Checking In On Owen Power, Matty Beniers & Michigan’s Loaded Roster

Chris Peters
Chris Peters
Checking In On Owen Power, Matty Beniers & Michigan’s Loaded Roster

DULUTH, Minn. –  Men’s hockey has been a varsity sport at the University of Michigan for 99 years, but the spotlight has never shined brighter on the program than it is shining this season.

That’s what will happen after your team has four of the first five selections from the 2021 NHL Draft. No. 1 Owen Power (Buffalo), No. 2 Matty Beniers (Seattle), No. 4 Luke Hughes (New Jersey), No. 5 Kent Johnson (Columbus) and No. 24 Mackie Samoskevich (Florida) helped Michigan set multiple records for an NCAA team in the most recent draft. They joined 2019 30th overall pick Johnny Beecher (Boston) and 2020 29th overall pick Brendan Brisson (Vegas) to give Michigan the first team in NCAA history with seven first-round draft picks on one roster.

Just imagine a single NHL team picking four times in the top five. The only NHL team that has even had five first-round picks in a single draft was the 1974 Montreal Canadiens draft haul as they made five picks in the top 15 of a 25-round draft. Meanwhile, Michigan has these players at their disposal right now. There are more than a few NHL GMs wishing their rebuild package looked as good as Michigan’s.

With that level of talent on one roster, the Wolverines have a target on their backs. They’re the most talked-about players and team in the country, with more eyes on them than most college teams could ever experience. In addition to all the NHL prospects, the Wolverines have a high level of expectations for the season ahead and an insatiable desire to end a national championship drought that is reaching its 24th year.

No where did that target appear larger than it last weekend in Duluth, Minn., for the IceBreaker Tournament, college hockey’s premier early-season round-robin tournament. This year’s IceBreaker just so happened to include four teams in the top 10 of college hockey’s major polls and two participants in last year’s Men’s Frozen Four – No. 5 Minnesota Duluth and No. 1 Minnesota State – which ended up being Michigan’s two opponents in northern Minnesota. You could not have asked for a better measuring stick at this stage of the season to see how the young Wolverines were handling the hype.

No. 3 Michigan started the tournament with Minnesota Duluth, inarguably college hockey’s most successful program in the last five years. The Bulldogs have made four consecutive trips to the Men’s Frozen Four and were national champs in 2018 and 2019. After looking outmatched and outmuscled early, falling behind 1-0 and being badly outshot in the first period, the Wolverines flipped a switch and took the game over on the way to a 5-1 win.

Four of the five goals in that game were scored by first-round picks with Beniers scoring two and Brisson scoring a between-the-legs dandy in addition to Hughes’s first career NCAA goal that kicked off the scoring. Buffalo Sabres prospect Erik Portillo was an absolute rock in net, too, stopping 28 of 29, including several highlight-reel saves.

“We can’t just come in and play the skill game and not have to work,” said Michigan head coach Mel Pearson of what the team learned in their Friday night win. “It’s good that we had to show up and work, find a way to battle through some things. We have playmakers and goal scorers, so when we get opportunities, we’re going to score.”

As tough as that first game was, the test against No. 1 Minnesota State was even bigger. The Mavericks have one of the older rosters in the nation with players as old as 25. They had grinded down a good Providence team the day before for a win and have one of college hockey’s best goalies in Dryden McKay, who is tied with Ryan Miller for most shutouts in an NCAA career with 26.

Just as Michigan did on Friday, they struggled early, managing only three shots on goal. Time and space were impossible to come by, but Michigan found a way. Led by Thomas Bordeleau and Brendan Brisson, the Wolverines rallied from a 2-1 deficit in the third to win 3-2, improving to 4-0 on the year and likely securing themselves as the new No. 1 team in the nation when the polls come out Monday.

“We wanted to play in this tournament to play in games like this, when you’re trying to see the identity of your team,” said Michigan head coach Mel Pearson after the IceBreaker final. “We had to earn every inch on the ice, everything we got this weekend we earned. But we’re not satisfied. That’s what’s so exciting. There’s so much room for this team to get better.”

