Men's Roster Preview

Reviewing SFU, Previewing the '23-24 men's roster position group by position group, a WoHo round up, and Johnny Druskinis

On Saturday, the University of Michigan men’s ice hockey team dispensed with the Red Leafs of Simon Fraser University by a final score of 8-1.  Seven different Wolverines scored in the exhibition victory.

Jackson Hallum opened his team’s account for the season at the 7:15 mark as Luca Fantilli served a holding minor. Killing beside freshman Garrett Schifsky, the now sophomore winger overwhelmed Red Leaf defenseman with pace down the flank and snuck a wrister through Kolby Matthews’ five hole.

Before the end of the first, sophomore Kienan Draper and freshman Nick Moldenhauer made their ways into the goal column, leaving Michigan with a 3-0 lead.  A 22-8 advantage in shots for the period reinforced the Wolverines’ advantage.

In the second, a pair of Rutger McGroarty goals sandwiched scores from Frank Nazar and Schifsky.  In net, Jake Barczewski gave way to Noah West just past the period’s midpoint.  The Canisius transfer stopped all eleven shots he faced.  By period’s end, Michigan had rendered the third little more than a formality, with a 7-0 lead on the scoreboard and 36–17 edge in shots.

In the third, Seamus Casey made it 8-0 for the hosts, but the shutout was broken not quite five minutes into the period when Walker Erickson caught West off balance for the lone Red Leaf goal on the evening.

Without wishing to disrespect the Red Leafs (who seem to have a quite delightful former (?) mascot named McFogg the Dog), the Wolverines’ dominance meant it wasn’t exactly a contest worth dwelling on.  However, I do want to pause on one moment from the performance: a spectacular assist from Rutger McGroarty to return Seamus Casey the stick he’d dropped earlier in his shift just in time to disrupt an SFU rush chance.  After Casey recovered the puck, he send a twirling pass back up ice for Philippe Lapointe, who played in Gavin Brindley who found McGroarty, who scored.

“I was pretty fired up when we got to the bench,” said Casey after the game.  “I feel like that was one of the coolest plays that I’ve ever been a part of, just the luck of it, how funny it was, that it was a 2-on-1, and I just see Rut pass me my stick, and then I pick it up and look up and the puck’s right there, and I just turn and shoot it randomly.  I figured someone might be down there and then it ended up in the goal somehow.”

It was the kind of delightfully chaotic moment that only (college) hockey can bring.

With that out of the way, let’s turn our attention to our primary focus for today.  A roster preview ahead of this weekend’s Saturday-Sunday clash with Providence Friars.  To make it happen, we’ll work through one existential question for each Michigan position group.  Without further ado…

Forwards: How does Adam Fantilli’s departure re-condition Michigan’s forward group?

With 30 goals and 35 assists in 36 games, Adam Fantilli enjoyed one of the best seasons in the modern history of college hockey a year ago—for a freshman or for anybody else.  Now, he’s off plying his craft in Columbus amongst a bevy of fellow Wolverine hockey alums.  Simply put, you can’t lose that and not feel some time of impact.

The obvious loss is the production at the top of the line-up, but I would argue Fantilli’s mentality was of similar importance.  Even in the rare moments when he struggled or the slightly more frequent moments in which his team seemed to be stumbling, Fantilli forced action.  He was always fighting to the net, he was always testing goaltenders, and he was always putting the opposition defensemen on alert.

Without that in the line-up, what else changes for the Michigan forward group?

At Tuesday night’s virtual media day, Brandon Naurato responded to a question about the production his team has lost to the NHL over the last two years by touting the depth and internal improvement of his new group.

“I think the really cool thing is it’s early, but every single guy on our team—from doing our DEXA scans [which measure bone density] and where their body weights at and the lean muscle that they’ve gained to the video analysis and all the player development cards that we put together—everyone came back a better version of themselves,” he said.  “And that’s credit to the work that they put in in the offseason.”

“I think we are deeper,” Naurato continued.  “I think guys are—I don’t want to say more bought in, there’s always been buy-in—but they’re clicking.  They’re on the same page for whatever that’s worth in September.”

