Midweek Roundup 4.12.23: The Offseason is Upon Us
Pro Blue, flowers for Quinnipiac, personnel updates, and La Décima
Last night at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, Luke Hughes became the 110th former Michigan Wolverine to skate in an NHL game.
It was a quiet debut for the nineteen-year-old, who finished his collegiate career with 87 points in 80 games as a Wolverine. His first shift came off the game’s opening puck drop—Ryan Graves to his left as his partner, his older brother Jack in front of him at center. On the opposite bench sat Owen Power, Hughes’ teammate for his freshman season at Michigan and a defenseman who made this same leap on the heels of last season’s Frozen Four defeat to Denver.
He would finish the evening having played 11:15 (all but eleven seconds of which came at 5-on-5), blocked two shots, delivered a hit, snagged a takeaway, and rated out at -1. It was a more restrained performance than those Michigan fans grew accustomed to over his two seasons in Ann Arbor—the solo flights of fancy from one end of the rink to the other replaced by a “defend, get the puck up ice, and change” approach.
"I think he had a louder ovation than I did when I was introduced as a rookie," the elder Hughes said of Luke to friend of the newsletter Mike Morreale of NHL.com. "I guess you see where I rank but, man, I'm so proud of him. They eased him into the game, but everyone here knows how special of a player he's going to be when we're competing for (the Stanley Cup) the next couple of years and Luke's 21- or 22-years-old. He's going to be a horse for us and as a big brother, and my parents, we're just really proud that he got Game 1 under his belt."
In a video for The Hockey Tactics Newsletter, Jack Han lauded the subtleties of Hughes’ game on display in his debut. Han pointed out that although the Devils won, Buffalo controlled play at even-strength, which limited Hughes’ offensive zone puck touches. Still, he resembled eldest brother Quinn in the way he converted small area deception along the point into downhill creativity in the offensive zone. Han also noted Hughes’ success in making reads against the Sabres forecheck to secure clean defensive zone exits.
Han observed that Luke’s game bears striking similarity to Quinn’s, but his bigger frame made it easier to cope with physicality in retrieving pucks (a perceived weakness of Quinn’s), even as a nineteen-year-old playing in his first NHL game. Han was also impressed by Luke’s ability to defend the rush and make reads while defending space and passing lanes in the defensive zone. In sum, it was a quiet debut, but a promising one nonetheless.
That Hughes’ sophomore campaign at Michigan would culminate in a cameo with the Devils was a certainty from the moment he announced that he would come back for another run after a sterling freshman season. Of course, at the time, it seemed more likely he would join a team running out the clock on another forgettable season than one ramping up for a deep postseason run, but here we are. Hughes will become a star on the New Jersey blue line, but he won’t have a long runway for onboarding and acclimation, having been cast into the thick of the most exciting Devils season in over a decade.
For Michigan fans, a springtime exodus to the pros is by now a rite of passage—at once joyful and melancholic. Hughes won’t be a part of the ‘23-24 Michigan team that seeks to get past the national semifinal hurdle that claimed the two Wolverine teams he did suit up for, but he will continue to represent the University of Michigan as he blossoms at the highest level of hockey in the world.
The end-of-season departures for the pros—disappointing though they may be for the short-term interests of the program—represent a central part of Michigan hockey’s identity, its diaspora. Wherever high-level men’s hockey is played, Michigan alums don’t just feature but star. This was never clearer than last season, when Team 100 spent the bulk of the year atop the Pairwise, then sent ambassadors to the World Juniors, Olympics, and World Championships, before the likes of Power, Kent Johnson, Thomas Bordeleau, and Matty Beniers took the NHL by storm in their end-of-season cameos.
(Incidentally, this dynamic also helps explain why the University of Michigan needs to add women’s varsity hockey to its ranks. That there are no Wolverines on the international, PHF, or PWHPA circuits is a glaring absence for a program that takes such pride in its breadth.)
