Previously: Freshmen forwards, returning forwards, season preview HockeyCast 

This is the third and final position preview of our Michigan Hockey season preview. After covering the forwards, both returners and newbies, today we pivot to the defense and the goalies in one large and comprehensive piece. Part III of the season preview series begins. 

 

Luke Hughes

Year: Sophomore 

Height/Weight: 6'2"/190 

NHL Draft Position: 4th overall, 2022 NHL Draft, New Jersey

Stats: 17-22-39 in 41 games last season 

Why not start with the star? Luke Hughes was a dazzling freshman last season, not just meeting the lofty expectations bestowed by his draft position but exceeding them. The USNTDP product and the youngest Hughes brother had an even better freshman year than his brother Quinn did at Michigan, which is saying something. Luke scored a staggering 17 goals as a defenseman, writing his name into the Michigan Hockey record book with that total. Even crazier, just 3 of those 17 goals came on the PP! That lack of PP1 assignments, thanks to Owen Power's presence on the team, hampered Hughes' point totals some, yet he still piled up 22 assists to score just shy of a point-per-game. Hughes finished third on the team in points and in choosing to return to school, Hughes made himself the top dog for this 2022-23 Michigan squad. 

Unlike some freshmen, Hughes was a stud right from the jump. Just two months into the season, your author was calling Hughes "Michigan's most electric player". He had points in his first six NCAA games and maintained his blazing pace as the year went along. When Power departed with the Olympians and Hughes was elevated to the true #1 role offensively, Luke went crazy, posting 6-3-9 in four games. One of those goals was this one:  

Your author has watched many Michigan Hockey games at Yost Ice Arena, but the Hughes ThunderGoal against OSU remains the most "Yowza!!!!" moment he's ever seen. That's the sort of player Luke Hughes is. He's a gorgeous skater like his siblings, but he's faster in a straight line than Quinn, more capable of the flash-of-lightning type play like the one clipped above. His skating ability drives the package, but a good shot, stellar offensive instincts, and plus vision make him the best offensive defenseman in college hockey, and also the best offensive defenseman prospect not playing in the NHL in your author's opinion. Plays like this happen often with Hughes out there: 

Jimmy Lambert wins the draw back to Luke Hughes and buries it to make it 2-0 Michigan pic.twitter.com/CbxkoFJ5Qd

— Michigan Hockey (@umichhockey) March 27, 2022

Hughes drives transitional play while on the ice, performing his duties as a zone exit/zone entry machine. He attacks off the rush but is also a major weapon activating in the cycle game once in the offensive zone. All this of course means that Hughes is an offensively dominant player, but one who is going to be vacating defensively responsibilities often, as is the case for all puck rushers.

Defensively, there are some warts to his game, both from him leaving his post but also in-zone. Working on the defensive side of the game is presumably why Luke is back at Michigan. At 6'2", he has a chance to be a better defensive defenseman than Quinn ever was, but it will take hard work and attention to detail from Luke, especially positionally. Whether that part of the game comes along is what to watch this season, because you know he's going to light up the scoreboard. 

Season Expectations: This is Luke's season to make a run for the Hobey Baker. Michigan has not won the Hobey since Kevin Porter in 2008 (because the 2016 voters deserve time in a maximum security prison) and Luke Hughes appears to be the best shot since then to win one for the Wolverines. I suspect that his goal totals will decline some, because he maintained an extremely high S% for a defenseman which seems likely to revert to a lower mean, but the expanded role Hughes has on the PP will pad his assist totals no doubt. He should match his points-per-game total from last season at least, and perhaps exceed it. How much higher it can climb, and Michigan's team success, will determine his Hobey case, but this is a player who is the headliner for the team no matter what defender he's paired with. #1 defenseman, top pair, PP1, all the assignments. Superstar. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: Other players who are not likely Hobey candidates]

 

[James Coller]

Jacob Truscott

Year: Junior 

Height/Weight: 6'1"/178

NHL Draft Position: 144th overall, 2020 NHL Draft, Vancouver

Stats: 2-15-17 in 40 games last season 

Truscott was part of the vaunted 2020 Michigan Hockey recruiting class, an in-stater who made it to Michigan by way of the USNTDP. He was a mid-to-late-round draft pick by the Vancouver Canucks and as a freshman at Michigan, on a team with the established Keaton Pehrson, Cam York, and Nick Blankenburg ahead of him, and arriving in a recruiting class that included Owen Power, the only available role for Truscott was on the third pair. He got no PP time and had little opportunity to flash on offense, playing a bit with Jack Summers and a bit with Jay Keranen in sheltered minutes. There wasn't much to say about Truscott that season, other than he had his lumps, getting reamed by internet scouts from time to time on defensive positioning, errors you wanted to see him clean up. 

