wild and the Iowa Heartlanders. Will Zmolek wrapped up his four-year college career at Bemidji State last month. He has signed a contract with the Philadelphia Flyers organization.

Rochester native Tyler Haskins also entered the portal late Tuesday afternoon. Haskins intends to transfer after one season at the University of Denver.

Like Zmolek, Haskins will have three seasons of eligibility remaining at his next school.

Originally a University of Michigan commit, Haskins flipped his commitment last summer to Denver. He played in 13 games as a freshman this season for the Pioneers, who won the NCAA national championship a year ago, and had one assist.

Prior to arriving at Denver, the 6-foot-1, 172-pound left-shot forward played two seasons in the USHL, his best coming in 2021-22, when he scored 24 goals and had 52 points for the Madison Capitols.

After playing youth hockey in Rochester — he was named Youth Hockey Hub's Wiz Wyatt Player of the Year in 2015 — Haskins played four seasons in the Chicago Mission AAA program. His dad, Bob, is a former Lourdes boys hockey head coach and Mayo boys hockey assistant coach. Tyler's brother Logan and sister Brooke also played at Mayo.