With serious talent walking out the door, it becomes difficult not to feel that some version of a rebuild is inevitable, yet, the same argument would have been even easier to make a year ago—with even more NHL talent joining the professional ranks and uncertainty with respect to the head coach’s contract status shrouding the future in a dark cloud.
Team 101 rose from those dubious circumstances to become a cult favorite amongst Michigan fans for its precociousness, brotherhood, and, of course, on-ice success. Replacing elite talent from one year to the next will always be a cost associated with Michigan’s unique level of recruiting. It means that the team’s best players will often be its youngest. In that regard, Team 102 will have plenty in common with its predecessor.
In the short term, the best news is that the season can carry on a while longer—even if it’s in the proxy form of rooting on distinguished alumni as their professional careers take flight.
Odds & Ends
Congratulations to Quinnipiac
I must admit heading into Tampa I was convinced the bout for the national title was a three-horse race. Sure, we were talking about three single elimination games to determine a national champion, but I was more than a little skeptical that Quinnipiac had the firepower to keep up with the other three teams assembled at the 2023 Frozen Four. Turns out, I was wrong.
Congratulations to Rand Pecknold and Quinnipiac on the first national title in program history. The Bobcats took the path of maximal resistance—winning in convincing fashion against B1G goliaths Ohio State, Michigan, and then Minnesota to secure that crown.
Over those last two games in Tampa, Quinnipiac imposed its will in ways none of the other Frozen Four finalists could rival. They forced turnovers, counterattacked with pace, and were often dominant despite a deficit in raw talent.
In the National Championship Game against Minnesota, the Bobcats persisted through a terrible game state to take control, come back, and eventually beat the Gophers. You’d think a 2-0 deficit would be kryptonite for a team like Quinnipiac, but the Bobcats absorbed pressure to ride out the early Gopher storm and slowly wrested the game away from Minnesota.
They played phenomenal defense against Minnesota’s vaunted top line of Matthew Knies, Logan Cooley, and Jimmy Snuggerud and probably deserved to be leading long before overtime were it not for strong netfront defense from the Gophers’ veteran d-corps.
There was something a bit reminiscent of Denver’s win over Michigan in last year’s semifinal about the way Minnesota’s stars—who had spent the whole season accustomed to winning one-on-one duels with relative ease—found themselves unable to shake their checkers.
The likes of Jacob Quillan, Sam Lipkin, and Collin Graf provided Pecknold with an offensive upside that was perhaps absent even from some of the best Bobcat teams of the last decade. Meanwhile, after an early miscue yielded Minnesota a 1-0 lead, goaltender Yaniv Perets was imperious in the Quinnipiac crease, though after the first period or so, it wasn’t as though he had much work to do.
The ‘22-23 Bobcats didn’t just break through for a program-defining title, they also forced something of a reconsideration of Pecknold’s style and legacy. Throughout his tenure, which began in 1994 four years prior to the program’s leap to Division I, Pecknold has been known as a defensive coach.
This remains true insofar as his teams have been stifling in the defensive third of the rink, but Quinnipiac saw its way past Michigan and Minnesota with its pace and skill in transition. It won the National Championship on the strength of a set faceoff-play that saw a perfectly weighted Lipkin backhand saucer pass re-directed past Justen Close by Quillan.
Yes, Quinnipiac won this championship on the strength of its game-planning and identity, but that doesn’t mean they spent two games sitting back and defending against more talented foes. Instead, their fervent commitment to forcing turnovers and pushing play north (a phrase used ad nauseam by Pecknold) allowed Quinnipiac to not just survive against the country’s two youngest and most talented teams, but thrive.
Personnel Update—From the Pros to the Portal
Luke Hughes’ departure from Ann Arbor to the New Jersey was no surprise, and, as alluded to above, it marked the beginning of another wave of newly minted #ProBlue.
