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World's Best/Only Hockey Recruiting Overview: 2019
Johnny Beecher skates like a guy much smaller
This is the way hockey scouting works:
- There's a flurry of it when kids are high school sophomores, because the CHL and USHL drafts grab those guys and the NTDP is chosen from that age group. There's money there, largely because of the CHL, and a cornucopia of sites have sprouted to provide teams, and the more zealous variety of fan, in-depth scouting.
- Nobody cares much the year after unless you're so high end that you're generating first round NHL draft buzz.
- In your draft year CSB rankings and various other NHL scouting services will provide a final burst of information.
The 2019 class is in the gap year, and doesn't have a lot of high end guys, so there's not a lot to report that hasn't been on the site in some form already. But you probably don't remember that hockey recruiting blast in a UV from six months ago, so here it is anyway.
THE POTENTIALLY DELAYED
One way that hockey recruiting is weird is that guys will somewhat frequently take another year in junior if the program they've committed to doesn't have room. I can only assume that's a somewhat standard thing to say when you take a commitment, because nobody makes a big deal about something that would be a minor scandal in other sports.
Michigan looks set to do this. I missed Michael Spath's report that Michigan was set to bring in 10 freshmen this year, with some surprises amongst the names omitted and one amongst the names included:
With potential for a few more early departures and a few more commitments (keep an eye on Jack Hughes and Oliver Wahlstrom) here is a look at @umichhockey's current roster configure for 2018-19. pic.twitter.com/ssY9fNGWOy
— Michael Spath (@MichaelSpathITH) April 10, 2018
Summers was listed as a 2019 when he committed and is the surprise inclusion. Absences from that list: Jacob Semik, Calen Kiefiuk, Keaton Pehrson, and Nick Granowicz. Most of those surprise me in various ways, except that some guys needed to get put off. Kiefiuk's actually up to 48 points in 60 USHL games to lead his team; Granowicz is 20 and probably on light, if any, money so why not bring him in anyway; Pehrson already delayed a year. Semik's 5-4-9 line and status as an unranked draft eligible might warrant another junior year.
If those guys don't arrive this fall they will be potential 2019 recruits, or potential decommits.
As for Jack Summers—no relation to Chris—your guess is as good as mine. Here is the sum total of scouting I found:
Summers is a bit undersized and not a huge offensive threat yet, but he has incredible footwork and skating that makes him an effective defender and gives him the upside to potentially be a very dynamic player.
Michigan flipped him from Brown. He's got 11 points in 58 USHL games. One thing he's got going for him: Bill Muckalt was his coach last year, when he played a half-season with the Tri-City Storm after coming over from the NAHL. He is from Livonia and can get in-state tuition, so he might be another guy on light money.
In related news, here's an attempted Michigan hockey roster down the road.
[After the JUMP: a fair salvage job]
Spring Practice Presser 4-22-18: Pep Hamilton
[Fuller]
[Ed. A—Thanks to Orion Sang and The Michigan Daily crew for passing along audio]
“Well, I think we’re a tough group. I think we’re a tough group. Without a doubt, we’re still a work in progress. I think when you look at the group as a whole, we have some guys that actually have some game experience, and I feel good, really good about just the overall continuity of our staff and all the experience that we have and all the different ideas and how we were able to input the things that we feel like are going to be necessary for us to be a good offense next year.”
Tough how? More physical?
“I mea, physically tough, but a coach Harbaugh team, a Jim Harbaugh team, is always mentally tough as well. He likes to grind on guys. He likes to challenge guys to push past their threshold of comfort, and so we will be a tough group.”
With no designated offensive coordinator, how is the playcalling going to work?
“Coach Harbaugh, it’s his offense. Everything goes through Coach and it starts and ends with coach Harbaugh.”
Has your role in the offense changed? Are you taking on more responsibilities than last year?
“No. No, not at all.”
How do you and Jim McElwain process things together? Do you get some input from him?
“Yeah, we all work hard together. We all process things together, so to say coach McElwain, coach Warinner, Ron Prince, Ben McDaniels, along with Jay Harbaugh and Sherrone Moore, we work well together and it’s all a collaborative effort to present coach Harbaugh with some ideas of things that we like and he gives us the yes or no.”
