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CLICK HERE for Game Recap from Kristy McNeil and other pertinent information and HERE for current Pairwise Rankings.

What just happened (TL;DR): Michigan Hockey rocked the Stonehill Stones. They scored early and often and gave up plural power play goals. Not the best third period, but the first two were pretty good. In other words, it went just as expected.

FINAL CORSI NUMBERS (www.collegehockeynews.com)

Forward Notes.

-The most important note of the evening is that Rutger McGroarty and Mark Estapa dressed and did not appear to get hurt on Friday. That is the biggest news of the night for Michigan.

-Tanner Rowe scores his first collegiate goal for Michigan on a nice play off of a faceoff win by Kienan Draper. These games can be big for the Bottom Six to get organized and get confident. Chase Pletzke also scored for break his long goal-less streak. So did Kienan Draper. Unfortunately, the Assist Watch for Pletzke is still going.

-Gavin Brindley scored four goals. LOL.

-These games are tough for everyone. It’s hard to stay up and in a game when it’s 10-1 after the second period. However, learning how to do that might be the difference in bigger games down the stretch. They should have another chance tomorrow night.

Defense Notes.

-Ethan Edwards dressed for Michigan for the first time in a non-exhibition game this season. It was rumored to happening, but it was nice to see him back and on the ice.

-After a strong couple periods to start, the third period got a bit shaky…especially for a team that has had it’s issues in the third period closing games out. They allowed eleven shots, four from the House, in the first two periods. In the third: eight shots, seven from the slot. The game was completely out of hand and not in doubt, but at some point, this Finishing Games thing has got to be addressed.

Previously: Defensemen

Yesterday we kicked off our 2023-24 Michigan Hockey season preview, beginning with the defensemen (there are a lot of them). Today we move into incoming forwards, which there are fewer of than there have been the last few years, as well as goaltenders. Seven of the eight names in this piece are newcomers to the program, so let's give them a big welcome in today's Part 2: 

Incoming Forwards

Nick Moldenhauer 

Year: Freshman

Height/Weight: 5'10"/170

NHL Draft Position: 95th overall, 2022 NHL Draft, Toronto 

Stats: 30-45-75 in 50 games last season for the Chicago Steel (USHL) 

Michigan's most touted member of a comparatively disappointing recruiting class is Nick Moldenhauer, a player I am a pretty big fan of. Moldenhauer had borderline first round talent in his draft year but tumbled down the draft board due to a poor draft-eligible season, one that saw Moldenhauer contract a terrible illness and suffer a horrifying cut by a skate blade. If you want to read more about his journey, I recommend this piece at The Athletic ($) by Scott Wheeler. Both developments sidelined Moldenhauer for extended periods of time and damaged his draft stock. Last season was a return to full health and Moldenhauer was excellent. 

He scored 75 points in 50 games for the USHL's Chicago Steel, second on his team in points/PPG behind only Macklin Celebrini (Boston U), one of a few players vying for the first overall selection in the 2024 NHL Draft. In the league, Moldenhauer was third in total scoring and fifth in PPG, trailing only Celebrini and three USNTDP superstars. Because Moldenhauer is a May '04 birthday, last season was his age 18 season. For comparison, Mackie Samoskevich scored just 0.97 points-per-game in his age 18 season. 

It's not a perfect comparison but I bring Samoskevich up because I think there are some similarities as two sub-6 foot, slimmer wingers who both came from the Chicago Steel. The skillsets also have some similarities. This is from EPRinkside's draft guide before the 2022 NHL Draft: 

Moldenhauer’s skills are readily apparent. He’s a dexterous handler, especially in tight spaces. Backhand, forehand, and slip passes feature regularly, even in-motion and under pressure. And the shot’s just as impressive, with the lower-body flexion and hand placement to generate significant force, and the elevated elbow and craftiness to change the angle inside his release.

Puck-handling, shooting (not Samoskevich level, though), and passing are all elements of Moldenhauer's game that should be assets in the NCAA right away, but surprisingly for an undersized winger, Moldenhauer's physical game drew praise. His ability to power through contact were praised by scouts and "high energy", "compete level", and "work ethic" are all phrases tossed around as well. The transition game and skating ability aren't quite there yet, so that is something to watch in terms of his development at Michigan.

