andrew copp

It's been a couple years since I last wrote a "Wolverines in the NHL" update. David and I have done a segment during the season on the HockeyCast devoted to it the last couple years, but a written piece can have a wider reach and can also be more expansive. Also, since the NHL regular season recently ended, I figured this was a proper time to do it, rather than in the middle of the season like our podcast segment. With the recent explosion of Michigan players heading to professional hockey, this year's update is longer than ever, so it's being broken into two pieces. Today is Part 1, where we'll cover the established NHLers, the studs, complementary players, and role players. Tomorrow will be updates on the younger NHLers, recent retirees, and all the alumni who have fallen short of the NHL but are still playing pro hockey somewhere in the world: 

The Studs

These are the players who are considered high end, All-Star caliber. They are one of the three or so best players on their given teams and are getting paid premium money in the NHL:

Quinn Hughes, D, Vancouver Canucks: Already the best defenseman from the University of Michigan to ever play in the NHL, Hughes is likely to set a new milestone (when the awards are announced in June), becoming the first Michigan alumni to ever win the Norris Trophy for the NHL's best defenseman. Michigan State (Duncan Keith), Harvard (Adam Fox), UMass (Cale Makar), Bowling Green (Rob Blake), Boston College (Brian Leetch), and Wisconsin (Chris Chelios) have all produced a Norris winner... it's about time that Michigan got one. Hughes is likely to do it, the capstone of a marvelous season that saw him score 17 goals and 75 assists for 92 points, leading the NHL in the latter two categories for defensemen (he was tied for 6th with 17 goals by a D). 

Hughes became one of 12 defensemen in NHL history to ever score 90+ points in a season, which is what will likely cement his Norris case. Hughes is the engine for everything that the resurgent Vancouver Canucks do, helping the team win their division for the first time in nearly a decade. He's a dynamic offensive force and a puck possession monster who drives play over all 200 feet, which allowed the Canucks to outscore opponents 92-55 with Hughes on ice at 5v5 this regular season(!!). A brilliant passer who has evolved significantly as a shooter and defender during his NHL career, Hughes is a no doubt top five defenseman in the NHL during his age 24 season. 

Dylan Larkin, C, Detroit Red Wings: Few players in the NHL may be as linked to their team's wins and losses as Dylan Larkin is to the Red Wings. Anyone who followed Detroit's season knows that, a team that seemed to be headed to the postseason before an injury to Larkin in March submarined their season. The team looked almost unrecognizable without Larkin and it's not surprising why that's the case. The Red Wings captain potted 33 goals this season, the best goals-per-game mark of his career (coming in just 68 games). He also finished above 1.00 points-per-game this season for the first time in his career, probably reaching his apex at 27 and that's fine. Larkin's a very good NHL player, an important leader off the ice and a speedy playdriver with good offensive talent on the ice, playing a premium position with legit finishing talent. Though perhaps not a superstar of the Quinn Hughes variety, there are no teams in the NHL that would turn down the opportunity to put Larkin on their roster. 

[Bill Rapai]

Zach Hyman, LW, Edmonton Oilers: I listed Hyman as a complementary piece the last time I did this article, which is still probably true in the abstract (in the sense that he complements his team's superstars), but when you score 54 goals, you have to go in the stud category. That's what Hyman did this season, blowing by his career high goal total by a full 18 goals en route to a staggering total that ranked 3rd in the NHL The three seasons since Hyman signed in Edmonton has seen his goal total increase in linear fashion, from 27 to 36 to 54, this season being the apex of the 31-year-old's career. Hyman is simply the perfect fit to play alongside the NHL's best offensive player, Connor McDavid. He posts up around the net and gets fed the puck, shots in tight, tips, deflections. Very few of Hyman's 54 goals have come outside of ~5 feet from the crease, with 15 of his goals coming on Edmonton's devastating power play. It may be true that Hyman wouldn't score that many goals on a team sans McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, but the skill and hockey talent of Hyman is now undeniable. He's a really good NHL forward. 

Kyle Connor, LW, Winnipeg Jets: Two years ago when I wrote this piece Connor was coming off of a season akin to what Hyman has done this season, scoring 47 goals for the Winnipeg Jets. His two seasons in the meantime have fallen short of that mark but Connor remains a high level NHL goalscorer. Connor has now played seven real NHL seasons and has scored 30 goals or at a 30+ goal pace (in the case of the 56 game COVID shortened season) in all seven of them. He remains a pretty nonexistent defensive player, instead a one-dimensional rush scorer but when you average ~38 goals per 82 games over a seven season period, it doesn't much matter what else you do. You're a legit stud. 