As a reference point, here’s how Michigan’s forwards assembled against SFU:

D. Duke Hughes Moldenhauer

McGroarty Brindley Schifsky

Eernisse Nazar Hallum

Pletzke Rowe Lapointe

With Mark Estapa and Kienan Draper rotating in alongside a couple different players.

In looking at that group, the answer to my question has to lie in the overall strength of the top nine, with a utilitarian fourth unit behind it.

A year ago, Naurato contended during the season’s stretch run that Michigan didn’t have a clearly defined first, second, and third line, on the strength of Fantilli, T.J. Hughes, and eventually Frank Nazar’s strength down the middle.  While you could see the point he was making given Hughes and Nazar’s quality (as well as the strength of their wingers), it was a bit difficult to accept this premise given Fantilli’s overwhelming dominance.  In other words, it was difficult not to conceive of whichever unit featured the eventual Hobey Baker winner as line one.

However, with Fantilli out of the fold this year, it’s not hard to make a case for any of the first three lines against Simon Fraser (listed above in the order in which they appeared) as Michigan’s best.  This multiplicity can become a major strength come the postseason, when opponents can’t game plan around the idea of shutting down a single line with the hope that the others won’t be able to pick up the slack.

For a sharper look at what that might mean, let’s consider each center in a bit more detail.

T.J. Hughes is perhaps my biggest curiosity entering the season.  As a freshman, he was a breakout star, emerging from relative obscurity (despite sterling numbers in the AJHL) as a late commitment to become a reliable scorer whose intelligence and tactical understanding were more than enough to compensate for a lack of elite foot speed.  He ended the season with 13 goals and 23 assists in 39 games played.  

Though his impact was immediate, I think there’s still room for him to become an even more productive player in his second season in Ann Arbor.  Playing with Duke and Moldenhauer feels like a natural extension of the line he centered by the end of last year with Duke and Mackie Samoskevich. Duke will remain the ultimate teammate in winning battles and retrieving pucks, while also providing his net-front expertise, and Moldenhauer can offer a facsimile of his former Chicago Steel teammate’s offensive flourish.

Equal parts pugnacious and dynamic, Brindley stood out a year ago as perhaps the Wolverine who improved the most over the course of the season.  However, his best performances came on the wing, playing with Fantilli and McGroarty down the stretch.  There are legitimate questions to be asked about how moving back to the center position (as appears to be the plan) will change things for the Floridian. 

However, as I discussed in the build-up to the NHL Draft in June, I believe it would be a mistake to read too much into the fact that Brindley’s best form a year ago came beside Fantilli.  While of course there was a benefit to playing with a player who would soon become the third overall pick, the brilliance of McGroarty-Fantilli-Brindley was a collective willingness to embrace the unheralded part of the game they would need to best express their offensive skill.

Here’s an excerpt from a conversation last March with Naurato about how things came together for that line:

“When you’re a player—and you feel this on the bench—when you’re playing in the offensive zone, you have your confidence, you're getting your touches, you feel good.  When you’re constantly defending or you haven’t touched the puck in a long time, you start to force it, so now you get the puck touch, and you wanna go, because you’re sick of not touching it, and you don’t make the right play at the right time.  That’s game management or maturity, so I think they just said ‘screw it, we’re gonna go get the puck by winning a race or a battle, now we have it, now we’re keeping it, now we’re getting chances, now I feel good,’ now we have more adrenaline, we have more energy, we have more confidence, and then their talent just comes out.”

Even without Fantilli, I have little doubt that Brindley and McGroarty will be able to rekindle that work ethic to similar effect as sophomores, and freshman Garrett Schifsky delivered an impressive performance on their wing against SFU, particularly when it came to breaking down defenders one-on-one.  I could not be persuaded to bet against Brindley’s tenacity, nor McGroarty’s willingness and ability to get to the net, and I expect this combination to continue to cause major problems for as long as it stays together.

