Earlier this week I put out a call on the internet for mailbag questions. Today I have answers: Higher 2024 (and 2024 - 2025) ceiling: UM football or UM basketball? (-zh2oson)I feel like there are two different answers here, factual ceilings in an objective sports sense and fan enjoyment factor. The matter of fact ceiling is clearly still football, because the defense ought to be one of the very best in college football. That sets the floor pretty high and if the offense can be any degree of decent to good, Michigan is a top 10 team at worst, with even higher upside possible. Projecting men's basketball to be top 10 is extremely lofty, maybe a pie-in-the-sky scenario but one you don't think is likely due to how many new pieces are coming in and the likely growing pains. In a fan sense, I do think the upcoming basketball season could be more enjoyable than football, just because there's a fairly legitimate chance this will be the worst Michigan Football season since 2
Michigan Hockey lost another impactful piece today, as defenseman Seamus Casey signed an Entry Level Contract with the New Jersey Devils: Best of luck Seamus Casey and thank you for all you've given to Michigan Hockey#GoBlue〽️ ➡️ #ProBlue pic.twitter.com/PI4qnQkc7F Michigan Hockey (@umichhockey) May 6, 2024Casey was not featured in Peter's wrap-up exit piece a few weeks back, so I figured we ought to give him one here. Casey came to Michigan from the USNTDP, a native of South Florida born in Miami and raised in Fort Myers. He was drafted 46th overall in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft by the Devils, an intriguing mix of skill and skating ability with the drawback being his small frame and inconsistencies defensively. The scouting report that we were handed by the NHL Draft scouts that summer more or less came to fruition, as Casey was exactly that for the Wolverines. Over two seasons in the Maize & Blue, Casey was a consistently high scoring defenseman. As a freshman
Previously: Part 1Yesterday we began our sprawling update on all former Michigan Hockey players currently playing pro hockey around the world. In Part 1 we covered the firmly established, everyday NHLers with name-brand value. Today is the more odd-ball sequel piece, where we check in on our recently departed alums, those who have retired since the 2022 update article, and all the minor league/international players, so buckle in: Young guys finding their wayThis category is for the players who have left Michigan since the last article and haven't yet developed in the NHL to the point that they fit into one of the yesterday categories the way Beniers and Power already have: Gavin Brindley/Frank Nazar III/Dylan Duke: The recent signees only got into a couple games at the NHL/AHL level before the season concluded, given that Michigan's campaign went into mid-April yet again. Check back next year. Johnny Beecher, C, Boston Bruins: After spending a season in the AHL, Johnny B
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 StudsThese are the players who are considered high end, All-Star caliber. They are one of the three or s
As JJ McCarthy stood in the raining purple and black confetti on the last day of the 2022 calendar, he knew (as did a lot more of us) that if the right people wanted to give it one more go, it could be magical. Yes, they blew a really big opportunity, but there was still a lot of eligibility to be had across the program. Sure enough, almost everyone with said eligibility wanted one more shot. They got it. And, oh boy, did they make it count. 2023-24 was supposed to be about football.and it was (I still have certain items on backorder). Michigan came together, pulled out some historic victories, and finally checked ALL of the boxes in what will be (probably, at least.in SO many different ways) the most memorable season of our lifetimes, winning the National Championship. "I thought this was supposed to be a hockey piece?" you ask? Well, it is. The last time Michigan did that (1997-98, pre-Alex Drain existence), I was twelve years old. Charles Woodson won the Heisman Trophy and