No one really thinks that Moldenhauer has an individual elite NHL skill or describes him as dynamic, but a well-rounded player who works hard, brings passion, skill, and shooting ability, and was a high level player in the USHL should translate quickly into the NCAA. A cross between Samoskevich and Gavin Brindley may be the best comparison for Moldenhauer and that is a very enticing description. 

Season Expectations: I see Moldenhauer comfortably sliding into Michigan's top six alongside Dylan Duke, Frank Nazar, Gavin Brindley, Rutger McGroarty, and TJ Hughes, and he should be productive. 10+ goals and 15+ points feels like a reasonable expectation for Moldenhauer, assuming he gets sizable usage. Not a star right away, but an impactful NCAA player who hopefully will look more and more like a draft steal for his hometown Maple Leafs. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: Less touted freshmen and goalies]

It's been a few years since Brian did the Let's Start Again series for basketball. Maybe it will make a comeback, maybe it won't... who knows if we will ever even have a roster. But we do have a roster for hockey! 

Some six weeks have passed since Michigan Hockey's 2022-23 season came to a close and about as long since I last wrote about hockey. In that time there has been some developments with the roster, players entering and exiting the transfer portal and professional signings. On top of that, we've started to get some clarity on Michigan's recruiting class and while one massive decision continues to loom on that front, there is beginning to be a coherent picture of what the 2023-24 roster may look like. 

Today we'll go through the forward group and how it's shaping up at this time before we embark on the summer. Defense/goaltending and a quick note on the coaching staff will be later this week: 

Forward 

Exit: Nolan Moyle, Mackie Samoskevich, Eric Ciccolini, Nick Granowicz 

Additions: Chase Pletzke, Garrett Schifsky, Nick Moldenhauer, Tanner Rowe 

Maybe: Adam Fantilli, Mikey Burchill

Doubtful: Brian Nicholas 

The low down: So much of this positional group hinges on what is happening with Adam Fantilli, so let's talk about that first. Fantilli is highly likely to be selected 2nd overall in the upcoming NHL Draft in late June. His competition at the start of the year was Russia's Matvei Michkov, but a choppy year and concerns over Michkov's contract in the KHL + military concerns with the Russian war in Ukraine has caused Michkov to slide down the board some. Swedish center Leo Carlsson is probably the top competition for Fantilli now behind Connor Bedard, but Fantilli has the wide edge among most prognosticators.

The NHL Draft Lottery was held a couple weeks back and besides the usual screwing of the Detroit Red Wings, the endeavor revealed that the team most likely to nab Fantilli is the Anaheim Ducks, who won the 2nd pick. Anaheim is a better outcome for us Michigan fans than say, Columbus or Vancouver moving up, teams that are trying to make a more immediate push. The Ducks are mired in a years-long rebuild that has struggled to get off the ground and this past season the Ducks finished with the NHL's worst record.

[David Wilcomes]

Anaheim has intriguing young players like Trevor Zegras, Mason McTavish, and Jamie Drysdale, but needs a lot of help. Fantilli will provide that help but it's mighty hard to see them anywhere approaching the playoffs next season after ending this year with 58 points and an abhorrent -129 goal differential(!!!). When your team posts the worst goal differential in a season played entirely in the 21st century, that's generally a sign you're not close to competing. The Ducks were fine with McTavish going back to the OHL in his D+1 year, so there isn't much precedent or competitive reason to aggressively make Fantilli come to the NHL. 

Before the draft lottery, Fantilli told NHL.com that he was completely undecided about whether to come back to Michigan. Connor Earegood of The Michigan Daily reported that Fantilli might return to Michigan, something that Adam Woodon of College Hockey News said he was hearing about Logan Cooley of Minnesota as well. Cooley has indeed opted to return to the Gophers, although that was evidently influenced by the ongoing Arizona Coyotes arena saga. That doesn't apply to Fantilli, but there are also reasons for him not to go straight to the Ducks, such as "looking at the stat page of the 2022-23 Ducks" or "the experience of watching one 2022-23 Ducks game". At the very least he's thinking about it. Adam, the NHL can wait another year. Let the Ducks sign some more defenseman before you leave us!!!

[AFTER THE JUMP: the rest of the returners and the n00bs]