Hello: Steve Merl
Michigan Hockey picked up another commitment for the loaded class of 2016 yesterday.
Steve Merl, center, 6-3/201 from Bloomfield. He plays for the Bloomington Thunder of the USHL and is teammates with goalie commit Hayden Lavigne.
Looks like the 2016 class is full.
| Player | Pos. | Ht/Wt | Team |
| Kenny Johnson | D | 6-3/214 | Shattuck St. Mary's Prep |
| Hayden Lavigne | G | 6-3/203 | Bloomington Thunder |
| Will Lockwood | F | 5-10/172 | US NTDP Under-18 |
| Griffin Luce | D | 6-3/214 | US NTDP Under-18 |
| Luke Martin | D | 6-2/201 | US NTDP Under-18 |
| Christian Meike | D | 6-0/165 | Sioux City Musketeers |
| Steve Merl | F | 6-3/201 | Bloomington Thunder |
| Connor Murphy | F | 5-10/174 | Green Bay Gamblers |
| Michael Pastujov | F | 6-0/192 | US NTDP Under-17 |
| Nick Pastujov | F | 6-0/196 | US NTDP Under-18 |
| James Sanchez | F | 6-2/190 | US NTDP Under-18 |
Can't wait to wear the maize and blue! Excited to sign my NLI to @umichhockey pic.twitter.com/mkCs4rZxLY
— Steven Merl (@Stevieweve) November 12, 2015November 12th, 2015 at 5:23 PM ^
Reaching...
November 13th, 2015 at 5:41 AM ^
Chateau Lafite-Rothschild 1869 only costs around $230,000 a bottle!
November 12th, 2015 at 4:39 PM ^
Hockey Hello
November 12th, 2015 at 4:41 PM ^
Hayden Levigne - my pick for the athlete with the girliest name.
November 12th, 2015 at 4:44 PM ^
Seems like good news when we secure a recruit for any sport.
November 12th, 2015 at 4:48 PM ^
Typically we see "Hockey Hello" or something like that. My guess is he left that off to get more views. I was tricked into reading a thread that I normally wouldn't *gasp*. My life now feels devoid of meaning, and I've instantly developed trust issues that will surely manifest themselves in my marriage.
I'd have negged someone else for the same thing.
November 12th, 2015 at 5:12 PM ^
I don't think WD cares that much about how many people view his posts, so I say to you....
lol, carry on.
November 12th, 2015 at 4:55 PM ^
He would get dinged for posting "sun shine and Unicorns for everyone". But, we don't talk about points...
November 12th, 2015 at 6:20 PM ^
November 12th, 2015 at 4:44 PM ^
Very, very weird story with him. It feels like he's reclassified about 17 times.
He originally signed way back in 2013. So, when he comes in next year, that should be his junior year.
http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-hockey/spec-rel/112013aaa.html
November 12th, 2015 at 6:55 PM ^
His first year and a half in the USHL was bad. He was really raw and never got started right to build confidence. He didn't have the quickness to compete at that level for his size. He was always late getting down and didn't see well through traffic.
He's still not there. He can give you a 40 save shutout one night and get pull in the first period the next.
November 12th, 2015 at 6:56 PM ^
I've been reading his name for years now and waiting for him to come here, so yeah, it is weird.
November 12th, 2015 at 4:41 PM ^
Are these guys going to bail out if Red Berenson retires (which I thought is supposed to happen after this year when his contract expires).
November 12th, 2015 at 4:42 PM ^
I'm sure they know. He said this would be his last contract and this is the last year on it.
November 12th, 2015 at 4:50 PM ^
Pretty gutsy that all these guys are committing without knowing who their coach is going to be. I guess they can easily drop their commitment if we don't bring in a coach that works for them.
November 12th, 2015 at 4:57 PM ^
95% sure, or at least very confident as biased fans, that we have our coach lined up. Just need to dot i's and cross t's.
November 12th, 2015 at 10:33 PM ^
No worries.
November 12th, 2015 at 4:57 PM ^
... maybe they know who the replacement is and it's good news. Coaches don't last forever in Toronto.
November 12th, 2015 at 5:47 PM ^
More like coaches don't last forever in Houghton.
November 12th, 2015 at 6:22 PM ^
(ducks head. leaves quietly while fight starts)
November 12th, 2015 at 9:40 PM ^
Probably up there with "water is wet" in terms of news value, but Babcock is coaching Team Canada at the World Cup next year.
