Baggot: Badgers fortified by strong belief and high expectations
September 26, 2017 | Men's Hockey, Andy Baggot
Year two of the Granato era provides tantalizing potential for Wisconsin
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BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
MADISON, Wis. — On the way to becoming one of the most accomplished performers in Wisconsin men's hockey history, Tony Granato lived a star-crossed existence.
He arrived in 1984 to join a program that was fresh off appearing in three consecutive NCAA championship games, winning twice.
Granato proceeded to score 100 goals in his award-winning career for UW — one of three to reach that plateau — but the Badgers failed to qualify for the national tournament from 1984 to '87.
No sooner did Granato leave for the 1988 Winter Olympics and a 13-season career in the NHL when his alma mater got it cranked up again.
Wisconsin appeared in eight straight NCAA tournaments from 1988 to 1995, advancing to Frozen Fours in 1990 and '92.
Granato will tell you that his personal postseason misery is nothing compared to what happened last season during his head coaching debut with the Badgers.
#Badgers back on the ice in one more week.
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) Sept. 24, 2017
UW finished second to Minnesota in the Big Ten Conference regular-season standings and fell to Penn State in double overtime in the league tournament championship game, but narrowly failed to qualify for the NCAA field.
"I really thought how our team performed and how we grew all year, I thought that our players deserved the opportunity," Granato said.
It was a bittersweet moment for the Badgers, who finished 20-15-1 overall — 12 games better than the previous season — only to watch the Pairwise rankings computer tab Minnesota, Ohio State and Penn State as Big Ten representatives for the 16-team tournament.
"I thought they played well enough to do it," Granato said of his players, a crew top-heavy with underclassmen.
That disappointment has fueled a sense of resolve for UW heading into a new season.
"When you come that close," said Granato, the reigning Big Ten Coach of the Year, "you realize there's things during the year that this year we'll have to be better prepared for to make sure we give ourselves a chance."
The Badgers lost sophomore winger Luke Kunin, their leading point-getter and goal-scorer, to the pros, but return 72 percent of their points and 65 percent of their goals from last season.
Fortifying that mix are seven heralded freshmen and senior goaltender Kyle Hayton, a graduate transfer who was a record-setting All-American at St. Lawrence.
Hand-delivered tickets earlier this week in the Madison area and met some great supporters. Thank you all!
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) Sept. 21, 2017
A year ago at this time, the buzz focused on the arrival of Granato and his dynamic staff, featuring associate head coaches and UW alums Don Granato and Mark Osiecki.
Not only has the coaching staff changed — another alum, Mark Strobel, was hired to replace Don Granato, who left to become an NHL assistant with the Chicago Blackhawks — the focus has seemingly shifted to a tantalizing on-ice product.
"The growth that we had last year, the confidence that they gained in themselves and each other, is quite a bit ahead of where we were a year ago," Tony Granato said.
"I know we're a better team. How many more wins does that put us in a position to get is determined by our growth."
The Badgers return three double-digit goal-scorers — sophomore center Trent Frederic with 15, junior winger Will Johnson with 10 and junior center Seamus Malone with 10 — and second-team All-Big Ten defenseman Jake Linhart.
UW looks strong down the middle with Frederic, Malone and senior captain Cameron Hughes as proven centers.
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The attacking style Granato introduced last season should be a good fit for a speed-centric recruiting class. Brothers Jason and Sean Dhooghe and Linus Weissbach are undersized wingers with above-average offensive skills, while Verona, Wisconsin, product Tarek Baker brings a host of key intangibles to the mix.
The three defensemen brought onboard — Josh Ess, Tyler Inamoto and Wyatt Kalynuk — will vie for instant playing time.
Asked for three words to describe his current squad, Tony Granato offered "believers, confident and mature."
Another might be "deep." The Badgers have 11 players who have played at least 40 games in their careers, including eight forwards. They all know what to expect from Granato and Co.
"That's different than where we were last year when they weren't sure and all the stuff was new," he said.
Here's the full @TonyGranato news conference from today.
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) Sept. 18, 2017
Once again, Granato will have a significant off-ice diversion.
A year ago, he was in the midst of finishing up the final 16 credits toward a degree in human development and family studies. He graduated in May.
This time around, Granato is getting ready to serve as Team USA coach for the 2018 Winter Olympics.
"I relied on Mark and Donny and (director of hockey operations) Shane (Connelly) a lot last year with the schooling commitment that I had," he said. "I don't think the Olympic commitment, time-wise, will be near what it was for the school part."
Granato explained that his academic demands were far more rigid than his Olympic duties. He said working with his Team USA staffers can be done as he sees fit.
"I have more flexibility," Granato said.
The biggest challenge will come when Granato has to miss four to six UW games to prep for the Olympics, which will be held Feb. 9 to 25 in PyeongChang, South Korea.
Granato said Osiecki and Strobel would share head coaching duties while he's away.
All of the potential conflicts involve games in the Big Ten, which has several new-look features this season.
In addition to a revised playoff format — all games at campus sites, including the semifinals and finals at the home of the higher seed — former Central Collegiate Hockey Association and Hockey East Association powerhouse Notre Dame has been added as a seventh member.
"Certainly a top-10 team," Granato said of the Fighting Irish.
Granato said the top four Big Ten teams from a year ago should be better — including UW — with Michigan and Michigan State buoyed by coaching changes and strong recruiting classes.
The Big Ten "has the chance to be the best conference in college hockey by quite a bit," Granato said.
Everyone has question marks heading into a new season. Granato wonders how his veteran team will handle its business.
"This year's a different challenge because now I think they expect it of themselves," he said. "They expect to compete for a Big Ten title. They expect to compete for a berth in the NCAA. They expect to be as good as any team in the country. They believe they can be."
Let that discovery process begin.
