The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/95952
we lose a game, it falls on me. People will look to me to answer questions, and I'm trying to lead the team in the right direction so I don't have to answer those questions." Being thrust into a leadership posi- and he understands the demands that Treais now faces. "A lot of it is internal, depending tion can be daunting. Assistant coach Brian Wiseman wore the 'C' in 1994 without having been an alternate, on whether you put extra pressure on yourself, which I think is natural, but A.J. has done a good job of being who he is, and playing the game the same way he always played it, as we can see by his results early this season," Wiseman said. "At the same time, he's been setting a standard for how we want this team to play. And hopefully guys start following his lead." Treais was elected captain last spring, the announcement coming in April at Michigan's end-of-the-sea- son banquet. He had time to prepare for his assignment, and consulted with Luke Glendening, who held the post each of the past two years. Glendening was frank — do your best in every drill, at every practice, in every workout, double your ef- forts in film study, carry yourself the way a captain should off the ice, and never take a shift off on the ice. Be the best that you can be, and players will follow. To that end, Treais sought out the coaches in the summer to let them know he wanted to play on the pen- alty kill for the first time in his career. In his estimation, he couldn't be the captain he needed to be unless he was contributing defensively in ad- dition to his offense. "In juniors, I was on the first pen- alty-kill unit and killed penalties my entire life, but when I first got here it seemed like everyone on the team played PK so I got pushed to the back," Treais said. "But it's a role I al- ways wanted to play here, and three years later I'm doing it." ways possessed the physical skill to be a dynamic offensive threat, SAVING HIS BEST FOR LAST The 5-8, 178-pound Treais has al- Captain A.J. Treais CAPTAINS THAT WERE NOT ALTERNATES IN PREVIOUS SEASON Kevin Porter Andrew Ebbett Jed Ortmeyer Geoff Koch Sean Peach Treais has been Michigan's top-line center for the majority of the year, playing extended min- utes with an active role on the power play and the penalty kill. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN 72 THE WOLVERINE DECEMBER 2012 Brian Wiseman David Harlock Alex Roberts Todd Brost Jeff Norton Bubba Berenzweig Matt Herr Rick Willis Frank Downing Ray Dries Year 2013 2008 2006 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1995 1994 1991 1990 1988 1987 1986 1985