So on gameday will there be somebody or will there be more than one person? Have you talked about that yet, who’s going to be talking to Coach?
“It’s always been that way.”
[Hit THE JUMP for impressions of each QB]
MGoPodcast 9.27: Stop Bringing Up 2010
1 hour and 47 minutes
We are at the Residence Inn Ann Arbor Downtown, our gracious hosts and yours this fall if you act fast enough.
We Couldn’t Have One Without the Other
We can do this because people support us. You should support them too so they’ll want to do it again next year! The show is presented by UGP & The Bo Store, and if it wasn’t for Rishi and Ryan there would be VERY long hiatuses between podcasts.
Our other sponsors are also key to all of this: HomeSure Lending, Peak Wealth Management, Ann Arbor Elder Law, the Residence Inn Ann Arbor Downtown, the University of Michigan Alumni Association, Michigan Law Grad,Human Element, Lantana Hummus and Ecotelligent Homes
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1. The Offense wsg Seth Fisher (that’s me!)
starts at 1:00
Peters is running with the ones, Shea is probably the guy, Milton in the future. Black and DPJ, Crawford moving to 41 is probably not a Lytle reference. We’re all for Gentry in the slot. Offensive line: Hudson is our rooting interest, Onwenu was fine last year, Ruiz is probably real, Runyan at RT isn’t ideal. Super max protect Gentry 500 FTW! I like the way Lewerke.
2. The Defense wsg Seth again (yes THAT me!)
starts at 29:53
The happy section, where we bring up the 2014 Rutgers game, the Cleveland Browns, Brady Hoke Punt Fest 2013, and several times the 2010 defense. Hype for Dwumfour started last year; we disagree somewhat on how ready the redshirt freshmen are. Zordich ornery after his corners were all injured but Ambry. Brian is against safeties. Lots of linebacker weapons. We pronounce Uche correctly.
3. Recruiting Football, Basketball, Hockey
starts at 57:55
Three sports, three football commits, a bazillion hockey commits, and lots of interest in the basketball program. Newburg is a wrastler. Herron is clearly waiting for Stanford admissions to decommit. Stewart committed from Connecticut, his school’s one to watch (2020 ND quarterback commit). Iggy finally jumped to the composite top 50. DeJulius and Castleton late jumps too. Could be better than the Fresh Five class. Girard? Balas thinks so. Hockey crootin.
4. Moritz and Matthews Draft Futures
starts at 1:31:15
This section became a 2018 hoops class segment. Expected Moe to go—unless his arms grew longer he wasn’t going to be a better NBA prospect. Find usage elsewhere, more pick and roll than pop, Teske D on the floor all game. Matthews is going to find out what he needs to work on—has NBA talent but probably won’t get a draft grade.
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MUSIC
- “No Diggity”—Blackstreet ft. Dr. Dre, Quenn Pen
- “While You Wait for the Others”—Grizzly Bear
- “Goggles”—Post Animal
- “Across 110th Street”
THE USUAL LINKS
- Helpful iTunes subscribe link
- General podcast feed link
- Direct download link
- What's with the theme music?
Let’s try to make as many of them ineligible as possible.
World's Best/Only Hockey Recruiting Overview: 2018
D Bode Wilde is the headliner
THE SPOTS
There's no way around the fact that Michigan has too many guys coming in to fit on one hockey roster. I'm not sure if this is in fact oversigning since hockey is not a headcount sport so you can split scholarships. Some incoming commits might be on half or a quarter scholarship; a few are probably pure walk-ons. And it's common to offer guys a "yes, but" in which they might come in in year X or might have to take another year in junior, depending on what ravages your roster sustains.
So: Michigan has six seniors who will definitely exit. Four are forwards; two are defensemen. Two of those forwards (Porikos and Roos) are probably not getting much, if any scholarship money, FWIW. They open up a roster slot but not a scholarship one. Cooper Marody has also left for the NHL.
Nick Boka, Joe Cecconi, and Brendan Warren are all draftees entering their final year of eligibility. NHL teams often try to sign those players since a player who stays four years at college can become a free agent. Warren probably hasn't done enough to warrant a contract; Boka is iffy; Cecconi probably has.