Erik Portillo was the next out the door, signing an ATO with the Ontario (Ca.) Reign, AHL affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings. Like Hughes’, Portillo’s signing was expected. The towering Swedish netminder was dealt from the Buffalo Sabres (who selected him in the third round of the 2019 NHL Draft) to the Kings at the NHL Trade Deadline in early Spring. Portillo had the option to become an unrestricted free agent in mid-August, so the fact that the Kings were willing to sacrifice draft capital for him (a third-round choice in the upcoming draft) suggested a relative certainty that he would sign at the season’s conclusion.
The next news came from sophomore forward Mackie Samoskevich, who inked an ATO with the Charlotte Checkers, AHL affiliate of the Florida Panthers. The Panthers nabbed Samoskevich in the first round of the 2021 Draft (the same draft that saw Power, Beniers, Hughes, and Johnson selected first, second, fourth, and fifth overall respectively). Two seasons and out is the typical timeline for a first round selection in the NCAA, though the fact that Samoskevich would likely need to cut his teeth in the AHL before joining the Panthers lent credence to the notion that he may return for his junior season. Of the three Wolverines to announce their departure thus far, Samoskevich’s is the most surprising (though that is, of course, relative to the near certain exits of Hughes and Portillo).
In other personnel news, seniors Keaton Pehrson, Eric Ciccolini, and Nick Granowicz entered the transfer portal this week. As Nolan Moyle showed last summer, this move could prove a way station back for fifth-years for any of that trio, though it would also be understandable if they sought opportunities for greater ice time elsewhere. Pehrson in particular appears to be a quality option for a Michigan team that will once again figure to be long on youth on the blue line in 2023-24.
Michigan did receive some good news out of the portal with junior goaltender Noah West electing to return for his senior season having surveyed his alternatives. West projects to be Michigan’s starter next year, with incoming freshman Marcus Brännman (currently of the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints) and current freshman Tyler Shea as backup options.
There are several other current Wolverines who will at least have options to turn pro come the offseason. Most notably, there is Adam Fantilli, the 2023 Hobey Baker winner, who figures to be among the top two selections in this June’s NHL Draft. Presumably, a definitive answer on his future won’t come until he knows what team it will be that selects him.
Freshmen Gavin Brindley (also ‘23 Draft-eligible), Seamus Casey (a Devils selection last Spring), and T.J. Hughes (an undrafted free agent) will also have professional options, as will sophomores like Ethan Edwards (another Devils draft pick). I would strongly suspect that all four of those players will return for another season, though that is speculation rather than reporting.
On firmer ground, The Athletic’s Murat Ates confirmed that freshman Rutger McGroarty will return for his sophomore season, while sophomore Dylan Duke’s comments to Gulo Gulo Hockey after the loss to Quinnipiac—“Going into my junior year, being an upperclassman, that’s something I definitely want to lean on—how [those seniors] left Michigan and the culture those guys created”—strongly suggested his return as well.
La Décima
I know at least some of our readership find our digressions into soccer maddening, and if you are inclined toward this view, don’t hesitate to jump onto the next section. If you are willing to indulge it though, I’d like to offer one last soccer comparable as we tie a bow around the 2022-23 season. Plus, I assure you as someone who loathes Real Madrid, I wouldn’t bring this up if I didn’t think it was worthwhile.
Since the European Cup was introduced in 1955, it has been dominated by Real Madrid. Los Blancos won the first five iterations of the competition and, by beating Liverpool in Paris last May, marked their fourteenth European crown, twice as many as second place A.C. Milan
In his book Fear and Loathing in La Liga, which traces the history of Madrid’s rivalry with Barcelona on the pitch and off it, Sid Lowe points out that if you asked someone at Barça to define the club’s identity, they would return with pages and pages about Catalan independence, resistance to fascism and the Franco regime, Johan Cruyff, La Masia, and the idea that winning has to be done in the club’s distinct style to be worthwhile. Meanwhile, if you asked anyone at Madrid to define their club’s identity, they would simply show you a picture of the European Cup.
