Wisconsin Hockey: 2009-10 Season Preview
With a seven-member senior class and 15 players in at least their junior seasons, the Wisconsin men's hockey team can consider itself an upperclass team for the first time since the 2005-06 season. History suggest upperclass team's are set up for success, and with the Badgers returning all but three contributors from last season's third-place WCHA team, all signs point towards that being the case.
As has been the case in recent seasons, the Badgers are loaded on the blue line. Three first-round and a pair of second-round NHL draft picks as rear guards is a great starting point to build a team. Tri-captain and junior Ryan McDonagh headlines the defense as the highest player drafted, and along with junior Brendan Smith and sophomore Jake Gardiner, makes up the first-round draft picks. Junior Cody Goloubef and rookie Justin Schultz add second-round pedigree to the mix and help continue Wisconsin's recent scoring surge from the back line.
Looking outside the NHL draft picks, junior Craig Johnson became a regular and steadying influence last season as then-freshmen Eric Springer and Ryan Little learned the ropes. Throw in U.S. National Team Development Program product John Ramage into the equation and practice should prove intense as the players battle for playing time.
For the fourth consecutive season, Wisconsin will have to replace the team's leading scorer, though this time a defenseman, Jamie McBain, is the one who needs replacing. A bevy of talented forwards should prove up to the task. By the end of the 2008-09 campaign, freshman Derek Stepan started showing abilities at or above the level of any rookie in the country and finished second among Badger scorers. With his work ethic, the sky is the limit. The duo of seniors Blake Geoffrion and John Mitchell will look to reprise their goal-scoring roles, with both chipping in 15 to lead the Badgers last season. Goal scoring will also surely come from puck-handling wizard Michael Davies, as he looks to add to his Badger legacy, and Andy Bohmbach, who emerged last year as a double-digit goal scorer. Good news for the Badgers also comes in the form of tri-captain Ben Street, who will rejoin the Badgers for his second senior season after the first went haywire early on after a knee injury. Street has posted at least 10 goals in each of his first three full seasons.
In the scoring mix should also be sophomore Jordy Murray, who capped his first year as a Badger with all-tournament accolades at the WCHA Final Five.
His eight goals last year show promise of double-digit goal scoring years in the future. Junior Patrick Johnson has an eight-goal season in his past and could get to double-figures in his career.
The Badgers will add a couple of offensive forwards to the mix in Madison, Wis., native Craig Smith and Canadian Derek Lee. Smith tied for second among all USHL scorers last year, while Lee averaged better than a point per game in the BCHL last season.
Wisconsin will replace two-year starter Shane Connelly in goal with a pair of juniors. Scott Gudmandson has played a handful of games during his first two seasons and will look to grab the job. He will be challenged, however, by newcomer Brett Bennett, who backstopped the Indiana Ice to the 2009 Clark Cup title as USHL champions. Bennett also boasts two years of collegiate experience as a member of Boston University.
As always, a schedule awaits the Badgers that will surely rank among the nation's toughest when all is said and done. An early-season non-conference series against New Hampshire, the College Hockey Showcase with Michigan State and Michigan, a second game against Michigan outdoors at Camp Randall Stadium and the Badger Hockey Showdown, featuring Yale, Merrimack and Ferris State all adds up to a grueling slate. That doesn't even include the normal quality of opponents played weekly in the WCHA.