Michigan also has a few underclass departure threats: Luke Martin and Will Lockwood were second round picks and Quinn Hughes is about to go top ten—possibly top five. Lockwood got hurt the second half of the year and Hughes seems unlikely to bolt immediately, if only because he's a wee gent who could use a second year in Ann Arbor before attempting to crack an NHL roster. Martin is tough to tell since he's not much of an offensive threat.
Michigan needs somewhere between seven and ten guys unless this year's Michigan Hockey Summer is especially severe.
THE GONE
Since the last time we looked at the 2018 class, Michigan lost Mattias Samuelsson to WMU, Alec Regula to the OHL, and Gustaf Westlund to Ohio State. They plugged in probable top 15 draft pick Bode Wilde at D so the D losses won't hurt Michigan much. Westlund is a '97 with 34 points in 54 USHL games and is probably not a huge loss.
FWIW, I remain skeptical that Kenny Johnson is actually going to play for Michigan.
THE OLD
The three longstanding commits in the class who are still in it are all midlevel prospects; they're not sure things but they come with some reasons for optimism. None figure to have much immediate impact.
Randl drives action
Jack Randl is in his second year with the USHL's Omaha Lancers. He's got 32 points in 49 games, which is sixth on his team. A couple caveats: he's second in goals and he's the top 2000-born player on the team; only one of the guys in front of him is even a '99. HS-age guys who are close to a PPG in the USHL project as scoring line players, at least down the road. He's a bit borderline in that department. Possibly helpful: a hockey analytics guy named Will Scouch compiles numbers for the draft and Randl leads everyone in the USHL or CHL in % of goals where he either scores or has the primary assist.
P1IPP?
1) Jack Randl - 82.6%
2) Andrei Svechnikov - 82.1%
3) Tristen Nielsen - 73.9%
4) Serron Noel - 72.2%
5) Ryan O'Reilly - 72.2%
6) Sampo Ranta - 72.2%
7) Blade Jenkins - 70.7%
8) Hunter Holmes - 68.8%
9) Filip Zadina - 67.7%
10) Allan McShane - 67.4%— Will Scouch (@Scouching) February 25, 2018
This means that he's driving most of the play when he's on the ice. USHR did like him quite a bit in a prospects game where he slotted in just behind a variety of high draft picks:
7. Jack Randl -- Michigan recruit had a goal and two assists, made plays consistently. Strong skater.
Randl got called up to the U18s to play at the Five Nations tourney in February, which is also a pretty good sign. He might go late in the NHL draft. He's ranked 158th by the CSB.
[After the JUMP: a lot more guys. Also a nine year old's absurd shootout goal.]
Unearth of the Cool
Accessorized logo pose. [Marc-Gregor Campredon]
In the bridge of the ubiquitous hit Hey Ya!, Andre 3000 asks the audience a question: What's cooler than being cool?
The answer, evidently, is "ice cold." That's presumably because Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman was just nine years old when The Love Below came out.
mandatory soundtrack
I've spent two weeks trying to come up with a better, deeper premise than "cool guy is cool" but sometimes a thing is so obvious it must be acknowledged. Before he ever stepped on the court at Michigan, Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman was cool. He was a local high school basketball legend with no high-major offers until John Beilein came along at the eleventh hour. Being the overlooked two-star suited him well. Oh, you haven't heard of MAAR? Caught 'm at Allentown. Remember the name. You'll hear it again.
There's the name itself. Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, aka Rahk, aka Ham (pronounced haam), the man containing four names, two hyphens, and the GOAT. In retrospect, our site's decision to mostly go with the MAAR acronym is unsatisfying. Rahk deserved better than Mawr.
Then there's the intro. When his name came over the speakers, Abdur-Rahkman would dap up his teammates, reach the designated leader of the bench mob, and bow. Understated? Sure. Undeniably cool? Indeed.