Lowe interviews Emilio Butragueño, a star of the Quinta del Buitre (the Vulture Squad) Madrid teams of the 1980s. Those vultures reinvigorated the club following the death of Francisco Franco in 1975, but, they never won a European Cup and thus can never quite claim level footing with the other legendary Madrid sides—whether the Alfredo Di Stéfano teams of the 50s or the 21st century galácticos.
Lowe describes his interview as follows:
“Emilio Butragueño looks back on his career from a suite at the Santiago Bernabéu [Madrid’s fabled home stadium], dark brown walls dotted with paintings in frames, soccer themes made art. On the table in front of him sits a photograph of himself as a thirteen-year-old, all fresh-faced and wide-eyed. On a plinth just across the room sits the European Cup: Real Madrid’s identity and their obsession. As Butragueño sits there, meters away from the trophy, there is something a little cruel about the scene. Taunting. Glancing over at the trophy, its long handles looping up on either side, he admits: ‘Real Madrid wouldn’t be Real Madrid without it. This club is so prestigious because of its nine European Cups—that is what defines us.’”
The book was published in 2014, at a time in which Madrid were still in the throes of the desperate search for La Décima, the much-coveted tenth European Cup. Madrid won the Champions League (which had replaced the European Cup as the name of the competition for the 1992-93 season) in 1998, 2000, and 2002, its seventh, eighth, and ninth crowns.
However (and this is where the Michigan parallels set in), that tenth title, the one that would put the club into rarefied air, even by its own lofty standards proved elusive. Even adding Ronaldo (the Brazilian, original Ronaldo) and David Beckham in successive summers after that 2002 title wasn’t enough. Jose Mourinho’s bombast in the media and reputation as a shrewd knockout-rounds tactician couldn’t break the dry spell.
At last in 2014, with the steady hand of Carlo Ancelotti at the wheel, Madrid ended a twelve-year drought and captured La Décima after twelve years of waiting. Four more titles followed in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2022.
So what does all this have to do with Michigan hockey?
Well, the obvious answer is nothing, but there’s also a lesson here. To be sure, the National Championship does not occupy the same space in Michigan fans’ imaginations as European Cup does in Madrid fans’. Moments ago, I wrote that a central tenet of Michigan hockey’s identity is its representation beyond just the collegiate game. Last week, I argued that Team 101 was no failure, even as it fell short of that tenth title, because of the way its affability and togetherness reinspired Wolverine fans after a turbulent offseason.
Nonetheless, to win a sport’s ultimate prize is hard enough on its own. To do so with the added stakes of pressure of it being the tenth, La Décima only compounds the challenge.
However, Michigan fans can take comfort in the fact that there is direct precedent for just such a struggle. The tenth might not come next year or the year after, but the long and winding journey to ten will only make it sweeter when it comes. Plus, if the Madrid example holds, the next several will come in short succession thereafter.
Substack and Programming Update
With the offseason here, you can expect the Midweek Roundup to keep turning up in your email inbox on Wednesdays. As the hockey season grows fainter in the rearview mirror, we may drift a bit from our primary focus (Michigan hockey), but we remain committed to keeping you updated on all the stories you need to know as the offseason progresses.
We should also note that leadership changes at Twitter seem to have led to a newfound antipathy toward our preferred platform, Substack. You can no longer interact and engage with Substack links on Twitter, nor can I integrate Tweets into these posts the way I used to. One of my projects for the offseason will be figuring out how to best address this problem, since I do appreciate being able to use Twitter links to provide game highlights alongside my written coverage, but surely I’ll find a satisfying work-around before long.
In the meantime, I’d remind you once more that the best way to stay on top of all the Michigan hockey news and information of the day is by subscribing for free to this newsletter. Thank you for a wonderful season together, and I already can’t wait for more Michigan games to come in October.
Thanks to @NJDevils on Twitter for this preview image. You can support our work further by subscribing or by giving us a tip for our troubles at https://ko-fi.com/gulogulohockey.
I, for one, love the soccer comparisons (especially when learning about Nar's respect for Pep and how he works a lot of that same philosophy into his own coaching). Excellent article, as always.