Defenseman Owen Power has one goal and five assists in four games this season

Prospect Evaluations

With so many top prospects in action, I thought it would be worth giving Daily Faceoff readers a look at how four of the top five picks in the last draft, as well as some other notable players fared in Michigan’s first early season test as a sort of early-season check in of the most loaded prospect team in hockey.

Owen Power, D, Buffalo Sabres: The No. 1 pick probably could have played in the NHL this season if he felt he was ready. After playing so well for Canada at the Men’s World Championship, he’s shown that he can hang with pros. This weekend, he showed that games like the two he played in are going to continue to challenge him enough to push his development forward. Those games were fast, physical and by no means easy.

Power finished the weekend with one assist, showing a much greater propensity to jump into plays, carry pucks up ice and deliver more physical play. The offensive elements of his game continue to improve as he uses the physical tools he has to get up ice and make things happen. Power doesn’t force things often and made good puck decisions. He’s still not going to dangle opposing defenders and create a ton of open ice, but he’s going to play an efficient game. I though he played a lot better Friday than Saturday because Minnesota State clearly keyed in on him and tried to play him extra physically. The growth in his game from one year to the next has been evident, however.

Pearson on Power: “He’s so much further along than he was at this point last year. He’s tried so many things that he wouldn’t last year. We’ve asked him to play faster and he’s playing faster, we’ve asked him to be more physical and he has.

“He still had more that he could develop. That’s why he came back. There were guys in this game that were 25 years old. They’re NHL, age wise. It’s good for him to play in games like that and continue to develop.

“There’s so much pressure on him. I’ve been so happy with how he’s handled the noise and the distractions. He just plays. He knows he’s going to be a good player. He might not put up points every night, he’s obviously another elite player that has a bright future.”

Matty Beniers, C, Seattle Kraken: The No. 2 overall pick and possibly the future face of the Seattle franchise, Beniers was a major force in Friday’s win against Minnesota Duluth, scoring a pair of goals and providing stellar two-way play and competitiveness. Beniers is quick and he battles every shift. The game Saturday made time and space so hard to come by, but he fights through it and creates problems for the opposition. He doesn’t have super high-end puck skills, but his energy and competitiveness and superior hockey sense allow him to play a detailed, complete game. It definitely works for him. Expect him to be Team USA’s No. 1 center at the the upcoming World Juniors.

Luke Hughes, D, New Jersey Devils: One of the three youngest players in the NCAA this season, the youngest Hughes brother has continued progressing at an awfully rapid pace. His first career NCAA goal came off of a one-timer on the power play to get Michigan on the board against Minnesota Duluth and helped turn the tide of the game. He also had the primary assist  on Michigan’s first goal against Minnesota State and now has points in each of his first four NCAA games.

After a rocky start at the beginning of that UMD game where he overhandled the puck a couple of times, he really settled into the weekend and made a lot of mature plays. His ability to work the offensive blue line and extend plays shows his poise and skill with the puck on his stick. On top of that, his skating is just incredible. Defensively, you can see where he needs to get physically stronger, but he has a lot of other tools that allow him to impact the game in a variety of ways.

Pearson on Hughes: “He’s just gotten better every game. You can see his confidence growing, and he’s already a confident player. He’s learning. This is another step up and things happen a little quicker. He reminds me of Quinn at the same age. He wants to make the great plays, but sometimes you just need to make the simple plays. Luke, his progression has been really good. His first game to this game now, it’s been leaps and bounds. He’s learning and just give us another couple of months and see what he’s like after that. He’s going to be a really good player. He already is, but I can’t say enough about how good he’s going to be.”

