The Question: How does Kyle Connor compare vs. the Michigan forwards you've seen?

Bill Rapai/MGoBlog

The Responses:

David: So, my first year of season tickets at Yost was my junior year in college, 05-06. I vaguely watched Michigan hockey in the previous years before, but I made a concerted effort to follow the team, game-by-game, during that 05-06 campaign. I went to a couple of games (and watched a few more on tv) during my first couple years and I remember them losing to BC in '04 and the Colorado College Collapse in '05, but my serious Michigan Hockey fandom began the following season. I just looked up a ton of stats from that 04-05 team and they scored A TON. Eight skaters had double digit goals and thirteen (!!) had 20+ points. Unfortunately, I'll have to let our resident old dudes talk about Tambellini, Hilbert, and Cammalleri.

From what I've seen, I think Connor has to be the best. Not only does his pedigree match up (torched the USHL), but his exquisite skill (see the GTG on Saturday) and sheer volume of production -69 points in only 36 games- exceed anyone else in the last decade (Hensick took 41 games to get 69 points).

My quick Top 5:

5. Carl Hagelin. Our favorite Swede never quite got to 20 goals and only once to 50 points. Hagelin was a terrific skater, a terror on the PK, and maybe the fastest I've seen at Yost. Just never hit Elite in terms of production. He's carving out a nice NHL career, though.

[After the JUMP: Comrie, Cam, Ort, Hagelin, Larkin, Porter, Hensick, Tambo…?]

4. Dylan Larkin. Probably should be a spot higher, but he was only in Ann Arbor for one year. He had a fantastic freshman season (15-32-47) and is blowing up in Detroit. He did play with a senior Zach Hyman who had a Hobey-esque year, last year. He clearly hasn't looked back since, but he didn't really get going until January. So, not much time in front of my eyes.

3. Kevin Porter. In terms of talent, he might be a slot lower, but the fact that he was around for four years and increased production every year says a lot (24-38-58-63). He also had the benefit of playing with Tambellini, Hensick, Kolarik, etc. But his Hobey speaks for itself. He's also turned that success into a pro career that is still going in Pittsburgh.

2. TJ Hensick. Possibly a little bias towards Hensick since we were the same year and I watched him as long as I was in school. But he walked into Yost and put up numbers: 46-55-52-69. Hensick was probably Michigan's last Mighty Magician with the puck: an undersized guy whose skating and passing set up infinite goals from very little. He had a legit shout for the Hobey in 06-07 but the team was never as good as a couple years before. He's probably my favorite Michigan Hockey Wolverine.

1. Kyle Connor. I think it has to be. I know he's with the CCM line, but he was carrying the Nieves/Selman line early in the season, as well. Plus, his skill and vision are not possessed by anyone else on my list. Everyone has talked about his speed/accuracy/precision and they're absolutely right. He also is split 50/50 on Goals and Assists (35-34). And his numbers are not just PP-dominated. Obviously, he's not staying four years. but if he did, his numbers would not be able to be compared to any other Michigan player. The best I've seen at Yost.

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[Phil Callihan via umgoblue.com]

Seth: Mike Comrie was five-foot "ten". But quite unlike the archetype every one of those debatable inches were undeniably filled with quick-twitch talent. It's undeniable because he left all of it right there on the ice for everyone to see.

My first hockey game at Yost the upperclassmen made a point to point out what I'd missed--"He's no Brendan Morrison." "Were you there for the Mike Legg goal? I was! I couldn't believe it!" But nobody had to point out my classmate, the wrecking ball with linebacker shoulder pads that made an already neckless head seem like it was sunk into his rib cage.

If it had, you could guess how it'd happened. Perhaps some pugilistic Spartan dunce punched it in when he'd had enough of this thing at his waist pinning him to the wall. Or maybe it happened after careening down the ice with way too much momentum, chased by five angry men ready to escort him into the goaltender.
If you can remember Hagelin or Porter calmly, gracefully sliding through the neutral zone, imagine that with none of the subtlety and twice the "I'd better stand up for this." Comrie played like he too was surrounded by seniors yabbering on about the two championships we'd missed (and a head coach right out of the Golden Age), determined to one-up all of it.

Then half-way through college, Comrie left, in a time when jumping early to the NHL was the bleak new present Red would rip on in the Daily. And while the Shouneyia-Cam-Ortmeyer teams that followed were spectacular, there probably isn't a member of the Class of '98 who wasn't rolling his eyes at every freshman to gawk at them or Tambellini or Hensick or Larkin, like "Yeah kid, you shoulda seem Comrie."

I've spent just a few nights per year in New Yost watching Old Red's teams, my arms folded and cranky at the clueless children who can't possibly know what wonderment is. Until the last time, when I was sitting next to David trying to figure out what the hell number WE WANT MORE GOALS chant we were on because it kept getting interrupted by MORE GOALS, when I realized I, nor anybody else in the building, had ever seen anything like this since they unleashed a neutron star wearing 39.
Kyle Connor is not at all Mike Comrie. But greatest since? Yeah, I'd say so.

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Adam: The narrative of Kyle Connor's season had been one of unfortunate coincidence for the majority of it, and his skill set has only been readily identifiable and appreciated for the last two weeks. Rarely does a player a highly touted as Connor join the program right after a guy who finished sixth in all-time freshman scoring leaves; I spent the first three months of the season reminding myself not to compare Connor to Larkin every time I sat down to write GBGA. (I didn't do a great job.)

Even after it became clear that Connor was, at the very least, a pure sniper, the question of how to parse out how much he drove the play of the CCM line and how much Compher and Motte drove his play hung over his insane stats. Compher and Motte are both excellent two-way players with great vision; putting a sniper on the wing with them is a recipe for high point totals, and while a one-timer is a skill that has to be cultivated I was looking for Connor to be, well, not just a shooter.

