This Friday the Tony Granato era for Wisconsin hockey will officially begin as the Wisconsin Badgers take on the Northern Michigan Wildcats on a neutral site at the Resch Center in Green Bay.
Before the Badgers take the ice, we look back on the major storylines of the offseason you may have missed.
Newcomers look to fill big roles
The Badgers bring in an exciting new recruiting class of five freshmen for the 2016-17 season. All five of the fresh faces look to bank significant minutes on the ice for Wisconsin.
Headlining the freshmen class for Wisconsin is forward Trent Fredric who comes to Wisconsin from St. Louis, Missouri.
Fredric is a highly skilled player who joins sophomore standout Luke Kunin as a Badger who was selected in the first round of the NHL draft over the summer. He was selected in the first round by the Boston Bruins with the 28th pick overall.
It is the first time in Badger history that Wisconsin has had two first round picks on one team.
Joining Fredric are forward Max Zimmer, defensemen JD Greenway, goalie Johan Blomquist and goalie Jack Berry.
Blomquist and Berry are expected to battle for the number two spot behind returning starter sophomore Matt Jurusik. However the starting job was an open race going to the summer, according to Coach Granato.
JD Greenway who was also selected in the NHL draft, taken with the 72nd overall pick by the Toronto Maple Leafs, is slated to headline the Badgers defense with returning juniors Tim Davidson and Jake Linhart.
Luke Kunin Takes the Reigns
Luke Kunin, who led the Badgers in goals (19) as a freshman last year looks to take charge of the team on and off the ice in his sophomore campaign.
This summer both Kunin and Grant Besse were named to the Big Team Preseason Players to Watch List. This, however, was not the biggest honor for the sophomore this summer as coach Granato named Kunin the team’s sole captain.
Kunin is the just the second sophomore in program history to wear the ‘C’ for the Badgers. Besse and junior Cameron Hughes will serve as the team’s assistant captains.
The new-look offense under Granato is rumored to be fast paced and aggressive and will undoubtedly be ran through Kunin at center on the team’s first line.
Good Vibes Only
Being around the players and coaches this season one main difference shines through when it comes to this pre-season compared to any of the previous I have covered.
There is a new found confidence in the locker room.
The coaches and players genuinely seem to have bought into the idea that this year will be a return to a higher level of hockey from Wisconsin.
The bar is not set very high. The team managed just 12 wins over a stretch of 70 games the past two years but the new coaching staff has done a lot in a little amount of time to get the players excited to hit the ice.
The timing of The University of Wisconsin’s apparel switch to Under Armor is nothing short of kismet. Not only is this a whole new coaching staff with new recruits playing in a new system but they have new uniforms as well.
The uniforms are nothing flashy and there is not a dramatic change from the traditional Wisconsin sweaters but the fact that they are new, they are different, really plays in to the whole vibe that this team has a completely blank slate.
It feels disrespectful to this team and what they stand for to sign off saying welcome back Wisconsin hockey because this is not the same team fans saw the past two years.
I amend it to this:
Welcome to a new era of Wisconsin hockey that has plans to return to old glory of the past.
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