The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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42 THE WOLVERINE OCTOBER 2021 MICHIGAN HOCKEY PREVIEW chance to have its best year — whatever that might be." DEPTH MAKES FORWARD LINE DANGEROUS Behind stellar forward play, U-M generated 3.5 goals per game last season, a mark that ranked ninth in the country, and had a power play success percentage of 23.7, which slotted seventh nationally. Headlining the forwards are the afore- mentioned Beniers, who led the Big Ten in on-ice rating last season with a plus- 21 and scored 24 points (10 goals and 14 assists), and Johnson, who was second on the team with 27 points (nine goals and 18 assists) in 26 outings, which slot- ted third in the nation in points per game among rookies. Pearson said he's already noticed that Beniers and Johnson have taken a step forward in their games. "No one sprinkles any magic dust on them or anything that's going to make them any different from when they got drafted to when they weren't an hour before, but just the confidence," Pearson said of how they've improved. "I've been doing this for 40 years at the Division I level, and I just see huge improvement in most players from that freshman year to when they step on campus as sopho- mores. "I'll use Kent Johnson as an example. He's a pretty quiet kid, last year was re- ally quiet, trying to find his way, first time being a long way from home, the academic part of it. And now, he knows his way around, he gets the academics and what's expected of him. They get the hockey part; they've played a year and are stronger." But what will make the Wolverines an especially tough team to face — espe- cially when it comes to the front line — is the sheer number of guys who Pearson and the coaching staff trust. The next wave of forwards — sopho- more Brendan Brisson, junior Johnny Beecher and sophomore Thomas Borde- leau — might even get overlooked a bit, even though they've been a big part of U-M's offense in the past. Brisson tied with Beniers for having the most goals on the squad last season with 10, while also posting 11 assists and an on-ice rating of plus-nine. Mean- while, Bordeleau topped the team by No. Name Ht. Wt. Pos. Yr. Hometown 1 Erik Portillo 6-6 225 G So. Gothenburg, Sweden Appeared in seven games with five starts last season, posting a 4-1 record and a save percentage of .935 while allowing just 1.67 goals per outing. 6 Jack Summers 5-11 180 D Sr. Livonia, Mich. Finished with six points in 15 games during the 2020-21 campaign, and collected 20 blocked shots with an on-ice rating of plus-six. 7 Nick Blankenburg 5-9 175 D Sr. Washington, Mich. The team captain, who served as an alternate captain a year ago,– posted a plus- minus of plus-19, and ranked sixth among Big Ten defensemen in scoring with 13 points (five goals and eight assists). 9 Eric Ciccolini 6-0 170 F Jr. Vaughan, Ont. Saw action in 24 games last season and notched 12 points (seven goals, five assists). 10 Matty Beniers 6-1 175 F So. Hingham, Mass. The 2021 No. 2 overall pick by the Seattle Kraken and alternate captain was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team in 2020-21, after leading the Wolverines with an on-ice rating of plus-21, which ranked eighth nationally. He posted 24 points (10 goals and 14 assists) in 24 tilts. 11 Mackie Samoskevich 5-11 190 F Fr. Sandy Hook, Conn. The 2021 No. 24 overall pick by the Florida Panthers was ranked as the No. 19 recruit in his class by EliteProspects.com. He played the last two seasons with Chicago in the USHL and averaged 1.03 points per game this past year, with 13 goals and 24 assists in 36 contests. 13 Kent Johnson 6-1 165 F So. Port Moody, British Columbia The 2021 No. 5 overall draft pick by the Columbus Blue Jackets was tabbed to the Big Ten All-Freshman team last season, after ranking second on the team with 27 points (nine goals and 18 assists) in 26 games, while registering a plus-16 rating. 15 Jacob Truscott 6-1 178 D So. Port Huron, Mich. A fifth-round pick by the Vancouver Canucks in 2020, Truscott notched one goal, four assists and 18 blocked shots in 26 games last year. 17 Johnny Beecher 6-3 209 F Jr. Elmira, N.Y. The No. 30 overall pick (first round) by the Boston Bruins in the 2019 NHL Draft scored four goals and dished out four assists in 16 games, before suffering a season-ending injury last February. 19 Brendan Brisson 6-0 185 F So. Manhattan Beach, Calif. The No. 29 overall pick by the Vegas Golden Knights in 2020 was fourth on the squad in scoring with 21 points on a team-high 10 goals and 11 assists in 24 outings last year. 20 Keaton Pehrson 6-2 194 D Jr. Lakeville, Minn. Ranked second on the team in blocked shots with 34 while notching five assists in 24 games in 2020-21. 21 Michael Pastujov 6-0 190 F 5th Bradenton, Fla. The alternate captain had seven goals and two assists while leading the team with 66 shots on goal last season. 22 Owen Power 6-5 214 D So. Mississauga, Ont. The 2021 No. 1 overall pick by the Buffalo Sabres was a second-team All-Big Ten hon- oree and the College Hockey News Rookie of the Year last season, leading the team with 40 blocked shots and adding 13 assists and three goals in 26 contests. 23 Jimmy Lambert 6-0 175 F Sr. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan The alternate captain played in 22 games last season, registering one goal and six assists. 24 Steve Holtz 6-4 190 D So. White Lake, Mich. Did not see game action last year. 25 Luke Morgan 5-11 190 F 5th Brighton, Mich. Competed in 26 games last season, accumulating two goals and six assists. 2021-22 Michigan Ice Hockey Roster