The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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to school seemed like a no-brainer to me," said Komisarek, who also signed on to become a volunteer assistant coach. "Having the opportunity to work with the hockey program and share my experiences with the guys seemed like a win-win situation." When Komisarek left U-M, he had to make a difficult phone call to head coach Red Berenson, but now 13 years later, he's finding redemption. "Telling him I wasn't coming back to school was probably the hardest thing I've had to do in my life," said Komisarek, a first-team All-American in 2002. "He told me he'd support me, but if I was his son he wouldn't let me do it. So this is kind of an opportunity to make things right with Red, and [assistant] Billy Pow- ers, who helped me when I was here … to make things right and give back to a program that has given me so much." A 6-4, 235-pound defender, Komisarek was an imposing force on the blue line, and while no one on this current Michigan team plays with the same ferocity the former standout did, he has much to offer the blue liners. "Mentoring some of the younger defensemen on the team will be my primary responsibility," he said. "We have some really good guys, character guys, and guys that are willing and eager to learn. "If I can help them out a tiny bit — that's why I'm here volunteering, to lend them some experience and do anything I can to help them become the hockey players they want to be, because I've been there. I know what it's like to be that young guy with NHL aspirations, and listening to my coaches every day because I know they know what it's takes to get there. "So hopefully I can be that voice, that coach just like Red and Billy and [Brian] Wiseman that can give them advice and help them through the ups and downs to find that consistency and that level you need to play at to be a reliable player for Michigan, and then maybe more than that someday." Komisarek does not know how long it will take him to fulfill his academic requirements, and thus how long he will be in Ann Arbor, but he and his family have settled here for now, and he could not be more appreciative of the op- portunity he's been afforded academically and athletically. "The university has done such a great job of welcoming me back and help- ing me get re-acclimated — I mean I haven't written a paper in 13 years," Komisarek joked. "There are so many resources available, not only to me but the guys on the team. That was a factor, too — I could have taken classes elsewhere or taken them online and not had those resources available to me. "If I could be a poster child or ambassador for other student-athletes to return to school and finish their degree, I felt this could be a great thing for Michigan. "At the end, I'm just really grateful to have this opportunity to go to school and work with the guys. It can't really get any better for a guy whose finished his hockey career and is looking to figure out that next chapter." — Michael Spath