As a sophomore, he cleaned those up pretty well. Truscott played with Luke Hughes, being the defensive conscience of that pair, and performed the role admirably. His offensive point totals climbed significantly due to he was playing with, though Truscott continued to not see any PP time to speak of. Truscott was calm at making the first pass out of the zone and generally sound in his defensive fundamentals. A rather ho-hum profile yes, but what you want out of a guy in his shoes (or skates!). Offensively, Truscott isn't good for much more than the breakout pass, rarely joining the rush, but he does have a very heavy shot. During the COVID season he was memorable for the echoes that his shot made through the empty Yost Ice Arena, and that cannon of a shot could mean he sees a bit of PP time this season. 

Season Expectations: In the exhibition, Truscott was skating with Seamus Casey and that pairing makes a lot of sense. Truscott is a LHD and he managed to play in a lefty/lefty pair with Luke Hughes last season, but Casey, an offensively minded youngster, is a RHD, allowing Michigan to match those two up perfectly. Truscott can help cover for any defensive issues that Casey displays, while being a steady, veteran presence who has had a few spins around the B1G. Expect Truscott to be in the lineup nightly in a similar role to last season, trying to prove that he's ready for the pros once the season concludes. 

 

Ethan Edwards

Year: Sophomore 

Height/Weight: 5-11/190

NHL Draft Position: 120th overall, 2020 NHL Draft, New Jersey 

Stats: 3-8-11 in 36 games last season for Michigan 

I said in the forward preview that Mackie Samoskevich was one of the returning players I was most excited about this season. Outside of the obvious Luke Hughes answer, Ethan Edwards would be my pick on defense. The small and mobile puck-moving defenseman arrived at Michigan by way of the AJHL, not a talent reservoir that Michigan taps into all that often. He was drafted in the mid-rounds of the 2020 NHL Draft, took a year after his draft eligible season to sharpen up, and then matriculated to UofM in the fall of last year. 

Edwards' talent level was undeniable from the jump and despite a deep defensive room, Michigan had to put him in the lineup. Edwards would play one of two games per weekend early in the season, not shouldering much time or doing a whole lot while out there, but due to a sequence of injuries and roster decisions, he solidified a spot in the everyday lineup by the time B1G season really got going. 

Like Samoskevich, it took a bit of time for Edwards to find his footing. Through the first 20 games of his NCAA career, Edwards scored had just three career points and only one goal. In the final 16 games of the season, Edwards would post a 2-6-8 line. It was during late January into early February that #73 began to blossom. In a pivotal series against Minnesota, Edwards helped turn the tide with this excellent assist, teeing up Brendan Brisson: 

Knock, Knock. Who's there? Brendan Brisson pic.twitter.com/3kC4Rbr9ww

— Michigan Hockey (@umichhockey) January 23, 2022

A week later, he did this: 

What a solo effort by Ethan Edwards! pic.twitter.com/Ub4xArJppy

— Michigan Hockey (@umichhockey) January 30, 2022

Those clips are a small snippet of what Edwards can do. He's a fine skater and a good transitional defenseman, one who can push play up the ice and transport the puck at a high-end level in the NCAA. Once in the offensive zone, he has a good bit of forward-like offensive skill, able to snipe and pass with the puck on his stick. Edwards is also rather feisty for a player his size, willing to lay out the body, even if he will take a lot of the punishment.

Defensively Edwards was up-and-down, mostly fine but had some moments of calamity in the NCAA Tournament, notably against Quinnipiac. He needs to be a little bit smarter about his body positioning and knowing the limits of what happens when he goes up against a bruiser. Overthinking the first pass out of the zone also occasionally popped up last season, but not too often. If Edwards grows to be a bit smarter positionally to avoid contact and thus defensive zone turnovers, and plays with a sensible stay-at-home defenseman to complement his puck-rushing ways, there is an All-B1G caliber player here in year #2. 

Season Expectations: Edwards didn't play in the exhibition but pairing him with Steve Holtz, a big RHD to be the yin to Edwards' small LHD yang, makes a ton of sense. I would expect that pair to play a lot at 5v5 and Edwards will likely have a role on the PP given his nose for offense. It could be a bit crowded at the points between Hughes, Edwards, and Casey, but it's hard for me to see Naurato not giving Edwards a crack with the man advantage. In that role, I'd expect an uptick in Edwards' overall point totals, something mirroring what he did in the tail end of last season (0.50 PPG) and raising his profile across the national college hockey landscape. 