Zach Werenski, D, Columbus Blue Jackets: Not a ton has changed for Werenski since the last time we updated this article. He remains a very good offensive defenseman, scoring 57 points this season (ranking 12th in the NHL by a defender) in 70 games. This was the most games that Werenski has played in a season since 2018-19, as injuries continue to minorly hamper him, but his play remains pretty consistent. Werenski plays on a bad team, puts up a good number of points, generally wins his minutes, and collects a huge paycheck (still earning $9.5 M annually, near the top in the league). Werenski's not an elite defenseman, but he's a good top pairing puck mover. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: more players]

[Bryan Fuller]

The extra slot. Max Bielfeldt could return next year if Michigan was so inclined. It does not sound like they are rushing to make this happen, though. Bielfeldt:

"I don't even know," the 6-foot-8, 240-pound forward said. "I've just been looking to see what else is out there. If this (situation did come up), I knew I'd have to take it for what it is. If I end up making a decision here in the next week or so and nothing pops up Michigan-wise, then I'll move on.

"(I haven't talked with Beilein about it) since the scholarship opened up."

It might be hard to kiss and make up here with Bielfeldt fielding serious interest from multiple Big 12 schools.

Harbaugh profilin'. Bruce Feldman on the man in khaki:

Most coaches will say they are much better at their jobs than they were a decade ago thanks to experience, but Harbaugh isn't most coaches. "I don't know that I am (a better coach)," he said. "Even though you've proved something before, that's the very nature of football playing or coaching. You could have proved something 1,000 times before. You could prove it again, but now that's all that matters.

"It's irrelevant no matter how many times you prove something. This is the only time that matters."

Well worth a read.

That this is a hard decision is a bad thing. Dylan Larkin is playing at the World Championships for the USA, an impressive accomplishment for any college player. He is still considering signing with the Wings. That would be far from unprecedented, except for the fact that his pro team doesn't seem to be pressing for it at all:

Should Larkin sign with Detroit, he would most likely spend the season in the AHL with Grand Rapids, a team that has consistently been successful recently under the stewardship of coach Jeff Blashill. …

From what I’ve been told, the Red Wings would be happy with Larkin’s decision either way. If he returns to Michigan, he gets to play that big role on a young team (the team had a dearth of juniors this season, so there will only be a handful of seniors next year) and he can learn from mistakes now rather than in a couple years when he’s in the NHL.

If Larkin signs when the Wings are saying "you will play in the AHL"—something they no doubt mean given the guys they've left in Grand Rapids well after they've ripened—that is a devastating commentary on the current state of the program.

Unfortunately, I don't think I would be at all surprised by that. Mike Spath is without question the most plugged-in hockey reporter Michigan has, and when Andrew Copp left he talked to various people in the program and came back with this:

A motivation for Andrew Copp to leave? Apparently his dad didn't like that Copp wasn't the leading scorer the past two seasons and blamed this on Michigan's failure to develop him to be the first-line center he was destined to be.

This is what society has become. Every parent thinks their kid is the next Crosby. Winnipeg apparently told the family he could one day lead their team in points. I like Andrew a lot but that is a crock.

There is only one person who would say this to Spath: Red Berenson. Spath probably should have kept that one under his hat, because it drew a response from Copp's father in which he made it clear that assertions about his character were way off base. A small portion:

Michael it is disappointing that as you have gotten to know Andrew over the last 3 years you should have a gut feeling about how he is as a person. Much has been made about it in the press and by the coaches over the years. Andrew is a very mature young man with character, conviction, and morals. I can tell you that Andrew made the decision to leave completely on his own. We do not parent like micro-managers, we have always raised our two boys to be independent and we support the decisions that they do make. Andrew consulted with our family during the process but never once asked our opinion on what he should do with his life nor did we give it, that is HIS decision. To be honest I don’t know what I would have said, I would have loved to see him play his senior year, see him a couple times a week and every Sunday for family dinner. As a parent you hope you provide your kids with the life skills to make difficult decisions and I am proud of how Andrew has navigated this process.

Red has always been lovably cantankerous about his players leaving before their time. This goes several steps beyond that. Copp was not mentioned at the post-season banquet. When bitterness gets that prominent it starts to seem like a reason for the team's recent underperformance.

Red is going to be back next year, and then he is likely to retire. I'm not particularly optimistic about that final year. That Copp would leave probably doesn't say much about Copp.

For Larkin's part, here's Larkin:

"Not 100 percent," Larkin told The Windsor Star when asked if he's made a decision. "I'm still in between and weighing the options. I wanted to wait until after the tournament to make a decision.

"I'll probably take some time. I mean, I'm not in a rush. The seasons are over. There's really no rush. I really feel like there's not a wrong choice or a bad option. Either way I'm still going to be playing hockey and doing what I love.

"We'll see what's best for me."

I have a bad feel. NCAA muckety-mucks are complaining about the graduate transfer rule, because obviously. They do not have great reasons to do so:

"I don't think it fits the core values of intercollegiate athletics," said Sun Belt Conference commissioner Karl Benson.