Young Rahk with Dak. [Paul Sherman]
There are the accessories. Oh, the accessories. While we didn't really notice until the pink shoes, Abdur-Rahkman has always accessorized. From the beginning, he wore leggings that came down well past his shorts, usually with just enough space above the sock to flash a little calf, like Philly legend Kobe Bryant. He layered a matching T-shirt under his jersey. Later, he'd add an elbow sleeve, but just the one, like Philly legend Allen Iverson. For a brief, glorious couple games, he also rocked rec specs, like Cupertino legend Kurt Rambis.
[Hit THE JUMP.]
Charles Matthews Testing Draft Process
Yeah, being eye level with the rim is an NBA trait. [Bryan Fuller]
In a move that should come as little surprise, Charles Matthews announced today that he'll test the NBA Draft process without hiring an agent. This allows him, like Moe Wagner last year, to go through the combine and work out for teams while leaving open the door to a return. The press release from the program contains the key dates:
University of Michigan men's basketball junior Charles Matthews announced today (Friday, April 20) he will submit the proper paperwork and declare for the 2018 NBA Draft without hiring an agent allowing him to maintain his amateur status.
"After careful consideration with my parents and coaching staff, I am excited to announce that I will be declaring for the 2018 NBA Draft without hiring an agent," said Matthews. "I give thanks to the Lord for this amazing opportunity, as well as the entire University of Michigan for their support. Go Blue!"
"We have loved the initiative and maturity Charles has shown during this early phase of the testing the NBA Draft process," said U-M's David and Meredith Kaplan Men's Basketball Head Coach John Beilein. "We have been, and will continue, to work closely with Charles and his family to gain as much information as possible in the weeks ahead."
With Matthews entering his name for the NBA Draft, he makes himself eligible to be selected at the Thursday (June 21) draft at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Additionally, he will be able to start attending workouts scheduled by NBA teams starting Tuesday (April 24) and, if selected, he will be eligible for the NBA Draft Combine, Wednesday through Sunday (May 16-20) in Chicago.
Following the combine, Matthews will have 10 days to weigh his options and keep his name in or withdrawal, by Wednesday (May 30). Withdrawing his name from the draft will maintain his collegiate eligibility.
Matthews is a strong candidate, like Wagner before him, to get a feel for what he needs to improve upon before returning to college for at least one more season. He's mostly off this year's NBA Draft radar—he isn't on ESPN's top 100 and NBADraftNet projects him in the second round of the 2019 draft.
Barring the unexpected—and, yes, you can never rule that out with the NBA Draft—this should be a great opportunity for Matthews to work on his game, return to Michigan, and see the type of development that made Wagner's NBA decision a little easier this year. If the unexpected strikes, someone from the 2018 class—most likely Iggy Brazdeikis—gets thrust into a major role from the start. It'd be very nice to have Matthews' athleticism, finishing, rebounding, and defense on the squad so John Beilein can bring along the freshmen at his preferred pace.
Not Just a Shooter Podcast 1.1: Count Blockula’s Mortal Nemesis
1 hour and 15 minutes
We got a sponsor!
It’s Gordon Fall! That is, New York Life Insurance Agent Gordon Fall. If you’ve come to an MGoEvent ever you've met him. When not chilling with us Gordon provides holistic life insurance policies for individuals with long-term goals and short-term financial situations. He’s been building his client roster with fellow lifelong Michigan obsessives. If you’re starting out in your career, growing your family, or beginning to think about retirement, contact Gordon and get that conversation going! Call 248-885-1630, or ping him @GordonFallNYL.
NOTE: gordonfall.com should be live soon—I’ve seen it—but the guy supposed to hit the launch button is at lunch right now.
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SEGMENT ONE: EASTERN CONFERENCE
starts at 1:00
TORONTO-WASHINGTON: Toronto looks like a complete team. Not just DeRozan and Beal—Ibaka, Valanciunas, OG Anunoby, Delon Wright all playing important roles. Wizards still don’t have any functional depth behind the Wall-Beal-Porter core.
CLEVELAND-INDIANA: Unexpectedly interesting series after Pacers took game one in Cleveland. Oladipo has been great. LeBron absolutely went off in game two. Cavs defense still sucks. Openly wondering how far Bron can drag this group.