 

[Bill Rapai]

Steve Holtz 

Year: Junior 

Height/Weight: 6-4/200 

NHL Draft Position: N/A

Stats: 0-5-5 in 11 games last season for Michigan 

Steve Holtz was the most anonymous recruit in the 2020 Michigan Hockey recruiting class that saw the Wolverines add three future top five NHL Draft picks. A local kid notable for his large frame and not much else, Holtz played in the BCHL and USHL before joining Michigan in the fall of 2020. He didn't appear in a game his freshman season and as a triple overager without impressive recruiting credentials, I had little to say about Holtz in last year's season preview. I grouped him in a section with Jake Gingell and deemed those two unlikely to ever play in 2021-22. How wrong I was! 

It didn't take long for Holtz to circulate his name last season, drawing into the lineup in early November as Mel Pearson looked to shake his defensive configurations up. Holtz's first games were the series against Michigan State in early November and he was a regular in Michigan's lineup through that month. He didn't score a goal, but Holtz picked up five assists, looking more comfortable with the puck than expected and adding the size component that was often lacking from Michigan's blue line last season. Though I was skeptical of Holtz at first, and preferred Keaton Pehrson in his place (still the case), I grew to value Holtz's presence once he exited the lineup. 

That exit happened in early December, as Holtz sustained an injury against Ohio State. He returned to play one game in January against UMass but ultimately was not ready for a full return and subsequently shut it down. He would miss the remainder of the season and watched as Michigan Hockey made their Frozen Four run in March. That was when I started to come around to the idea that Holtz was a more useful player than I had thought. Michigan had trouble physically in their own zone against Quinnipiac in particular, with lighter defensemen getting bullied in the corners and around the net. Holtz's booming presence could've counteracted that. Now with a less cluttered defensive depth chart in front of him and fully healthy, Steve Holtz has a clear path to regular playing time in year #3. 

Season Expectations: It's hard to make a projection on Holtz because we're operating on 11 games over the course of two seasons to draw from. Holtz played with Luca Fantilli in the opener, a spot presumably held open for Ethan Edwards, who missed the game. As stated in the Edwards section, that tandem makes a lot of sense to me. We also saw Holtz play a little bit on the PP in the exhibition, something I don't expect to last, but perhaps his shot is big enough, given his size, that it's a weapon Brandon Naurato wants to use on the man advantage. Regardless, I expect Holtz to be an everyday player in the lineup, play a decent bit on the PK and plenty on 5v5. Point totals will probably be modest, but we will learn more about him this season. 

 

Keaton Pehrson 

Year: Senior

Height/Weight: 6'2"/205 

NHL Draft Position: N/A

Stats: 0-4-4 in 27 games last season for Michigan 

Keaton Pehrson is Michigan's most extreme stay-at-home defenseman, limited in his ability to handle the puck but excellent in his ability to find himself in the right position to shut off an opponent's offensive sequence. Through three seasons at Michigan, the veteran Pehrson has 17 career points in 88 games, with just one goal. No, he will not play offense, even if you desperately want him to. And most of the time that's perfectly fine. 

Pehrson came to Michigan out of Lakeville, Minnesota by way of the Tri-City Storm in the USHL. He was a more offensively-minded player in that league, close to a half-point-per-game in his last year in the USHL but since coming to Michigan, Pehrson has been a pure defensive specialist. He jumped into the lineup right away as a freshman, playing in 35 of 36 games that season and doing a decent job on what was a fine defensive team. As a sophomore, Pehrson continued to be a regular, playing on the third pair with Jack Summers, as well as with Owen Power from time to time up on the top pair, appearing in all 26 of Michigan's games.

Last season Pehrson had a bit more choppy of a campaign. With a rather crowded defensive room, Pehrson was only playing occasionally in October before being pushed out of the lineup almost entirely by Steve Holtz in November. He returned for the second half of the season after the Holtz injury and reclaimed a spot in the lineup, playing with a variety of partners, including Owen Power (when Edwards played with Blankenburg). Pehrson played in the key postseason games, including all the NCAA Tournament ones, and got to appear in his first Frozen Four. Though 2021-22 represented the first season where Pehrson didn't play nearly every game, I also felt it was his best season as a Wolverine. 