When asked for specifics on the conflict with core values, Benson said, "It just doesn't feel right."

The core values of intercollegiate athletics are what exactly? If it's about getting an education, these players have already acquired bachelors' degrees. If it's about a level playing field, that ship sailed, sunk, and turned into barnacles a long time ago. If it's about catering to coaches' whims… we should probably have more timeouts in basketball.

Pat Forde says that if the NCAA is actually concerned about their core values they'd look at the scourge of recruits reclassifying. It's not clear that such a thing is at all common—most kids who reclassify are in fact forgoing a prep year, not accelerating. And the ones who do always have the option of, like, not doing so. It's hard to see what the harm is there. Forde's attempt to conjure one is unconvincing:

A senior year of high school is among the priceless commodities in life. I hope giving that away in part because some coach needs you now is a good decision for Thornton. It certainly seems to be one more example of the coach controlling the athlete more than vice versa.

High school is nice and all but if you told me I could go to prom or start at point guard for Duke I think I might take the latter. Thornton could still pick any school he wants as a class of 2016 player; that Duke presented him with an option he found attractive is not a problem.

Then there are the academic questions. By all accounts, Thornton is a bright young man and he may have been planning his class load with this accelerated graduation in mind. But will he be ready – early – for the classroom challenge at Duke? It's not exactly like going to UNLV.

It is. It is exactly like going to UNLV because every school has easy classes for people not interested in requirement X. I was in some at Michigan. Forde probably doesn't know that college hockey was well ahead of the curve here, with three top-ten NHL picks (Zach Werenski, Noah Hanifin, and Hobey winner Jack Eichel) arriving after accelerating their studies. It seems likely that both Werenski and Hanifin will be back at their respective schools next year, which they could only do if they were coping academically.

Increased flexibility for players is generally a good thing. Let them accelerate cake and graduate transfer cake.

Don't mind if I schadenfreude, thanks. EDSBS's ERASE THIS GAME series strikes upon the USF-Notre Dame game that caused Brian Kelly to turn into Yosemite Sam. Notre Dame's next game was this one:

If you could get in the college football hall of fame for making fanbases other than your own happy, Rees would be a holy lock.

Now when is #M00N happening EDSBS? For pants' sake.

Scouting centers. Brendan Quinn on Austin Davis and Jon Teske:

Davis: While quiet in-person, he's not shy on the floor.

Davis is aggressive with the ball, while remaining steady and methodical, refusing to rush. He knows how to work offensively on the low blocks, utilizing good hands and a soft touch. Most importantly, Davis looks to score the ball. Points to just come to him -- he shows himself well on post-ups and gets his own points.

Teske: The shot-blocking ability is abundantly apparent. Teske is a natural with instinctual patience and timing. He's does well to go up and block shots in the air instead of lunging to get shots at the point of release. That defensive prowess translates to his movements and awareness on that end of the floor. Teske seems to anticipate without guessing, and looks to make defensive plays without leaving himself susceptible to mistakes.

Interesting that MLive is getting more into the scouting/video stuff for recruits. Davis got a bump to four stars on 247, BTW. It looks like there is going to be a severe difference of opinion between the sites on him. Brian Snow has made it clear that Scout is not going to follow suit.

Etc.: Tyus Battle will visit officially tomorrow; Duke has taken a big lead in the Crystal Ball, and this one doesn't seem like guesswork. Remember when a playoff was going to kill the bowls? Speaking of coach catering. On 2016 combo guard Bruce Brown.

[Paul Sherman]

Oh, Michigan Hockey Summer, can't you let us get to actual summer first? No? You're a jerk, MHS. Junior captain Andrew Copp is out the door:

Andrew Copp has long called Ann Arbor home, but he's on the move.

The University of Michigan junior announced Thursday he will forgo his senior ice hockey season to purse a career with the Winnipeg Jets of the NHL. Copp signed a three-year, two-way, entry-level contract with the the team that drafted him 104th overall in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

That is (or at least would have been had Mike Spath not been on top of the story) a shocking departure.

It's hard to not see it as a ringing condemnation of the team's prospects next year. Copp was on path to be a two-year captain, was only a fifth round pick, and could have taken the Hyman route. Hyman will either sign with the Panthers for max rookie money or wait 30 days and do so with another NHL team that he thinks he can play for immediately. Instead Copp is locked in with Winnipeg despite having dim prospects to actually be in the NHL next year. And he leaves without having ever played in the NCAA tournament.

That is grim. Michigan can replace Copp's production adequately since they have a ton of forward depth, but the implication of his departure underscores the things that have gone wrong with the program these three years.

Spath also projects that Dylan Larkin is on the fence, BTW. If he goes after a single year enthusiasm for next hockey season will be at lows last seen before Berenson's arrival.