PHILADELPHIA-MIAMI: Most fun series thus far—competitive and chippy. Philly blowout in game one, vintage D-Wade performance knots it up, then Embiid’s return helps 76ers take lead. Ben Simmons is ridiculously good. Series might not end up as close as it’s felt—Heat win came in awful 76ers shooting game and now Embiid is back.
BOSTON-MILWAUKEE. Boston’s weird guys are fitting together nicely while Milwaukee can’t get cohesiveness out of a better team on paper. As it turns out, Brad Stevens may be a better coach than [check notes] Joe Prunty. Eric Bledsoe should probably know the name of the guy who’s roasting him.
BONUS: Alex gives Ace a pop quiz on obscure player nicknames listed on basketball-reference. Ace does poorly.
SEGMENT TWO: WESTERN CONFERENCE
starts at 34:35
HOUSTON-MINNESOTA: Wolves lost any hope of making this interesting with Jimmy Butler’s awful final shot in game one. Wither KAT? Minnesota had awfully weird shot distribution in game two. Alex nails a pop quiz on Wolves who attempted more shots than Butler in game two. Meanwhile, Houston cruising even though CP3 and Harden haven’t had good games at the same time.
OKLAHOMA CITY-UTAH: Ace hates OKC’s offense and doesn’t get NBA TV. Alex defends the contested shot-making of PG13 and Russ, also gives Donovan Mitchell his due despite the pain of being a Pistons fan. Melo is waaaaashed.
NEW ORLEANS-PORTLAND: On the verge of an unexpected NOLA sweep. Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday have greatly outplayed Dame Lillard and CJ McCollum. Nicola Mirotic is probably not fun to watch for Bulls fans.
GOLDEN STATE-SAN ANTONIO: On the verge of an expected blowout. GSW simply too much for a Spurs team without Kawhi Leonard. Athleticism gap is huge. Klay Thompson is not fair. RIP Erin Popovich.
---------------------------------
MUSIC
- “A Nickel and a Nail”—O.V. Wright
- “Across 110th Street”
THE USUAL LINKS
- Helpful iTunes subscribe link
- General podcast feed link
- Direct download link
- What's with the theme music?
I’m gonna guess this is a nickname Joel Embiid gave himself.
WTKA Roundtable 4/19/2018: The One Without Craig
Things discussed:
- Liverpool vs Man U: Meh. It’s a friendly in a World Cup year so they won’t have their best players and won’t care.
- Shea’s eligibility: Usually the NCAA doesn’t get discovery from a court case but they have it now. If everything goes according to plan it’s Sam’s strong gut feeling that Patterson is a one and done.
- Sam’s mea culpa: Joe Milton is definitely in the conversation for QB1 in 2019.
- Football 2018 schedule might be toughest in the country: Crossovers are Wisconsin plus Northwestern and Nebraska on the road.
- Big Ten West preview: Purdue breakout but Wisconsin still wins the West. Problem with Badgers is Hornibrook throws well into tight windows, will have a pile of All-American linebackers like always.
- Big Ten East preview: McSorley is a luck guy too because he wins a lot of 50/50 throws but he’s also straight up good—how much does losing Joe Moorhead hurt? MSU: Inviting Reschke back after dude dropped an N-bomb because when you’re already the most despicable athletic department in the country what’s one more locker room distraction? LJ Scott stayed (?!?!?) because he fumbled a lot, but Madre London grad transferred. Maryland: Offense was Texas-beating good until they were playing 5’6” guys and The Bortenschlager.
- Sam’s mea culpa on Castleton after THIS.
- Next year C rotation is 60% Teske, 25% Davis, 15% Castleton.
- X or Z? His dad calls him X. He’s your starter but don’t want him to get 35 minutes a game.
- Moe a mid-2nd rounder right now. Long term stretch bench guy.
You can catch the entire episode on Michigan Insider's podcast stream on Podbean.
Segment two is here. Segment three is here.
THE USUAL LINKS
- Helpful iTunes subscribe link
- General podcast feed link
- Direct download link
- What's with the theme music?
The one time I want to talk about soccer and you’re peeing in my Cheerios.