Random post is random.
November 12th, 2015 at 10:24 PM ^
by a player on michigan's team who has since graduated. but alas, i am afraid that won't happen. that said, mel pearson would be a great get as that same player said he was the reason red had such good seasons earlier this century. perhaps we'll get to test that theory.
November 12th, 2015 at 11:59 PM ^
Wow, he's leaving a gig coaching Team Canada to come here. Good job Hackett!
/s, because I feel like someone is going to correct me if I don't
November 12th, 2015 at 4:42 PM ^
Cousin Merl?
November 12th, 2015 at 5:03 PM ^
made this post all the more worthwhile. Whenever you can throw in a reference from The Simpsons, you do so, dammit. Well done. And, uh, welcome, Steve.
November 13th, 2015 at 6:34 AM ^
and I expect to see another Hello Post when they sign Big Hungry Joe.
Y'know, I'd never noticed until now: the Simpsons are the correct shade of maize.
No wonder that show speaks to me.
November 12th, 2015 at 4:48 PM ^
November 12th, 2015 at 4:57 PM ^
What, you mean you don't religiously follow recruiting? Steve Merl sounded like a football name to you? Wow.
November 12th, 2015 at 5:05 PM ^
November 12th, 2015 at 4:51 PM ^
November 12th, 2015 at 5:00 PM ^
Johnson-Won't be drafted(or at least shouldn't be. Maybe his name makes a difference, though maybe not with his parents)
Lavigne-Won't be drafted
Lockwood- Mid-to-late round this year
Luce-Mid-to-late round this year
Martin-Middle rounds in 2017
Meike-Won't be drafted
Merl-Won't be drafted
Murphy-Won't be drafted
Mike Pastujov-Still early, but first few rounds of 2017
Nick Pastujov-Late round this year
James Sanchez-Late round this year
November 12th, 2015 at 5:15 PM ^
November 12th, 2015 at 10:25 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
November 12th, 2015 at 5:08 PM ^
How many starzz though??
s/
November 12th, 2015 at 5:11 PM ^
November 12th, 2015 at 5:12 PM ^
November 12th, 2015 at 5:18 PM ^
November 12th, 2015 at 5:29 PM ^
He pays him with discarded Michigan apparel that apparently appears from his parents pigeon peter piper picled a peck . . .
November 12th, 2015 at 7:25 PM ^
November 12th, 2015 at 9:33 PM ^
plus Brian has also promised to reward him with diamond-like implants to permanently harden his nipples, cold-weather-or-not.
November 12th, 2015 at 5:22 PM ^
November 12th, 2015 at 5:23 PM ^
why is there not a rivals/scout/247 type website for hockey to show us their rankings? This post doesn't do much for me without some reference point.
November 12th, 2015 at 5:26 PM ^
How many stars? Does he maintain good pad level? Ugh . . . you barely gave enough info.
November 12th, 2015 at 5:52 PM ^
I would be happy with Mel Pearson, personally. He won as an assistant coach with Michigan and has been successful as the NMU Head Coach. http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2015/03/31_chn_coach_of_the_year_mel.php
November 12th, 2015 at 6:07 PM ^
not NMU. He went home to Tech after they raised his salery offer to match his Assc. head coach pay here.
November 12th, 2015 at 5:55 PM ^
Is Lukas Samuelsson a 2017 enrollee? I thought he was a 2016, for some reason.
Interesting to see 11 incoming players on top of 22 players currently on the team who will be eligible to return. Michigan is in the habit of carrying a 26-player roster (25 occasionally, 27 very rarely). This means that they are expecting to lose 6-8 of those 33 players between now and 11 months from now.
Obviously some of these 11 incoming players will probably be willing to spend another year playing Juniors if necessary in the hockey equivalent of "greyshirting," which is much more common than in any other sport.
November 12th, 2015 at 6:14 PM ^
L. Samuelsson is 2017 and his brother Mattias is 2019.
In 2017-18, we'll have two Russians and a Swede on the team.
November 12th, 2015 at 6:00 PM ^
November 12th, 2015 at 6:35 PM ^
I'll root for all Michigan sports, but if it's not football or basketball, it would be nice to have the sport in the title. There just isn't enough coverage of baseball, softball, hockey, women's basketball, etc. to know who these guys are as a casual follower of the sports. If I had known it was a hockey thread, I wouldn't have clicked.