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October 7, 2022
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Reloaded Michigan Gets to Turn its Attention Back to the Ice, After Tumultuous Offseason

by Joshua Messe/CHN Reporter

The No. 6 Michigan ice hockey team is young, in all senses of the word.

A dozen new freshmen are joining the Wolverines’ ranks, with a new head coach and new members of the support staff alongside. And with a large portion of last year’s significant producers gone, Michigan has a unique opportunity, one it has to make the most of.

It has a chance to rebrand itself — both on the ice and off of it. It has a chance to dispel the cloud still hanging over the program, surrounding the circumstances outlined by the WilmerHale report. And most of all, it has a chance to rebuild what Michigan hockey stands for.

Michigan’s players, both returning and new, will be the backbone of the team’s cultural change. And graduate forward Nolan Moyle, who was recently named captain, understands that leading and guiding the new freshman is crucial to seeing that change.

“They’re great kids,” Moyle said. “They’re really eager to be here and they’re excited and they’re passionate. And they’re absorbing a lot and they’re learning a lot from us and we’re learning a lot from them. So it’s been an awesome relationship.”

Already some of these new faces have made a difference. 

In preseason play against Windsor on October 1, highly-touted freshman defenseman Seamus Casey (a member of CHN’s preseason all-Rookie team) netted two goals, immediately making an impact in the Wolverines’ offense. He was paired with junior defenseman Jacob Truscott, and the two were immediately in sync, Truscott logging three assists to go with Casey’s goal scoring. 

“He’s just so smooth,” sophomore forward Mackie Samoskevich said after the game about Casey. “Even in practice, you think you got him, you just don’t. He’s a fun player to watch and definitely nice to have him on our side for sure.”

In the first line, Samoskevich himself had a new center by his side, phenom freshman forward Adam Fantilli. Fantilli did not notch a goal in the game, but did assist two, and garnered high praise about his demeanor and performance, not just in the game, but through the summer as well.

“Adam’s got all the hype around him,” new coach Brandon Naurato said. “The strength, the size, the shot, the speed. And he’s just the ultimate competitor. I’m not fluffing it up, he’s the real deal.”

Fantilli has also drawn comparisons to recent Michigan alums, and their specific skills.

“He can shoot it like (Brendan) Brisson,” Naurato said. “He competes and has a two-way game like (Matty) Beniers, he’s got hands and vision like (Thomas) Bordeleau. He’s special.”

But these players’ talents and skills cannot be maximized unless the person at the helm is ready to use them efficiently.

That’s where Naurato comes in. 

An assistant last season who was promoted to head coach in August in the wake of former coach Mel Pearson’s departure, Naurato is an analytical guy. His goal was always to eventually come back and be Michigan head coach. To have it happen in the whirlwind that it did, with no previous head coaching experience, is quite something else. But Naurato’s enthusiasm matched with his technical acumen might make him the perfect guy for the perfect time.

Before working as Michigan’s assistant coach, Naurato spent three seasons with the Red Wings as their Player Development Consultant. In that role, he created individual plans for players to improve specific skills, and then helped the coaches to implement these skills into the team’s overall identity.

Naurato has already built a miniature analytics team in Ann Arbor, and will look to use them in order to increase production, and understand flaws in the team’s game plan. Over the preseason Naurato has summarized his philosophy on skill development into three specific words: ‘technical, tactical, transferable.’

“Part of my consulting was to work with the players on the ice and work on technical skills,” Naurato said. “but also work with the coaching staff on some tactical adjustments and pre scouts like going into the following game. So just building it up from an individual to a five-man unit to a team identity. That’s kind of my passion.”

Naurato will bring this data-focused approach, one that has been severely lacking in Ann Arbor during previous regimes.

But that is not the only change Naurato focused on making in the offseason. He has also targeted the culture, indirectly challenging the concerns raised over the summer. Like it or not, it’s something that had to be addressed, and Naurato hasn’t shied away from it.

“We’re preaching good dudes only,” Naurato said. “Everyone treats everyone the way that they want to be treated, with respect. We haven’t had any issues with work ethic, discipline, or people not treating people the right way (this season).”

This second mantra of Naurato’s, ‘good dudes only,’ seeks to target the way the players and staff interact with each other. And with all the outside noise about the events of the offseason, this inward thinking can only help the team stay focused.

“There’s always outside noise and distractions and anything,” Moyle said. “What people don’t see is what actually goes on in the room and how close we are and how we hold each other accountable and just how tight knit we are.”

Naurato, Moyle, and the rest of the players in the locker room were not mentioned in the report. Nor was the culture in the locker room specifically questioned. But still, both are clearly setting their focus on ensuring that all aspects of the inner workings of the team are beyond reproach. That focus will do much to alleviate the focus from the outside media on the team, and will also promote greater closeness as a team to boot.

And while the product on the ice is looking primed to be close to the dominance of last year, nearly everything else has changed in the meantime. New players, coaches, and staff are joining the team’s ranks, and with them come new mindsets, interactions and culture. How they will all mesh together is still a mystery. Maybe all of this turmoil will be too much to overcome in one year. Or maybe the positive changes will be just what’s needed to get Michigan past that final hurdle, even despite all the talent turnover.

That answer will only come as the season develops.



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