Unverified Voracity Waits
look, if they had a spring game you wouldn't have to keep looking at the same picture [Bryan Fuller]
Shea status. Michigan responded with a letter from Shea Patterson answering the questions posed, and Ole Miss said "whatever," more or less:
In communications this week, Ole Miss told the NCAA it basically had nothing to add.
"There is nothing new here," Bjork told CBS Sports. "We do not oppose the student-athlete competing right away if the decision is based on accurate information, NCAA bylaws, applicable waiver standards and relevant case precedent."
Patterson's attorney, Tom Mars, concluded, "Therefore, the case is ready to be decided. The timing of the NCAA's decision is a matter of the staff's discretion, so there is no timetable for when a decision will be made. I'm confident, however, that the staff will not take any more time than is necessary to come to the right decision."
The NCAA has all the information it's going to get, and it is a lot of information. Mars bombed the idea that Patterson hadn't added anything new in an interview with Sam. Patterson's letter was apparently 9 pages long; Ole Miss's response was a single paragraph.
Either way we'll know soon—but it had better be a thumbs up unless the NCAA wants a ton of awful PR for no reason. It's not like there's going to be a spate of free transfers from schools that get in trouble and lie about it—currently that list of schools stands at just Ole Miss.
Hang on to your butts. Neal Rubin has details on the terrifying but ultimately harmless plane crash before last year's Big Ten tournament:
…according to the transcript of the cockpit voice recorder, part of the investigative report released last week by the National Transportation Safety Board, the pilot’s terse “Abort” at 187 mph was met with a historically sensible, procedurally correct and potentially fatal response.
“No. Not above —” the copilot said, referring to takeoff speed. Then: “(Expletive.)”
What the captain felt in his hands, and the copilot had no way of knowing, was that the two-engine jetliner was not going to climb. The yoke “felt heavy, like there was a stack of bricks on the nose,” he told investigators, and so he immediately did exactly what pilots are trained to avoid.
The 881-page report is here if you have a great deal of time.
Tough sell for transfers; transfers a tough sell. Per Josh Henschke, South Dakota transfer Matt Mooney has dropped Michigan from consideration. This is not much of a surprise since he should be able to find 30 MPG somewhere else.
The only other transfer currently associated with Michigan is Robert Morris SG Dachon Burke, but 1) Burke is a sit one, play two kid with 2) a 102 ORTG in the NEC. I don't know what ORTG a sit-one-play-two low-major guy would have to have to be appealing given that Michigan currently has one open 2019 scholarship, but it's not 102. It's probably 130. Anyone talking about Burke seriously hasn't looked at Michigan's roster.
Carton's HS has great jerseys that Michigan should try to copy, too
Especially since… In the aftermath of Michigan's Final Four run, Beilein has started hitting up a bunch of top 50 guys. Michigan appears to be recruiting in the expectation they'll have two spots and they would like those to be a combo guard and a wing. With Duke folks still banking on Joe Girard, it's recently-offered IA CG DJ Carton who now seems like the most likely big-time combo addition. Carton's recruitment is nearly an entirely intraconference battle, with Marquette the lone school outside of the Big Ten drawing much mention.
Carton has four CB picks to Wisconsin on his profile but Wisconsin 247 guy Evan Flood seems like he's trying to let the locals down easy, saying that if he had an idea of where to flip his pick he'd flip it away from the Badgers. Guard depth is cited as a problem—a dubious assertion given Wisconsin's guard play and recent recruiting. Meanwhile Henschke seems fairly close to a Michigan crystal ball.
Nunez doesn't hit rim. Some highlights:
Much shorter reel than Castleton's but that form is so pure.
Final CSB. Players of note on the postseason Central Scouting Bureau's list of NA skaters:
- #6 Quinn Hughes. Actually dropped from #4. Crazy!
- #7 Oliver Wahlstrom. Wahlstrom decommitted from Harvard and is apparently choosing between BC, Michigan, and maybe a year in Europe. No news since Jeff Cox reported that a week ago.
- #17 Bode Wilde. Will be a freshman in AA next year, also after decommitting from Harvard. Hopefully he and Wahlstrom are bros.
