Michigan needs to define its new brand of hockey

In recent history, the Michigan hockey team has become notable for the stars it has brought in. The Wolverines have lost big names each year to professional hockey, but they’ve found a solution each of the last three seasons to earn a trip to the Frozen Four. 

But for this year’s roster, it’s going to take more than just one player to fill the gap. It’s going to take a new identity — and a new definition of Michigan hockey.

Wolverines coach Brandon Naurato has leaned on the reliability of star players since his assistant coaching days. From Owen Power to Adam Fantilli, these players made their mark in Ann Arbor before continuing their dominance to the NHL. Just last season, Naurato and Michigan had to say their goodbyes as five of their starting players left their eligibility behind to pursue the league. 

This season, freshman forward Michael Hage stands alone as the only first-round draftee on the roster. While Hage’s notoriety is a welcome presence for the Wolverines, he hasn’t had the game time to be considered a star. That absence of a star alone is a new feeling Michigan has to embrace.  

With a heavy freshman class moving into Yost Ice Arena, Naurato turned to the transfer portal knowing he needed veteran players to balance the lines out.

He started with graduate goaltender Logan Stein, the first player to join the Wolverines in the offseason. His four years in collegiate hockey for Ferris State offer support and guidance in the cage for Michigan. And while freshman Cameron Korpi might see the ice soon too, the decision for starting netminder has yet to be made, and might not firmly be for a while. 

Another noticeable gap to be filled was up top with some of the Wolverines leading scorers leaving. Players already in the program need to develop to be ready to start, but this can’t solve all the problems. And for that Naruato looked for the experience his roster craved.

Coming from Wisconsin, sophomore forward William Whitelaw knows the level of play expected from him in the combative Big Ten conference. Naurato also grabbed an additional transfer from Arizona State with graduate defenseman Tim Lovell. Being a Hobey Baker Award nominee in his senior season sets an expectation in the locker room. While Michigan doesn’t currently have one specific name to bring in the recognition, Lovell knows what a player needs to do to make it to that level. 

With a variety of transfers, freshmen and the returners from the Wolverine squad, it’s a brand new team entering the season. But the expectations of Michigan hockey remains — it wants to win.

Yet, if the Wolverines want to land another trip to the Frozen Four, they need to realize they can’t be limited to one player. There’s no star in the locker room waiting to come out and save the day, and that alone should redefine Michigan’s style of play. Only a combination of the returners and the transfers can equate to the level of stability that a big player usually provides. And with Naurato pulling the schedule strings, he didn’t hold back from putting challenges in the Wolverines path .  

With early trips to Boston University and Western Michigan, all players will be expected to perform immediately when given the opportunity. The Michigan freshman will be getting early tastes of high-level competition that normally the Wolverines face a little farther down the road — a perfect scenario to define a growing team. 

“We’ve got a lot of crazy competition,” Naurato said Sept. 24. “Lines will probably be juggled a lot more early, and then we’ll kind of see where the chemistry is.”

This level of pressure can turn some into diamonds and others into dust, but at the end of the day, it’s not just one person who needs to step up. The Wolverines need collective team power to make up for a lack of a star. 

To build that foundation, Michigan must rely on its returning players. With no single name to call on in time of need, the veteran Wolverines have to step up collectively and early.

Two returners who could lead that charge are junior forward T.J. Hughes and sophomore forward Garrett Schifsky. Both flew slightly under the radar last year, but still rallied in crucial times for Michigan. Their performances in the intense moment showed the possible glimpses of stability that the Wolverines can rely on. With Naurato looking for dominance up top, Schifsky and Hughes already know what’s needed of them to step up — they’ve done it before. 

For Michigan, the beginning of the season will be a system of trial and error as Naruato figures out the lines. With players like Schifsky and Hughes working together, and routinely rising to the occasion in the past, that can bring out the best in the team.

“I just keep going back to Michigan State and North Dakota last year, basically two one seeds,” Naurato said. “Our guys didn’t flinch and we ended up winning. It could have went either way, but they found a way in the end based on the schedule we had in the Big Ten last year.”

For the veteran Michigan players to meet these projections, they are going to be forced out of their comfort zone. From switching to their off-side to rotating lines in search for the chemistry the Wolverines need, its versatility and adaptability will continuously be tried. Michigan can’t solely rely on stardom any longer, and for this season to be successful, all players have to accept challenges ahead. 

While experienced players are expected to rise to the occasion, it can’t be done with just them. The seven freshmen donning the Wolverines’ sweater for the first time are anticipated to have a quick turnaround. Even with Hage being a big name in the class, college hockey is a new beast that each of the freshmen will have to tame. 

This Michigan roster is full of players waiting for their opportunity. In the current program, Naurato is orchestrating different levels of experience and players to create a new brand of Wolverine hockey. 

And that’s what Michigan needs.

The Wolverines are returning to a conference that retained important players such as Michigan State goaltender Trey Augustine and forward Karsen Dorwart. In that sense, Michigan is coming in at a disadvantage with novelty surrounding their lines. But more than just being a drawback for the Wolverines, it’s a challenge to the players themselves. 

Michigan needs more than the singular names they become known for, but rather a collective identity. And this is the moment where the Wolverines have the liberty to make one.

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