The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/703389
BY CHRIS BALAS F ormer Michigan hockey s t a n d o u t D y l a n L a r k i n parlayed his one and only season with the Wolverines (2014-15) into a nice contract from the Detroit Red Wings, and he lived up to the hype with a 23-goal rookie season with the club while mak- ing the NHL All- Star team. Many believe the bar is even higher for former teammate Kyle Connor, who signed a contract with the Winnipeg Jets in April. Connor trumped Larkin with 71 points in his lone season in maize and blue — Larkin managed "only" 47. He finished second in Hobey Baker voting for the nation's best player (and probably should have won it), notched 35 goals in 38 games, and earned Big Ten Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year honors for a team that won the league tournament and made it to the NCAA quarterfinals. H i s e x p l o i t s e a r n h i m T h e Wolverine's Male Freshman of the Year honors — not to mention a three-year, two-way entry-level deal with the Jets that carries an average annual value of $1.775 million per season. Connor broke the news of his signing on twitter, including a picture of him putting the ink on the deal. "Playing at Michigan was the most fun year of hockey in my life, and I think that I really benefited from all of the coaching here," Connor said. "I want to thank everyone that works hard in the program behind the scenes, as well. It was truly a dream come true to play at Michigan and an experience I'll never forget." To prove it, Connor has spent the first part of his summer in Ann Arbor training for his professional debut. M a n y b e l i e v e h e ' s re a d y f o r t h e N H L w i t h no minor league stops in between, and that's his goal. There's plenty of reason to believe it's realistic. Connor 's 71 points matched the most notched by a freshman nationally (with Boston University's Jack Eichel in 2014-15) since Maine's Paul Kariya put up 100 points in 1992-93, and were the most by a Wolverine, regardless of class, since Brendan Morrison's 88 in 1996- 97. The total marked the second-most ever by a Michigan rookie. Connor was named the recipient of the 2016 Tim Taylor Award, given annually to the best first- year player in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey by the American Hockey Commissioners' Association (AHCA), and a first-team All- American. Many believed he'd be good quickly at Michigan … just not that good, that soon. "Coming into Michigan, me and Kyle knew each other pretty well," senior forward Alex Kile said. "We're kind of from the same area, so we'd skate and work out together all summer. I knew the type of player he was, but I didn't expect him to do as well as he did. MALE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR KYLE CONNOR