- #154 Jack Randl. That makes Randl a late pick if he actually goes.
Michigan's other draft-age commits—Calen Kiefiuk and Jacob Semik—are not listed. That's not a huge surprise for either given their USHL numbers, though Semik has some peripheral stats that look pretty good. (More about that later.)
This class was hurt pretty badly by the uncertainty about Red Berenson; Pearson's tried to fill it in with various overagers as he seeks to bridge the gap between Hughes and Norris to the 2020 group. Flipping Wilde will be a big help there; a one-and-done from Wahlstrom would also be real nice. Also…
Of course, as I say something about him, he scores. Jack Hughes with a beauty. This game is tied at four. #U18Worlds #2019NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/oFWKw0mxh4
— Steven Ellis (@StevenEllisNHL) April 19, 2018
Obligatory Jack Hughes mention. Hughes draws a New York Times(!) profile. Most of it is stuff you're already familiar with if you follow Michigan hockey. A section at the end definitively states that he won't accelerate (boo), but then broaches the possibility of the #1 pick in the draft spending a year somewhere other than the NHL:
Hughes is undecided about where he will play after he is done with the National Team Development Program in 2019. He is considering college hockey and the junior ranks in Canada. “We can’t get too far ahead of ourselves. He’s just a kid,” said Jim Hughes, who now works for Pat Brisson, the top agent whose clients include Matthews, now a Maple Leafs star, and other N.H.L. players.
One other possibility is a year of pro hockey in Switzerland, where Matthews played, on Brisson’s advice, before being drafted. Going directly to the N.H.L. after the 2019 draft could be a stretch unless Jack Hughes adds plenty of pounds and bulk over the next 18 months.
That's not going to happen, right? When's the last time that happened? I don't even want to think about it. They'd still give the Hobey to Jimmy Vesey.
Exit fun guy. Alas: 2020 hockey recruit Antonio Stranges signed with London. May he have better luck than previous Michigan decommits. Fellow touted 2020 recruit Andrei Bakanov signed a tender with the USHL's Cedar Rapids after not making himself available for the OHL draft and is on track to matriculate. Bakanov has some stats:
Bakanov, a six-foot-two, 192-pound forward, spent the 2017-18 season with the Oakland Jr. Grizzlies, totaling an impressive 112 points (57G, 55A) in 77 total games between the program's HPHL schedule and U16 AAA schedule.
“Cedar Rapids has a great history of producing tremendous players," Bakanov said. "The plan that Coach Carlson provided my family and me not only for on ice development , but also developing as a student and person, far exceeded our expectations. I was able to see a game on my visit and the support of the fans for the team really excited me."
If he scores at a decent clip in his draft-1 year in the USHL he'll be a first round candidate.
Etc.: Awful Announcing on the Athletic's impressive growth. 2019 wing Jae'lyn Withers lists Michigan as one of four schools he's hearing the most from. Withers jumped 54 spots to 61st in the latest Rivals update. Zach Shaw says goodbye to Wagner. He's probably a second round pick. Ticket packs and prices announced. Baseball is "last five in" per D1baseball Dot Com
This Week’s Obsession: If I Had a Spring Game Part II: Defense
lada dida dada dada dada deeda dida dum [Eric Upchurch]
THIS ARTICLE HAS A SPONSOR: It’s Nick Hopwood, our MGoFinancial Planner from Peak Wealth Management. If you’re at that point in your life where your blog actually makes enough money that you can think about how you pay for your kids’ colleges, 
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The Question:
Things we would have wanted to see if there was a spring game but there isn't so let's all imagine
…except with defense.
whoa. I wonder how far
this box in a box
thing can go
(sorry)
Brian: No injuries, the end.
Ace: This is kinda short, man.
Seth: Before every Michigan coach jumps in to say "Michael Dwumfour" I'm going to say Michael Dwumfour.
Brian: Ooooh sorry seth that didn't make it before the end of the post.
Ace: Do not tempt the wrath of Don Brown.
solving this problem with aggression [Patrick Barron]
Seth: Actually Dwumfour just fired off the line so fast he was already in the post before you typed that.
[After THE JUMP: The snap. Get it?]
