The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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WHERE ARE THEY NOW? NCAA run, culminating in a 2-0 Frozen Four semifinals victory over No. 1 North Dakota that put the Maize and Blue in their first cham- pionship game since 1998. "It wasn't a season we dominated every night, but we found a way to win a lot of close games and I think that was because we had so many seniors that knew what it took," Hagelin said. Michigan trailed Minnesota-Du- luth 2-1 in the NCAA final when Jeff Rohrkemper tallied the equal- izer at 17:46 of the third, but like it had three seasons earlier, U-M fell in overtime. "We were confident. We knew were playing a good team but they weren't as good as North Dakota," Hagelin said. "But at the same time, we might have been a little bit lucky in that North Dakota game. "They had a lot of chances and [Michigan goalie] Shawn Hunwick stood on his head, and I think once we got past them, sort of like 2008, we almost felt like we were already there." In five NHL seasons, every time he plays the Minnesota Wild at the Xcel Center in St. Paul, Minn. — the arena of the 2011 NCAA Champion- ship — Hagelin has had to revisit the scene of his torment many times over. While the anguish is still real, he looks back at his college career with the fondest of memories. "It was the best time of my life," he said. "You met so many people and just being a part of the campus life, being around the team, hav- ing such great teammates, coaches and the whole staff — everything was run so professional that you get spoiled. "You're thinking back about how good you had it, and I was fortunate to have my family come a lot. My dad still brings up those days when he came over with my mom, and we spent a lot of time together just en- joying everything about Michigan, Michigan hockey and Ann Arbor." A 2007 NHL sixth-round pick, Hagelin understood the odds of making it in the NHL were slim. He figured after one season with the Rangers' minor-league affiliate, it would be clear if he had a chance to play at the highest level or not. He spent only 17 games in the American Hockey League, though, before being summoned by New York. The Swede has never set foot in the minors again, appearing in 64 NHL games his rookie year, total- ing 38 points, and 284 total contests over his first five seasons (through Nov. 16), contributing 60 goals and 75 assists with a plus/minus of plus-51. "Everyone was telling me if I ever played in the NHL, it would be a third- or fourth-line defensive guy, and I was fine with that, but the one thing with my speed is I've always been able to create a lot of chances," Hagelin said. "Even in college my first two years, I created the chances but the puck didn't go in. I didn't bear down, and then I got the hang of it after that. "The thing about playing at this