Kent Johnson, C/W, Columbus Blue Jackets: Johnson had an up-and-down weekend, but was a factor in the Friday night game. He set up Beniers’ first goal on a beautiful cross-ice pass through defenders for an easy goal. Both teams were clearly trying to be physical on Johnson and it worked to a certain degree. He is one of the most skilled players in all of college hockey, but he overhandled the puck an awful lot, including one instance where he actually skated himself right into one of his own teammates trying to extend a play instead of moving the puck. He had a harder time with Minnesota State than he did Duluth, as time and space were a lot harder to come by from start to finish in that game. It’s a good lesson for Johnson who showed over the weekend that there’s still another gear for him to find. Also picking up an assist on Beniers’ second goal of Friday night’s game, Johnson now has five points over four games this season.

Brendan Brisson, RW, Vegas Golden Knights: Mel Pearson said that Brisson was arguably the team’s most improved player from the beginning of last season to the end it looks like that development and maturation has continued. Brisson has been a goal-scoring machine to start the season with five in four games including one in each of the weekend’s contests. His between-the-legs snipe against Duluth set the game on its ear and helped Michigan supercharge its second-period barrage.

Two things are clear about Brisson. He has way more confidence on the puck than he did last year and he continues to put himself in good positions to score. On top of that, he and his center, Thomas Bordeleau, appear to be in lock step, making one of the most threatening duos in the country. Brisson’s finishing ability has always been there, but he’s making more plays, getting more physical and, in the end, doing what he does best – putting pucks in nets.

Pearson on Brisson: “Experience and having that year, his growth last year, he was if not our most improved player, one of them from the first half to the second half. He’s just continued on that trend and he’s playing harder, playing grittier and then he still can score. He’s got that goal-scoring knack and ability around the net. Some guys shoot. He shoots to score.“

Mackie Samoskevich, RW, Florida Panthers: It was a bit of a quieter weekend for Samoskevich, picking up a secondadry assist on the Hughes goal. However, the Wolverines clearly have a lot of faith in the freshman as he plays on the same line with Beniers and Johnson. Samoskevich is an especially quick player who has higher-end skill. He needs to find a way to be more effective at 5-on-5 in games like the ones Michigan played in this weekend, but he’s got plenty of time to develop. That skillset that he has is only going to help as he gets stronger and more used to the collegiate pace.

Johnny Beecher, LW, Boston Bruins: Beecher missed the weekend’s games and has yet to play this season. He had labrum surgery last season and is still looking to get the all-clear. Pearson said he expected to get Beecher back in the lineup in about four weeks, noting that the junior forward has been skating and that they really could have used a player of his size and skillset in the physical games the team went through last weekend.

Thomas Bordeleau, C, San Jose Sharks: Because he isn’t one of the first-round draft picks, Bordeleau can be overshadowed, but there is little doubt he is one of the team’s best and most important players. His skill level and vision are incredible. On top of that, he has a work ethic to his game that makes him more responsible in the D zone and more deadly in the offensive zone. He scored the game-tying goal against Minnesota State then made one of the more clever plays you’ll see to set up Brisson for the would-be game-winner.

Bordeleau shielded the puck from a much bigger defenseman, used his skating ability to get a little extra space and then spotted Brisson wide open on the right side for the one-timer. That play was a microcosm of what makes Bordeleau special. He was San Jose’s second pick in 2020, but he very easily could have been a first-rounder because he’s been playing like one since he arrived in Ann Arbor last year.

Erik Portillo, G, Buffalo Sabres: Drafted in the third round by Buffalo in 2019, the 6-foot-6 Swedish netminder is getting his first taste of being a No. 1 in college after backing up Strauss Mann last season. Portillo was stellar in net for the Wolverines over the weekend, stopping 55 of the 58 shots he faced. Aside from one poor decision that saw him have to scramble back to his net for a desperation blocker save, Portillo was in control. He made several big saves early in games when his team wasn’t as active. He’s also quite the chatterbox on the ice, directing traffic and maybe talking a little trash, too. With his size and athleticism, there’s a lot of upside. He’s still got a lot of development time ahead, but he’s an intriguing prospect nonetheless.

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