UM Hockey formally announces 2022 class
Big 13 man class for the Wolverines, from what I've seen on the site/podcast it's probably the best class we've ever had?
https://mgoblue.com/news/2022/2/4/michigan-ice-hockey-announces-13-member-signing-class.aspx
Sits at #2 in the country behind Minnesota on neutralzone.net (paywall)
Go Blue!
February 4th, 2022 at 8:59 PM ^
uh, better than last year and the year before?
February 5th, 2022 at 10:58 AM ^
No kidding! THAT is Michigan Arrogance, lol!
February 4th, 2022 at 9:03 PM ^
Best ever, yet #2 in the country? Did you see the most recent NHL draft?
February 4th, 2022 at 9:24 PM ^
Definitely not even our best class this decade but its up there. Another really good class from Mel
Fantilli is the headliner. Nazar, Bruztewicz, McGroarty and Casey are some other big names. Hope a lot of those guys are ready to jump in because theres gonna be lots of minutes available next year between graduates and early departures.
February 5th, 2022 at 8:50 AM ^
I think it depends on how you grade the classes. Previous classes had more high end talent (hard to beat out Johnson, Beniers, Power, Bordeleau, Brisson) but this class brings in 8-9 guys who are either already drafted or will be in the upcoming draft. An argument could be made that this is the deepest class we’ve had in quite a while.
In football terms, it’s like comparing a 17 man class with a higher star average to a 25 man class with lower star average but more four stars.
February 4th, 2022 at 9:31 PM ^
...is this Draper Chris Draper's son?
If so holy shit I'm old
February 4th, 2022 at 9:34 PM ^
Kris, but yes.
February 5th, 2022 at 8:44 AM ^
No, he’s not Chris Draper’s son. He’s former Red Wing Kris Draper’s son though. Which is much cooler than being the son of whoever Chris Draper is.
February 4th, 2022 at 9:33 PM ^
Wisconsin blew a 3-1 lead, but at least forced OT. 2/3 points for OSU.
February 4th, 2022 at 9:46 PM ^
OH - NO
going to OT with Wisconsin is embarrassing
February 4th, 2022 at 9:49 PM ^
State also blew a two goal lead, not likely to force OT against Minnesota. That game is 4-2 late third. ND up 6-2 on PSU.
February 4th, 2022 at 10:03 PM ^
But will Mel go to the nhl?
February 4th, 2022 at 10:44 PM ^
Only if the Dallas Stars become the Minnesota North Stars again.
February 5th, 2022 at 8:14 AM ^
13 players, 8-9 of which are NHL draft picks or likely to be soon. We are getting to the point it is going to be hard to find minutes for legit NHL prospects on this team!
February 7th, 2022 at 4:30 PM ^
It's hard to compare since classes are typically compared by draft status, and for that we'll have to wait. The 20-21 class was a special elite talent class. No college team will likely ever get THREE top 5 NHL draft picks (in addition to Brisson being a late first rounder and Bordeleau an early second rounder) from one recruiting class.
As of now, we only know the draft status of 5 players in this deep and talented array of 22-23 players and two of them were drafted. Jackson Hallum (3rd round 2020 draft) and Kienen Draper (7th round 2020 draft). Luca Fantilli, Brendan Miles, and John Druskinis were not drafted. Side note - Druskinis' highlights are fight related.
The X factor, and the fun factor, is that the other 8 players may all get drafted if things go well for them....
For the 22 draft, we will likely see many of these players named:
Seamus Casey - Projected mid to late first round. Scouting report here.
Tyler Haskins - Second year of eligibility, putting up good numbers, a Biosteel all American, and on the NHL mid-season draft list. Maybe drafted in the later rounds.
Frank Nazar - Projected as a possible top 10 pick. A cool vid of Frank commenting on his game tape.
Rutger McGroarty - Projections are all over the place from mid first round to early second round. Some McGroarty scouting here.
Fin Williams - Draft eligible and putting up good numbers. Maybe drafted in the mid to later rounds. Here's 4th round prediction.
And 3 players are coming to Michigan as 17 year olds and are 2023 draft eligible: Adam Fantilli, Hunter Brzustewicz, and Gavin Brindley. Fantilli is getting a lot of buzz as a top 5 pick. And who knows, Brzustewicz and Brindley may be second or first rounders depending on how they finish this year and do next year. Or they can all have terrible years and not drafted high. There's a lot of time to succeed or tank between now and the 23 draft.
It's wishful, but what if this class ends up with 10 drafted players? Fantilli and Nazar in the top 10; Casey, McGroarty, Brzusterwicz, and Brindley in the late first round; and Hallum, Draper, Williams and Haskins in the later rounds...
All of this said, this class has loads of potential and can be Michigan's deepest class and possibility most impactful (Two third rounders sticking around for 4 years may have more longterm impact than one top 5 pick who sticks around for 1 or 2 years - and this class is a blend of both). I bet that come August, we will be salivating on this message board drawing up line combinations for this incoming class.
Exciting times to come - if no recruits jump ship.