Embracing the Positive from Last Weekend
In reading last Sunday’s edition of this newsletter, you may have been struck by a cautionary or even negative tone that felt incongruous with two wins by an aggregate score of 13-5. Esteemed reader, I know I felt this apprehension in reading it back over earlier this week, and I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t do something to provide some positive energy as the Wolverines head into their first serious test of the 2021-22 season. I fear I allowed the fatalism familiar to anyone who has followed Michigan football for more than a season or two to trickle into my postgame musing.
These psychological demons aside, I think the reason I have been unusually inclined to seek doubt in this team is that it’s magnitude leaves no alternative. It’s hard for stories about the Wolverines’ brilliance to feel as though they tread new ground. We have our unstoppable force, so there is more room to search about for an immovable object.
With all this in mind, before we move forward, I feel it not just important but necessary to expound a bit on one aspect of the Wolverines style.
As I touched on in the column linked above, what you will jump out most about watching this Michigan team—particularly if you are more accustomed to the NHL game—is their willingness to attempt high-risk, high-reward stretch passes.
Michigan is blessed with a modern corps of defenseman who have the hand and foot skills to make such an approach feasible. Throw in a forward group with first rounders in spades, all of whom seem to adore the opportunity to beat a defender one-on-one, and you are talking about a serious menace to any opponent, risk of odd-man rushes the other way be damned.
Defensemen like Ryan Blankenburg and Luke Hughes patiently wheel around in their own end while darting forwards like Kent Johnson and Matty Beniers chase open slivers of ice to attack at the opposing blue line. The attacks may often feel individualistic in the sense that they depend on isolated bits of skill from the involved skaters, but they also rely on cohesion between forwards and defensemen typical of the modern game.
It’s not that the Wolverines are unable to attack off the cycle and maintain zone time. The Bordeleau line has shown a particular interest in that tactic so far. Even still, it appears clear that the Wolverines preferred approach happens at a much higher pace.
This Michigan team may or may not achieve its goals come springtime, but they will be a joy to watch in every game they play. Straight ahead, fast-paced hockey with as skilled a lineup as college hockey has ever seen.
A Serious Test
The Wolverines travel to Duluth this weekend for the Ice Breaker Tournament in which they will face their first serious test, first against Minnesota-Duluth (currently number five in the country per USCHO) with number one Minnesota State and number ten Providence waiting on the other side of the bracket.
It would be another delightful watch for Wolverine fans, if only it weren’t mired on NCHC.tv, with the option to stream the tournament available for $25.
Complexities of the streaming era excepted, it should be an informative weekend as the Wolverines prepare for a pair of top ten, potentially even top five, opponents. I fully expect the young Wolverines to be eager to show they belong with more experienced opponents like the two Minnesota schools as they take their high flying game northwest.
Sure, the Ice Breaker is not exactly the trophy Michigan covets this season, but I have no doubt the Wolverines find their number three national ranking an insult. Notching a couple of high profile wins would be a nice feather in Michigan’s cap as they gear up toward the more meaningful competitions to follow.
B1G Starpower
Wolverines took home the Big Ten’s first and second stars of the NCAA’s opening weekend.
Owen Power’s five assists earned him the league’s second star of the week. Power assisted on the Wolverines first three goals in the season and looked unflappable alongside captain Nick Blankenburg. Power is the largest player out there whenever he steps on the ice, but it is his mobility that makes him special. On multiple occasions last weekend, he glided from his own end to the attacking one without needing to make a pass. Even on the rare occasions when he does err in his puck handling, Power shows little trouble recovering to snuff out whatever attack he has inadvertently spawned.
Meanwhile, Brendan Brisson’s three goals and two assists were enough for him to collect the first star. To be perfectly frank, I have not spent much of my hockey watching life focusing on prospects, so I’ve always rolled my eyes at comments like “Fans of Team X are going to love Player Y,” but I have no doubt Vegas Golden Knights will adore Brisson. His aggression on the forecheck should make him a great fit in the Knights’ lineup, and his wicked wrist shot will help solve the Knights’ occasional issue of controlling play without finishing.
Pro Blue
Speaking of the Vegas Golden Knights, Michigan alum Max Pacioretty scored the first goal in the history of the Seattle Kraken as his Knights knocked off Seattle 4-3 in a match up of the NHL’s two youngest teams. In so doing, Pacioretty became the first (and to date only) player to tally against all 32 NHL teams.
Recommended Reading: Emily Kaplan’s Auston Matthews profile
Kaplan’s feature on Auston Matthews continued to develop our picture of the Maple Leafs’ and USA Hockey’s superstar. She paints a picture of a player whose confidence has not suffered despite another first round meltdown. Matthews describes to Kaplan the way he has learned to shut out external voices and instead hone in on those close to him, an essential skill for any Maple Leaf in a market rife with pundits. Perhaps a bit paradoxically, he also reaffirms his desire for (obviously earned) stardom, mentioning childhood memories of Alex Ovechkin enraging hockey media’s old guard.
I especially enjoyed her depiction of Matthews growing emotional in discussing his mother working two jobs to help support his hockey career, only to have his pup Felix rush to his side for comfort.
For Matthews’ sake, here’s to hoping Felix will join Matthews in celebration rather than consolation this Spring.