Earlier in his career I voiced significant concerns about Pehrson's ability to play the puck and break it out of the zone, but those issues were smoothed over last season. He was always calm and steady and the most defensively solid Michigan defender in your author's opinion. Pehrson's the guy you can bet on to be in the right spot, block a shot or use his stick to break up a play, and increasingly, make a first pass. It's still not a strength of his game, and Pehrson will never make a Ray Bourque stretch pass dagger, but he seemed more comfortable after he picked up a turnover, and less like a deer in the headlights. That sort of player has a lot of value on a blue line that has several defensemen who are more offensively minded and skilled. Especially when he plays on the right side and offers a touch of size. 

Season Expectations: Pehrson played in the exhibition with Jay Keranen, a spot presumably being held open for Luke Hughes. With Truscott-Hughes possibly being broken up so Truscott can play with Casey, Hughes-Pehrson make a lot of sense as a pair. Pehrson's style perfectly contrasts and complements Hughes' flash-and-dash. You never have to worry that Pehrson will be caught up ice when Hughes wants to move up on the play. If he's not with Hughes, Edwards makes sense as a partner as well. Regardless, I expect Pehrson will play on the PK some and soak up minutes at 5v5 while being a regular in the lineup for his senior season, a senior year in which he gets to wear the "A" for the Wolverines. 

 

[Bill Rapai]

Seamus Casey 

Year: Freshman 

Height/Weight: 5'10"/178

NHL Draft Position: 46th overall, 2022 Draft, New Jersey

Stats: -----

Michigan Hockey under Mel Pearson, and the New Jersey Devils for that matter, have a "type" when it comes to defensemen. They like good skaters who are proficient at handling the puck, eager to involve themselves in the rush offense and activate in the offensive zone. They like skilled defensemen and do not care much about size when it comes to their blue chippers. If you read that summary and could imagine a hypothetical defenseman to fit that mold to a tee, the player you're thinking of is probably Seamus Casey. 

The freshman defenseman from the USNTDP was picked in the second round by the Devils, the third of three Michigan defensemen to be drafted by that team. Casey is an extremely similar player to Luke Hughes and Ethan Edwards in the ways I mentioned above. He can skate pretty well for a defenseman, making him a superb transition defender like Hughes and Edwards. Casey's hands are excellent, maybe the best for a defenseman in the 2022 NHL Draft class. He showed some of this in the exhibition: 

What a beauty from Seamus Casey!@NJDevils #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/okGMavv4Vg

— Michigan Hockey (@umichhockey) October 2, 2022

Casey's hands allow him to manipulate defenders and open passing lanes. Some scouts opine that he does not use those lanes as effectively as he could, and perhaps that is something that Casey can improve at Michigan. He's also undersized at only 5'10", 178 lbs., but Michigan has shown they don't care as much about that. With a bigger defenseman next to him, that can be mitigated. Casey is also a RHD, which helps Michigan balance the handedness of its pairs and his defensive fundamentals are not as maligned as someone like a Quinn Hughes, though they may need some work. Here's some more tape on Casey: 

I'd think Casey is going to be a multi-year player at Michigan and a pretty good one at that. 

Season Expectations: As a freshman, I see Casey being a Rich Man's Ethan Edwards. Edwards put up 11 points last season, and I think Casey will put up more by virtue of being more NCAA ready (USNTDP vs. AJHL background) and I assume he'll have a role on the PP, which Edwards largely didn't last year. But that's the sort of player we're talking about as a base line. Casey was playing with Truscott in the exhibition and I think that will help him out, a veteran, defense-first player next to Casey. It will allow him to move up ice more and take his chances offensively, which is where Casey is best. He will drive transition play, score some points, make a few "wowza!" plays, have his defensive "ooof" moments, and ultimately make us excited about his future. 

 

Luca Fantilli

Year: Freshman

Height/Weight: 6'0"/183

NHL Draft Position: N/A

Stats: ----

We now enter the "freshmen depth defensemen" part of the preview, and with limited scouting out there, the write ups on the next three guys will be pretty short and I will drop in the quote from the program press release on each. First up is Luca Fantilli, Adam's older brother. Luca also played with the Chicago Steel of the USHL last season, scoring 24 points in 60 games, a modest total for a defenseman in that league, showing perhaps a little bit of offensive juice but nothing to indicate he will be an offensive defenseman at the NCAA level. Unlike Adam, Luca is not on NHL radars, going undrafted in the past two NHL Drafts. He's only a single overager, so not crazy old, but again, upside is likely limited. Here's what the program (Bill Muckalt) has to say: 

Luca has really come into his own this season. As captain of Chicago, he has matured and learned to take on a leadership role. He skates well and fits our style as a mobile puck-moving defenseman with good edges

Season Expectations: Fantilli did play in the exhibition game last weekend, but with both Luke Hughes and Ethan Edwards out of the lineup, he is a guy who is likely to be bumped out of the mix. Fantilli may draw in from time to time but as a LHD, he is fighting an uphill battle to get playing time relative to the other two freshmen depth defensemen, whose handedness may give them more opportunities. Expect a few games played, but a lot of time as a healthy scratch. Check in on Luca in a few years. 