I've watched Connor closely over the past month with a checklist in mind: cover well in the defensive zone, pass to put his linemates in a position to score, create his own shot. He's checked all those boxes frequently and, in most cases, emphatically over the past few weeks.

I started following Michigan hockey about when David did. I've read about Brendan Morrison and watched what I can find on Youtube; same goes for guys like Cammalleri and Comrie and Botterill. I've been fortunate enough to watch guys like Porter and Hagelin and Hyman live.

Connor's the best I've seen. Give this man the Hobey.

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Brian: I go a bit further back than some of you guys. My first year was 1998-99, just after the last of the Morrison-era guys had departed. (I think Bobby Hayes was a senior). Mike Comrie and I debuted at Yost at the same time. He was a little bit better received than I was.

In an effort to give this line some context, I went reviewed stats from the last 17 years, and they confirmed that what this line and Connor in particular are doing is insane. Comrie, who I remember as a nonstop dervish of spin moves and goals, had 24-35-59 in 40 games in his sophomore year, his last. He was +19. He spent the next half year putting up 2 PPG in the OHL (at the time the CBA was structured such that this move put pressure on the Oilers to give him a bigger contract) and was in the NHL by January.

The next year Andy Hilbert and Mike Cammalleri went bonkers with 64 and 61 points in 42 games; they were +2 and +28, respectively. Cammalleri was the driver of much of this play, a puck wizard who once scored on a spin move he executed from his knees against Michigan State. Hilbert had all the sniping skills Connor does but wasn't as fast or deft. The next year Hilbert made a bad decision and signed with the Bruins; Cammalleri had an injury-shortened year in which he still got 23-21-44 in 29 games. (Also this was the rise of Jed Frickin' Ortmeyer, who stands with Carl Hagelin as the best captain Red's had since I've been paying attention.)

After Cammalleri left there was a one year gap and then Hello TJ Hensick. Michigan took a step back when he was a freshman before a spectacular sophomore year. Jeff Tambellini shot from everywhere en route to 24-33-57 and a rare +30 season. Hensick drove a lot of that with 23-32-55 in 39 games. (Future NHL stalwart Mike Brown? 3-5-8. He is by far the most nondescript Michigan player to ever have an extended NHL career.)

Porter and Kolarik joined the next year, and then Hensick put up a season that is a real contender with 23-46-69 in 41 games. That should have been a Hobey year for Hensick but he got a reputation for being a selfish player and hockey had a conniption fit when he was handed a ten-minute misconduct in a tournament game, so they gave it to some other dude. But that was a line comparable to CCM: Hensick flanked by sophomore Porter and senior David Rohlfs, who came from nowhere to put up 34 points and hit +33(!).

Porter won the Hobey next year with a 33-30-63 line, and here is another line to rival CCM. Porter(+34), Kolarik(30-26-56 and +28) and one-and-done freshman Max Pacioretty (15-24-3, +31). +/- over 30 over the course of a season is exceedingly rare, and two out of three ain't bad here. Still, neither Porter or Kolarik made an impact in the NHL like Connor obviously will, and Pacioretty left after a half-season of kicking ass, robbing Michigan of a chance to get that sweet sophomore year.

After that year there's not much as the late Red decline began. I will put out a shout for Carl Hagelin, who had 50 points and was +20 playing with Matt Rust and David Wohlberg in 2009-10. Hagelin had more two-way impact than any forward I've seen. That year Michigan floundered until they decided to make a Hagelin-Rust-X top line dedicated to never letting the opponent score, and that worked pretty well. If Hagelin had wingers like Porter or Hilbert or Connor he could have been on one of these bonkers lines, no doubt.

Hyman and Larkin last year were also contenders. I still prefer Hyman's season, which was 22-32-54 in 37 games and +24. Larkin was seven points back and +18, albeit in two fewer games. Since they are so recent, though, it's easy to compare those two against what Connor is doing. Connor wins.

So. Connor is clearly the best freshman in the last 17 years. A full list of Michigan forwards who cracked +30 in that timespan reads:

• Jeff Tambellini
  Hobey version of Porter
  Max Pacioretty
  David Rohlfs(!)
  all of CCM easily, with Connor and Compher at +38. Connor and Compher are averaging over +1 PER GAME.

I mean, you gotta give the guy his due. I think he's the best forward at Michigan since I've been watching.

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Ace: Man, we’ve got hockey covered pretty well. Somehow, I think I can lay claim to following Michigan hockey longer than anyone else here. I still remember where I was for Brendan Morrison’s winner against Colorado College: Mediterrano restaurant in Ann Arbor, frantically peeking over at the bar TV during an ill-timed family get-together. But I was eight years old then and not exactly a discerning hockey-watcher. I can tell you Morrison was “really, really good.”

Comrie, Cammalleri, and Hensick did magical things with the puck that delighted me during my frequent trips to Yost. Porter just found ways to put up points. Pacioretty was more physically dominant than any freshman should be. I could watch Hagelin skate for hours.

At this point, Connor is the best I’ve seen since Comrie—over the last few weeks, it’s become clear that he’s far, far more than the product of a talented line, and that’s no knock on Compher and Motte. Connor has that innate sense for when to drive play and when to stay patient, he’s strong on the puck, he can dangle a goalie into oblivion, and his shooting accuracy makes you wonder if his game got set on a lower difficulty.

There’s a not-insignificant part of me that’s perfectly fine with Michigan's basketball season ending. I want to fully appreciate watching this team, this line, and especially this player while I can.