Then, in Nazar, Michigan has a sleeping giant.  His freshman year wasn’t what he wanted it to be because of off-season surgery, but his standout performance at the World Junior Summer Showcase in Plymouth in late July and early August made clear that Nazar’s peer group is none other than the very best players in the NCAA.  He is a dynamic puck carrier with excellent vision.  He has a lethal shot.  He is smart and hard-working enough to be a complete player on all 200 feet of the rink.  Without wishing to burden the sophomore with lofty expectations, I struggle to see a scenario in which Nazar is anything but one of the best players in the Big Ten this season.  He will be a treat to watch.

As far as his wingers go, I’m intrigued by both Hallum and Josh Eernisse.  Hallum’s scintillating speed was obvious from the moment he got to Ann Arbor a year ago, but now the challenge is honing that pace into maximizing his productivity.  Hallum’s goal against Simon Fraser came off a familiar wide rush, but in picking up a pair of assists as the game progressed, the Minnesotan sophomore should variation—pulling up in the offensive zone after gaining entry to create higher quality looks than he might have a year ago.

Meanwhile, I’m intrigued by Eernisse’s profile as a player.  As talented as the last two Michigan teams have been, I don’t think either roster has featured a player quite like Eernisse.  Having scored 14 goals and 21 points as a freshman at St. Thomas, it’s clear he has a scorer’s touch around the net, but he also plays a heavy, vertical game.  Throw in the speed requisite to keep up with his two new line mates, and you have the makings of an extremely useful player.

Finally, that leaves the Wolverines with a solid array of options for the fourth line.  I would expect Miami transfer Chase Pletzke to be a fixture there; that’s the void he arrived via the portal to fill. I also think there’s room for Philippe Lapointe to solidify his place on that line.  That process could resemble the way Nick Granowicz secured a fourth line role as a senior, playing with Nolan Moyle and Mark Estapa, after Granowicz was a semi-regular healthy scratch as a junior (like Lapointe).  Meanwhile, Estapa, Rowe, and Draper all look like quality depth options in their own right.  There will be internal competition to earn a spot in the line-up for all these forwards, and that’s exactly the way Naurato wants it.

Defense: How will the Matt Deschamps Effect Manifest?

With Matt Deschamps in from the Chicago Steel to replace Bill Muckalt running the Wolverine blue line, what should Michigan fans expect to look different in the new season?

Dynamism and mobility on the back end have been a calling card of the two most recent Wolverine teams on their respective runs to the Frozen Four, and I certainly wouldn’t expect that aspect of the Michigan defense corps to change with the fresh campaign.

Instead, as Naurato explains it, Deschamps’ expertise in defensive development will help the Wolverines with some of the finer points of their play without the puck.

“He’s a teacher.  He’s a developer.  He’s got that player development background,” said Naurato.  “He’s working with the defenseman.  He’s working with the PK, but just defensive details in general—when we’re tracking, stick detail, even forward angles for defensemen, lateral gaps at the blue line.  The details inside being a great defender…So he’s showing ‘em on video, he’s working through it on the ice in the development sessions in practice, and I think I had a dozen people comment on how active he was on the bench and communicating with the players after every shift, whether it was positive stuff or a teaching moment.”

“He brings a ton of enthusiasm, a lot of new stuff to us,” offered Casey after the SFU rout, echoing Naurato’s rave review.  “He’s teaching a lot of small things.  Not to be too technical, but just our gapping and our angling and small details about where you’re positioning yourself before the play happens.  It’s been great.”

If Michigan’s defenders already excel in terms of playmaking and puck-moving, Deschamps can help promote more stable play on the back end, helping to ensure the Wolverines continue to control play.

A key part of that equation is depth, so with that in mind, here’s a look at the D pairings from Simon Fraser:

Truscott Warren

T. Duke Casey

Fantilli Holtz

The Truscott-Warren duo was utterly dominant against the Red Leafs, playing together in all situations.  With Truscott, I fear his season-ending injury a year ago obscured some of the strides he’d taken to add to his offensive toolkit.  Even against an overmatched opponent, I don’t think the Truscott of two years ago could show the same poise that he did last Saturday walking the blue line and distributing the puck.  When you add that to the sound defensive game Truscott has had in his tool belt for years, you’re talking about an exemplary top pair defenseman.