 

Our only photo of Druskinis from the exhibition [Bill Rapai]

Johnny Druskinis

Year: Freshman 

Height/Weight: 6'1"/185

NHL Draft Position: N/A

Stats: ----

Druskinis is a double overager and an in-state kid who first played HS hockey with Hartland before moving on to play in other leagues. Druskinis played last season in the USHL with Tri-City, a regular in the Storm lineup, playing 53 games and scoring 8 points in those games. More interestingly, he racked up 159 penalty minutes! That total put Druskinis third in the USHL in PIM for the 2021-22 season and makes him a pretty interesting profile. At 6'1" and a right shot defenseman, Druskinis seems to have a similar profile to that of Steve Holtz, also a bigger RHD with an irascible/physical playing style. Their offensive USHL production is similar as well. Given that Michigan tends to opt for smaller and lighter defensemen who can skate well but aren't big hitters, I like the idea of taking a Holtz or a Druskinis each year to provide a contrast. Here's what the program (Muckalt) has to say: 

John has a defense-first mentality. He moves the puck well and is a hard-nose defenseman. He has made tremendous strides over the past couple of seasons, and we're excited to welcome his grit to our D corps

Season Expectations: Druskinis dressed as the 7th defenseman in the exhibition, but I don't expect he will play much this season. Holtz didn't play his freshman season and if that's the comp., then Druskinis is not likely to see the ice much either. He will probably draw in to a few games, and if an injury hits the right side of Michigan's defensive room, Druskinis could be the first man up. But more likely he will be in the press box as a scratch, an intriguing developmental piece to check in on down the road. 

 

Brendan Miles

Year: Freshman

Height/Weight: 6'1"/175 

NHL Draft Position: N/A

Stats: ---

Our last freshman depth defenseman is Brendan Miles, also the one who has the most nondescript profile. Miles, like Druskinis, is a local guy who played HS hockey in Michigan. Miles is from Farmington Hills and played at Detroit Catholic Central before going on to play in the NAHL with the Fairbanks Ice Dogs. Over the last two seasons Miles has played in 97 NAHL games, scoring 37 points. He's also a right shot, which may help him down the line, but given that statistical profile, in addition to the fact that he is a double overager, I don't see a path for him to be a major contributor this year. In fact, he's probably the most likely out of this crop to be the next Jake Gingell, a guy who seldom ever plays over four years. The program's take: 

Brendan is a smooth-skating defenseman and has good agility. He fits our style of play and will add depth to our blue line

Season Expectations: Likely will not see the ice much, if at all, this season. Miles did not get into action in the exhibition game, which seems like a pretty clear indicator where he stands on the depth chart in year #1.

 

[Bryan Fuller]

GOALIES

Erik Portillo

Year: Junior

Height/Weight: 6'6"/220

NHL Draft Position: 67th overall, 2019 NHL Draft, Buffalo 

Stats: 31-10-1, 2.14 GAA, .926 SV% in 42 games last season 

The most important position in hockey is goaltender, so it's easy to say that the goaltender is the most important player on any given team. But it's doubly true on a team whose composition is akin to Michigan's. No, they don't figure to be a bad team who might get dragged to relevancy by a good goalie, but they are a team that has a young core, particularly at forward. They don't project to be the kind of team that can win with any level of goaltending, at least early on. Michigan may become that later in the season, but the reason I am so high on this Michigan team is because their goaltender is awesome. He will carry the team when they hit adversity early. His name is Erik Portillo. 

Portillo was drafted 67th overall in 2019 by the Buffalo Sabres, which is in the third round but it's important to stress something for non-NHL Draft watchers: goalies do not get drafted very high. Typically there is one goalie who goes in the first round and then a few more go in the second or the third round, due to the high variance in goalie prospect outcomes. Portillo was picked 67th overall, but he was the fifth goalie off the board in his draft year. To be the fifth goalie off the board means you're a pretty good prospect, akin to being a back-end first round pick if you were a skater. Portillo is a blue chipper in line with the rest of the team when it comes to NHL upside. 

