The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1541451
DECEMBER 2025 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 59 ❱ WHERE ARE THEY NOW? a team with high expectations, but the Wolverines were unable to meet them, losing the game before the Frozen Four. That setback was something that fueled him and his classmates into his senior season. He scored 4 goals in a 5-1 win over Niagara to send the team to the Fro- zen Four, where it would lose, 5-4, to Notre Dame in overtime. "My freshman year, there were three of us that came in as freshmen, we had 11 or 12 seniors, and we were ranked No. 1 in the country," Porter said. "We were sup- posed to go to the Frozen Four. We were the favorites to win the national cham- pionship, and we lost in Game 2 to go to the Frozen Four. That was a big lesson for our class that we kind of shared with the classes beneath us, that just because you're ranked high and just because peo- ple say you're the best doesn't mean you are. You have to be ready for every game. "We got upset in that game to go to the Frozen Four, and that was heartbreak- ing. And as freshmen, you don't realize how quickly it goes, because the next couple of years you just think, 'Oh, ev- ery year I'm going have a chance at the Frozen Four.' The next couple of years we didn't. And we made that push and made it my senior year. So, that was great to get there. It was a little disappointing that we didn't win a national championship, but I'm glad I got a chance at it." Porter capped an outstanding career with the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in the country after the 2007-08 season, tallying 33 goals and 30 assists in 43 games, but he said it paled in com- parison to what a national title would have meant. "I haven't thought about it a whole lot," Porter said. "It's still pretty cool. Some kids I coach now occasionally throw in a Hobey joke or call me 'Hobey,' or something like that, and try and bust my chops a little bit. It's a cool award. Obviously, I'm happy that I won it. But again, I would have much rather had a national championship than a Hobey Baker going into that season." Porter finished his college career with 183 points (85 goals, 98 assists) in 162 games with the Wolverines, then played 13 pro seasons with the Phoenix Coyotes, Colorado Avalanche, Buffalo Sabres, De- troit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins organizations. Even with the success he had in both college and the pros, the connections and memories from his time in Ann Arbor are what he holds most dearly. "It's just the friendships and the rela- tionships I built over the years," Porter said. "Three guys I played with at Michi- gan stood up in my wedding, and one of them officiated the wedding. Just those relationships you build from being with the guys, the long road trips, staying up late and getting home late from a road trip or after a game. Building those re- lationships and having those friends for life is the best thing that came out of go- ing to Michigan for me. ❑ ❱ The Kevin Porter File Michigan Accomplishments: Four-year letterman (2005-08) at Michigan … NCAA All- Regional honors (2008) … CCHA Player of the Year and first-team All-CCHA (2007-08) ... Hobey Baker Award winner (2008) Professional Accomplishments: Fourth-round NHL Draft selection of the Phoenix Coyotes (2004) … 13-year pro career with Phoenix (2008-10), Colorado Avalanche (2010-12), Buffalo Sabres (2012-14) and Pittsburgh Penguins (2015-16) in the NHL and San Antonio Rampage (2007-10), Lake Erie Monsters (2009-10), Rochester Americans (2012-14, 2017-20), Grand Rapids Griffins (2014-15) and Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins (2015-17) in the AHL … Won the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016. Coaching Career: Assistant coach with USA Hockey's U.S. National Team Development Program and head coach of the U.S. Under-18 Men's Select Team (2025-); assistant coach with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Pittsburgh's AHL affiliate (2020-24); volunteer assistant with the U.S. National Team Development Program (2019-20). He Said It: "That was a huge honor. Not everyone gets to wear the 'C' there or be an alternate and to have [U-M head coach] Red [Berensen], my teammates and the coaching staff name me captain was a huge honor. Not everyone gets to do that and be that leader, and I was grateful." Porter, who finished his college career with 183 points (85 goals, 98 assists) in 162 games with the Wolverines, was the CCHA Player of the Year and the Hobey Baker Award winner as a senior in 2007-08. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY