Hockey

Earlier this week I put out a call on the internet for mailbag questions. Today I have answers: 

Higher 2024 (and 2024 - 2025) ceiling: UM football or UM basketball? (-zh2oson)

I feel like there are two different answers here, factual ceilings in an objective sports sense and fan enjoyment factor. The matter of fact ceiling is clearly still football, because the defense ought to be one of the very best in college football. That sets the floor pretty high and if the offense can be any degree of decent to good, Michigan is a top 10 team at worst, with even higher upside possible. Projecting men's basketball to be top 10 is extremely lofty, maybe a pie-in-the-sky scenario but one you don't think is likely due to how many new pieces are coming in and the likely growing pains. 

In a fan sense, I do think the upcoming basketball season could be more enjoyable than football, just because there's a fairly legitimate chance this will be the worst Michigan Football season since 2020 while it could be the best basketball season in a few years. Fan enjoyment of sports is often tied to the expectation game; an 8-4 season where you expected to go 11-1 is a miserable time while an 8-4 season when you expected to go 5-7 is a delight. Michigan Basketball being decent but not incredible could definitely be more enjoyable than Michigan Football being very good but not top five elite because one is coming off of 8-24 and the other is coming off of 15-0. 

Of all the football players who left for the NFL with eligibility remaining, who would you most want back? Where is your over/under for wins this year based on the turnover of the roster and coaching staff, the difficult schedule, and the holes on offense? (-AC1997) 

Going to take JJ out of the equation for the first question here because he's the no-brainer answer that needs no explanation. Beyond JJ, I think it's best to look at what areas of the team are a little weak right now. Corner could use depth but Josh Wallace and Mike Sainristil didn't have eligibility. DL depth is a little thin, but the starters are so good I don't think that one makes sense. The more pressing areas are at offensive tackle and wide receiver. Roman Wilson had eligibility remaining (Cornelius Johnson didn't), as did Trente Jones and Karsen Barnhart (Henderson didn't). Given Trente's recent retirement, I don't think we can pick him, so it comes down to Barnhart vs. Wilson. Between those two, you gotta pick Wilson because he was a significantly better football player. 

The Vegas lines put out this week had Michigan at 9.5. I think Michigan is clearly favored over Fresno, Arkansas St, Minnesota, @Illinois, MSU, @Indiana, and Northwestern, so that's 7. The remaining group is Texas, USC, and Washington at home, as well as Oregon and OSU on the road. Michigan is an underdog to me in the road games to me, probably favored over USC and Washington, and maybe a slight 'dog to Texas? I'd probably put the O/U at 8.5 personally, because I'm intrigued by USC and the trio of Texas/Oregon/Ohio State should be elite. Michigan will have a chance to beat all of them if they can put up a good offense, but I'm not entirely convinced at this point that that is going to come to pass. As it stands right now, I'm going with 8.5. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: More Questions]

NIL being taken seriously. I've heard this was supposed to happen a year ago, but better late than never:

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- NFL Players Association (NFLPA) executive Terése Whitehead, an expert in brand building and athlete marketing, has been appointed as University of Michigan Athletics' first in-house NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) Executive GM in collaboration with Altius Sports Partners (ASP) on Wednesday (May 8). Returning to her alma mater, Whitehead brings extensive experience as Vice President of Consumer Products & Strategy at NFL Players Inc., the for-profit business arm of the NFLPA. Whitehead will spearhead Michigan's NIL program in her new role, leading the department's strategy to provide athletes with comprehensive support and resources to capitalize on their NIL opportunities.

I wonder how much the sudden movement on this after a couple of years of dithering has to do with Sherrone Moore and Dusty May replacing Jim Harbaugh and Juwan Howard. No offense to the prior coaches meant; it's just that Harbaugh and Howard were both very famous athletes who could reasonably believe their star power made NIL relatively unimportant. Moore and May are not, and neither has the kind of bulletproof track record Harbaugh had. Both will seek every advantage they can get.

[After the JUMP: Brian Kelly said what]

Michigan Hockey lost another impactful piece today, as defenseman Seamus Casey signed an Entry Level Contract with the New Jersey Devils: 

Best of luck Seamus Casey and thank you for all you've given to Michigan Hockey#GoBlue〽️ ➡️ #ProBlue pic.twitter.com/PI4qnQkc7F

— Michigan Hockey (@umichhockey) May 6, 2024

Casey was not featured in Peter's wrap-up exit piece a few weeks back, so I figured we ought to give him one here. Casey came to Michigan from the USNTDP, a native of South Florida born in Miami and raised in Fort Myers. He was drafted 46th overall in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft by the Devils, an intriguing mix of skill and skating ability with the drawback being his small frame and inconsistencies defensively. The scouting report that we were handed by the NHL Draft scouts that summer more or less came to fruition, as Casey was exactly that for the Wolverines. 

Over two seasons in the Maize & Blue, Casey was a consistently high scoring defenseman. As a freshman in 2022-23, he was second to fiddle to Luke Hughes when it came to ice time and power play opportunities, but Casey still found ways to rack up points, scoring eight goals and 29 points in 37 games. The breathtaking skill (hands especially) that is so rare for a defenseman was on display in the biggest stage that the team played on last season: 

After Hughes departed for the NHL, Casey returned for his sophomore season and inherited those increased responsibilities. As the point man on Michigan's historically great power play, Casey probably had the biggest hand of anybody not named Brandon Naurato when it came to getting the PP to exceptional levels. Casey was a wizard with his dekes, fakes, and edge-work at the blue line, a master at beating the high forward through his deception and general slipperiness, creating numbers advantages for Michigan down low, which they exploited countless times. At 5v5 he was also impactful, a puck-rushing defenseman who helped create offense at an exceptionally high level. He was reunited with USNTDP defense partner Tyler Duke, who had transferred in from Ohio State, and those two formed a solid pair for the Wolverines, one that was sometimes liable to having its lack of size and strong defensive ability exploited but they normally won their minutes. 

All in all, Casey scored 45 points in 40 games this past season earning All-B1G First Team and All-American honors. He was one of the highest scoring defenseman in the NCAA and helped get Michigan in position to make a second Frozen Four with him on the roster, even if he was unable to play in the decisive game against Michigan State due to injury. Signing with the Devils, Casey will likely start next season with the Utica Comets of the AHL. The New Jersey Devils had a deeply disappointing season and already have three right-shot defensemen on the roster when fully healthy (Dougie Hamilton, Šimon Nemec, and John Marino), not to mention two very young defenders (Nemec and Hughes). I doubt that promoting another offense-first defenseman under the age of 22 (who is also right handed) is the solution they are looking for to get the franchise back into the postseason. Thus he will probably simmer for some time in the AHL before a position on the NHL roster can open up. 

As for Michigan, it is an unfortunate blow, but not one they were necessarily ill-prepared for. The team is returning Ethan Edwards, Tyler Duke, and Jacob Truscott from last season's top five defensemen group and are adding in elite transfer Tim Lovell (Arizona State). That gives them a rock solid top four and then have the option to either add another transfer or rely on an expansive freshman class of defensemen to fill the other holes (Luca Fantilli is also still around). Among the incoming freshmen include puck-moving RHD (who could be a Casey replacement) Gennadi Chaly, big and defensive RHD Hunter Hady, solid USNTDP LHD Dakoda Rheaume-Mullen, and undersized USHL LHD Jack Willson. Casey will certainly leave a void in the team's offensive output but the combination of having a core group of established college players returning on defense and bringing in a deep and versatile freshman class means that Brandon Naurato shouldn't have too much trouble fielding a solid blue line in 2024-25. 

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