A lot of that stems from his gargantuan size, which is fitting for an NHL that is increasingly desiring goalies to be big. Portillo looks like a modern NHL goalie and in taking up so much of the net, he has a commanding presence on the ice. He arrived at Michigan in the fall of 2020 and spent his freshman season in Ann Arbor backing up Strauss Mann. Portillo got more duty in the second half of the season and started to show his chops, posting a fine statistical line. That proved him ready to take the starting job in 2021-22 after Mann's exit from the program. The big Swede started all 42 games last season and was dazzling, good in the first half and elite in the second half. From December 29 on, Portillo posted a .937 SV%, winning 17 of 22 starts and losing only 2 games in regulation. On a team that wasn't trying to grind its opponents to dust defensively, it's hard to beat that! 

Portillo is a calm, steady goalie. He doesn't swim in his crease or lose his position all that much. He tracks the puck well, reads the play, and his rebound control is decent, though there is a little room for improvement in that area. Portillo started to take on a leadership role with the team late last season and you have to think it will be elevated here in year #3. His size and agility come together to create highlight reel saves like this: 

Portillo Post to Post pic.twitter.com/WWXkfaiqhH

— Michigan Hockey (@umichhockey) November 12, 2021

Or this: 

Hey @BuffaloSabres did you see this #SCTop10 save from Erik Portillo? 😱 pic.twitter.com/a1I3SL7OSa

— Michigan Hockey (@umichhockey) February 13, 2021

His legs are so long you're left with little room when he's moving laterally! 

But most of the time it isn't highlight reel. Portillo bails Michigan out on some high danger chances often, but a lot of the time he is what you want your goalie to be, a calm backstop. He plays the puck often, which is a matter of debate among the informed and (especially) uninformed hockey fans alike, but Portillo is indisputably proficient at it. There are occasional hiccups, which will happen with any goalie who plays the puck as often as he does, but they were not common, rarely resulted in goals, and never did in high importance games. On the flip side, Portillo's ability handling the puck helps facilitate Michigan's transition game and creates chances up the ice.

As a junior, Portillo should be one of the best goaltenders in the B1G, and the country for that matter. He provides the Wolverines with a very high floor and is a reason for optimism about this team. He was Michigan's best player in the NCAA Tournament and if he replicates that performance in spring 2023, the Wolverines will go as far as they can score. 

Season Expectations: Every night starter and star of this team. A SV% in line with his career average at Michigan (.927) is the expectation. 

 

Noah West

Year: Junior 

Height/Weight: 6'2"/185 

NHL Draft Position: N/A

Stats: Played ~30 minutes across two games last season, allowing one goal on eleven shots 

As the freshman starter for Robert Morris in 2019-20, West posted very solid numbers, a .915 SV% and a 2.66 GAA. Although it was not against the best competition, he was named to the Atlantic Hockey All-Rookie team and Second Team All-Conference. Robert Morris then suspended their program in 2020-21 due to budget shortfalls, leaving West orphaned and in no man's land. He committed to Michigan to serve as the backup for the 2021-22 season, doing so behind Erik Portillo. As the "stats" line says above, West was seldom-used, only appearing in two blowout losses, the only two times Portillo was yanked. That's all we know about him at the B1G level and frankly, all we want to know. No offense to him, but if West appears in any non-garbage time action this season, that's a sign things have gone wrong. 

Season Expectations: Will not play much, other than being relief if things go haywire for Portillo or being the Human Victory Cigar in a particularly scrumptious blowout. 

 

Tyler Shea

Year: Freshman

Height: 6'0"/165

NHL Draft Position: N/A

Stats: ---

The newest goalie to the depth chart is Tyler Shea, who seems poised to take over the role of third string goalie. Shea is a triple overager, originally from Southern California, eventually winding up in the NAHL with the Austin Bruins before playing this last season with the Wenatchee Wild of the BCHL. He posted a .904 SV% in the BCHL in 2021-22, after sitting in the .910-.920 range when he was in the NAHL. Those stats in the NAHL track closely with that of Jack Leavy and Chad Catt, who were past Michigan #3 goalies, and it's safe to assume that will be Shea's role. 

Season Expectations: Likely to not play at all. Leavy did not play his first three years at Michigan until Mel Pearson found a way to get him in a couple games when he was a senior. Shea probably will not see the ice unless Naurato is feeling charitable to the freshman.