RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesAnother offseason, another summer of asking the same question regarding Michigan Hockey team: can it win the National Championship?
Since last summiting the college hockey world in 1998, the Wolverines have reached 10 Frozen Fours, but only advanced to one title game, falling in overtime in 2011 to Minnesota-Duluth. Now, with three appearances under head coach Brandon Naurato, Michigan has turned into the quintessential close-but-no-cigar team in the sport.
Whether it be a smaller, younger and more inexperienced lineup, or simply running into a dynasty like Denver, fate has not been on the Wolverines’ side this century. However, Michigan once again returns a stacked roster, and this 2026-27 iteration may be Naurato’s best chance at hoisting the trophy.
For one, junior forwards Michael Hage and Will Horcoff, and senior forward Jayden Perron, are all back. In recent years, the Wolverines typically saw their best offensive weapons depart for the AHL or NHL. But with Hage (13 goals, 52 points in 2025-26), Perron (18 goals, 41 points) and Horcoff (25 goals, 39 points) all occupying a first- or second-line role and carrying deep NCAA Tournament experience, the scoring burden will not fall upon 18- and 19-year-olds.
In fact, outside of leading scorer T.J. Hughes — who is nonetheless an irreplaceable figure — Michigan returns its next top-12 point producers. Add in freshmen Jack Nesbitt, a 2025 first-round pick by the Philadelphia Flyers, and J.P Hurlbert, a 2026 first-round pick by the Detroit Red Wings, and this group should have little trouble putting the puck in the back of the net.
Naurato has balance in the forwards unit, too. Guys like senior captain Garrett Schifsky, junior Nick Moldenhauer, and sophomores Cole McKinney and Adam Valentini can play two-way games and bring varying degrees of face-off brilliance and nastiness on the forecheck. Are they big and physical enough to win it all? That remains to be seen. But few coaches in the nation would not trade their forwards for these.
Defensively, it starts with sophomore goaltender Jack Ivankovic. The highly touted Canadian was sensational in his debut campaign, going 25-8-1 with a 2.15 goals against average and a .921 save percentage. We saw what happened against the Pioneers when Johnny Hicks robbed Wolverine after Wolverine in the national semifinal, and that loss is certainly not on Ivankovic; he looked good enough to be a championship-winning netminder.
Another year of development and what should be an even stronger defense corps should tantalize fans. Back are senior Ben Robertson, junior Dakoda Rhéaume-Mullen, and sophomores Asher Barnett, Drew Schock and Henry Mews, the latter of whom only played in 10 games last year due to injury. Tyler Duke and Luca Fantilli are big losses, but those five should all improve with age, and the arrival of projected 2027 No. 1 overall pick Landon DuPont and 2025 Nashville Predators first-rounder Cameron Reid should be enough replenishment.
Both those incoming freshmen are mobile, puck-moving defensemen who could help the aforementioned five focus more on locking down their zone and form a blue line that can thrive in any game style or pace.
Will Michigan win it all this upcoming season? We can’t see the future, but there seems to be little else Naurato and his staff could have done to increase its odds.
Do you think these offseason retentions and moves will get the job done? Let us know in the comments.
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