Beside him, Warren looked every bit the part of “Top Pair D” himself.  He showed excellent vision with the puck, he was physical and commanding, and he had no compunction about firing a shot when the opportunity presented itself.

“He’s been outstanding,” Naurato said Saturday of Warren’s performance since arriving in Ann Arbor.  “Him and Truscott are like brothers from another mother.  I think they just have so much chemistry on the ice, and it seems like they’re becoming really good buddies off the ice, so good to see them feed off each other.”

“I’ve known Marshall for a little bit,” affirmed Truscott at virtual media day.  “He was there at the program [the NTDP] when I was there, and he’s a great guy.  He’s a very mature person and player, so he’s pretty easy to get along with and play with.  He’s a great leader, someone I can relate to on a lot of things.  And then out on the ice, he’s a shutdown defenseman, he moves the puck well, he’s very easy to play with.  And I think our games complement each other.”

Naurato did reveal after the game that junior Ethan Edwards will miss the first half of the season after off-season surgery, which is of course a major blow.  Edwards’ physicality and two-way proficiency have been a boon for the Wolverines since he arrived on campus, and he and Casey showed remarkable chemistry in their time together a season ago.

However, Naurato and Deschamps have the luxury of affording Casey a different familiar partner as Edwards works his way back to health in Tyler Duke.  Duke and Casey were fixtures together during their days at the NTDP.

Casey is another player I’m expecting to be one of the best players in college hockey this season.  He does everything you could possibly ask of a defenseman (and last year he even proved he can play center when the mood strikes him).  Duke, meanwhile, will add an aggressive element to the Wolverine blue line, while also excelling as a skater and a puck mover.

On the third pairing, I’m excited to see what’s next for Luca Fantilli.  He was a regular member of the Wolverine line-up last year, but, by the stretch run, that tended to correspond to a light workload.  His passing and poise with the puck were often impressive, but there’s work to be done when it comes to managing his gap off the rush and in-zone defense.  He strikes me as an ideal candidate to receive a bump from Deschamps’ arrival, especially given that he played under Deschamps in his junior days with the Steel.

Meanwhile, as it pertains to Steven Holtz, after Saturday’s game, Naurato asserted that “Holtzy’s better now than he was even before he went through the illness.”  

“I’d give all credit to Brian Brewster and Joe Maher and all the work that they put in,” Naurato continued.  It’s under-appreciated what he came back from, and for him to be back to normal, let alone take steps, really good for him.  He spent the whole summer catching up on school too.  I think he still is.  He takes a lot of pride in it, engineering degree, really smart kid.  Good for him.”

That is extremely welcome news from a human interest perspective alone, but I also expect Holtz to emerge as a valuable contributor, particularly in Edwards’ absence.

G: Will One of West or Barczewski Seize the Crease, and Does it Matter?

When it comes to the men with the extra equipment for the Wolverines this season, the key question is an obvious one: Who’s going to wind up starting the biggest games come the postseason?

Thus far, Naurato has indicated that the plan is for Jake Barczewski and Noah West to share the crease.  After Saturday’s exhibition, he said “they’re going to keep splitting and battling it out.  I don’t have a number of games that we’re gonna do that for, but moving forward, if someone takes the net, great.  If we have two great goalies all year, we’re winning hockey games, that’s fine too.”  He affirmed that he expects each goalie to start a game this weekend, though the order in which that happens remains up in the air.

Based on Barczewski starting against Simon Fraser, it would appear he has at least a slight lead in that battle for the moment, but given that the season has not actually even begun that seems like a rather trivial data point.

My bigger question is whether it really does matter for one goalie to emerge or if Michigan sticks with a true platoon approach to the position.  On the one hand, sticking with the hot hand rather than committing to a starter would keep both goaltenders fresh and engaged, while also managing their work loads.  It would also keep the team from feeling locked into playing a struggling netminder because he is The Starter, and a goalie rotation of some kind seems to be the wave of the future at the NHL level right now.  

