jacob barczewski

As the college hockey season comes to an end, we bid adieu to a number of key players on the Michigan team. Some players are moving on to occupations that they got a degree in college for, while many others will be giving professional hockey a shot. Some of these are players exhausting eligibility and were forgone conclusions to depart, including goaltender Jacob Barczewski, defenseman Marshall Warren, forward Chase Pletzke, and practice goalie Andrew Albano, all of whom completed their 5th year of eligibility. 

But there's also the bucket of star players who are signing prematurely with the NHL teams who hold their draft rights. Michigan is no stranger to these sorts of losses and this year we've got three of them to cover. Like Alex did in past years, lumping them together in one combined the post is the best way to break it down and that's what we will be doing today. Three impact forwards recently signed NHL Entry level contracts and have moved on to the organizations who drafted them, with a rundown of each below: 

Exit: Frank Nazar III

Sophomore Frank Nazar III was a 1st round draft pick (13th overall) in 2022 by the Chicago Blackhawks. The Mount Clemens native came to the Wolverines via the US NTDP Program in Plymouth as part of the 2022 recruiting class. Nazar's profile was built around the promise of his speed, skill, and offensive aptitude, but it took a while for us to see it unleashed due to injury. His freshman season last year was hampered by offseason surgery, as Nazar was unable to play his first game of the season until February 10th. He finished that season with only 13 games played and didn't feel like we ever got a true glimpse of what Nazar could be. 

This season, as a sophomore, Nazar was finally healthy and able to play in all 41 games for the Wolverines. He centered the 2nd line, where it was not uncommon for him to be lined up against the opposition’s top line on a nightly basis. Nazar was one of the best in the nation in the faceoff circle, winning 54.7% of faceoffs he took, leading to heavy deployment. Night in and night out he was the most consistent 200 foot forward for Michigan as he notched 17 goals and 24 assists for 41 points in 41 games. Of those 41 points, one towered above the rest, his sensational between-the-legs pass to Gavin Brindley for his goal 12 seconds after the Wolverines took the lead in the Regional Final against MSU: 

His Pro Hockey Potential: Frank Nazar III has already begun his NHL career, signing with the Blackhawks on April 14th and scoring his first NHL goal 10:05 into the first period on a breakaway. As sensational as this was for him, don’t expect him to start putting up superstar offensive numbers. What the Blackhawks are getting more of a two-way player than an offensive dynamo, one who has a high hockey IQ, quick feet, and a strong stick which will allow him to be in good defensive position and the ability to use those assets to transition the puck up ice into scoring opportunities. As he develops, look for Nazar III to be the Blackhawks shutdown center who will face the opposition’s top line every night, a contrast to Connor Bedard's offensive prowess. He should also be slotted on the top PK unit and also get time on the 2nd PP unit.

[AFTER THE JUMP: Brindley, Duke, and bigger picture thoughts]

When Michigan lost in the Frozen Four each of the last two years I wrote a game column style piece about the loss in the aftermath. This year, after Michigan's 4-0 defeat to Boston College in St. Paul last Thursday, I didn't quite feel the same way. There wasn't much of a game column to write because there wasn't much of a game that happened. Michigan trailed less than two minutes into the contest and never scored. They were competitive for awhile but before the 2nd period was up the game was over. The third period was simply obligatory. The Wolverines were dispatched by a far superior side. 

I have no narrative to speak of but certainly have some thoughts on the games and the season as a whole. So, today we'll go through it all, Hockey Weekly style: 

HockeyBullets About BC 

Overall... okay? I wasn't particularly despondent about the way Michigan played against Boston College. They went up against a team that was definitely better, Michigan played maybe a B-level game and BC played an A-level game. Michigan also got pretty unfavorable puck luck (the double deflection goal stands out) and that combination makes the score 4-0. Perhaps you do that game over again and Michigan loses 3-1 instead. They didn't choke, they just ran into their reasonable finish, having gotten as much out of this roster in the postseason as one could've expected. 

Pulling back the curtain on the underlying numbers. We talked about Boston College's possession numbers in the preview and this game was a pretty clear example of what those possession metrics look like. BC doesn't play with the puck as much as some elite teams and do let opponents shoot a decent amount, but they are a strong defensive team that limits how much the opponent gets near the net. They're well structured in their own zone and kept Michigan to the outside. The Wolverines held the zone, took shots, but with a good goalie in net and a roster of players who use their sticks and block shots well, it makes it difficult to score on even if you have the puck a lot. 

And then of course BC gets the opportunity to attack you in transition the other way. Michigan held the zone in the opening minute, got a look or two, and suddenly Seamus Casey is trapped in the OZ, the puck's turned over, and it's a 2v1. BC finishes it off and Michigan is trailing just like that. The Eagles didn't get a tremendous amount of rush chances, but they got some dangerous ones, also getting a breakaway that Cutter Gauthier scored on and a mini-break for Ryan Leonard that Jake Barczewski made a great save on. 4v4 play was an issue for Michigan, which was going to be a worry against a team as skilled as Boston College and allowed them to score off the rush even more. Michigan was spared by less PK time against this lethal PP, but the flip side was the 4v4 time, which proved just as deadly. You pick your poison against this team, Michigan was maybe moderately unlucky in their goal prevention, but at the end of the day they didn't score and that's a testament to BC's underrated defense and goaltending. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: takes, grades, 2024-25]

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