However, rotating can become trickier in the playoffs.  Let’s say West delivers a 40-save shutout in the first game of the NCAA Tournament; does it really make sense to bring on Barczewski for the regional final?  Once the stakes get that high, a rotation can feel a bit less tenable.

All the same, there’s a ton of time for that problem to resolve itself, and I’m looking forward to seeing that friendly internal battle between the two play out as the season progresses.

Michigan Women Dash to Perfect Start

On the women’s side of the ledger, Jenna Trubiano’s team raced out to an undefeated start to the season on its opening weekend of action.

Last Friday, the Wolverines took a 5-2 decision over Concordia in a game that featured five different goal scorers.  Transfer Keegan Gustafson got the ball rolling in the first, before second period goals from Ava Gargiulo, Menami Gordon, and Kelsey Swanson put Michigan into cruise control entering the third.  In that final frame, Megan Mathews added a further insurance marker.

The following afternoon, as part of the Metro Jr. Jets Girls Hockey Program’s season kick-off festivities, the Wolverines claimed victory over Michigan State by a 3-1 scoreline in Mount Clemens.  Lucy Hanson, Gargiulo, and Julia Lindahl tallied the goals for the Wolverines.

In net, Sandrine Ponnath started both games for Michigan, and she picked up right where she’d left off a year ago with a pair of sterling performances.  She stopped 21 of the 23 shots she faced against Concordia, before making 32 of 33 saves against the Spartans the next afternoon.

Between the depth of scoring, strong goaltending, and wins over a pair of local rivals, it would be hard to envision a better start to the season for the Michigan women.  They will return to action this weekend with a trip to Sault Ste. Marie to take on Lake Superior State for a pair of games, the first Saturday evening, the second Sunday afternoon.

Johnny Druskinis Removed from Men’s Team for Vandalizing Jewish Resource Center

We close this week with an unpleasant topic. 

As you’ve more than likely heard by now, sophomore defenseman Johnny Druskinis was removed from the hockey team over what was eventually revealed to be defacing the Jewish Resource Center on Hill Street in Arbor.  Druskinis spray-painted male genitalia and a homophobic slur on the sidewalk just outside the building.

I don’t have a ton to add here as for the most part, because I don’t see a ton of nuance to this case.  Druskinis’ actions were unacceptable, and Michigan’s response reflected the severity of his choices.  However, I do wish to commend the impeccable journalism done by Liza Cushnir, Connor Earegood, and The Michigan Daily in taking the time to thoroughly and accurately confirm the specifics of the situation, one which numerous other outlets were swifter to report on and less accurate.

Brandon Naurato declined to comment at media day on the specifics of the situation and on whether Druskinis may have a path back to the team.  

On the one hand, I think it’s important for organizations to make plain that conduct like Druskinis’ is unacceptable given the way that anti-semitism and homophobia seem to be growing louder and more brazen by the day within our society.  In this regard, I would have liked to see Michigan issuing a stronger statement that decried the specific action as unwelcome within the community that is Michigan hockey.

With that said, as the Daily noted in its reporting,  Michigan spokesperson Rick Fitzgerald pointed out that there are legal limits to the University’s ability to comment on the situation, saying “While we can confirm that Johnny Druskinis has been removed from the hockey team roster for violating team rules, federal law precludes us from discussing student information without the written permission of the student.”

I can’t claim to have any insight on the legal framework Fitzgerald described, but, all things considered, I’m reasonably satisfied by Michigan’s handling of the incident.  At the end of the day, the hockey program made plain through its action that Druskinis’ conduct was not acceptable by removing him from the team.  Unless we reach a point where Druskinis returns to the roster (which, to be clear, I don’t foresee as at all likely), that strikes me as sufficient proof that the program took this incident seriously and has no place for the kinds of hateful attitudes Druskinis’ actions evoked.

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