BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
MADISON, Wis. — Ty Emberson is fond of sharing an anecdote from his official recruiting visit to Madison because he loves the message it conveys about the Wisconsin men's hockey program.
Emberson and fellow defenseman K'Andre Miller, teammates at the prestigious U.S. National Team Development Program in Plymouth, Michigan, had just arrived at the Dane County Regional Airport last spring.
The two 18-year-olds were wearing Motion W-themed apparel when they stepped off their Delta flight from Detroit that Sunday morning in May. As they made their way to the main lobby, Emberson and Miller were approached by some curious Badgers fans who wanted to know if they were future student-athletes.
As a matter of fact, yes.
Emberson, from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and Miller, from Minnetonka, Minnesota, make up part of the latest class of recruits, nine in all, brought in by third-year coach Tony Granato and assistants Mark Osiecki and Mark Strobel.
"It wasn't a big group or anything, but just a bunch of individuals," Emberson said of the impromptu greeters that day. "A lot of people saying, 'Hey, we can't wait to have you here next season.'"
The reception left an impression.
"To be welcomed like that really solidified our decision (to come to Wisconsin) and made us even more excited to get started," Emberson said.
The moment represents a snapshot of how Granato and Co. want the program to be defined on their watch. Elite talent, a good chunk of it homegrown, being readily embraced by great fans, all with an eye toward returning Wisconsin to national prominence.
The Badgers have won six NCAA championships, but the most recent was in 2006.
They have advanced to 11 Frozen Fours, but the latest was in 2010.
They have qualified for the NCAA tournament 25 times since 1970, but haven't done so since 2014.
Filling in those blanks is a process that starts with finding the right blend of talent, then nurturing it. If the first three recruiting classes are any measure, the Badgers are moving hurriedly in the right direction.
The first group, seven in all, includes four NHL draft picks — sophomore defenseman Tyler Inamoto was a fifth-round pick of Florida, while sophomore defensemen Josh Ess (Chicago) and Wyatt Kalynuk (Philadelphia) and sophomore winger Linus Weissbach (Buffalo) were chosen in the seventh round — and a likely future captain in sophomore center Tarek Baker.
The second class is headlined by Emberson and Miller, who were chosen among the top 75 picks of the NHL Entry Draft five weeks after their official visit to Madison. Miller was taken in the first round, 22nd overall, by the New York Rangers. Emberson was selected in the third round, 73rd overall, by Arizona.
Freshman winger Jack Gorniak, from West Salem, was taken in the fourth round by Montreal.
The third class of the Granato Era, currently at six, looks like the most dynamic yet, evidence of which will be on display Saturday night at the Kohl Center when the U.S. under-18 squad comes to play an exhibition game.
The club includes three Wisconsin signees for next season — winger Cole Caufield and centers Owen Lindmark and Alex Turcotte — and is good enough to have beaten top-ranked St. Cloud State, defending NCAA champion Minnesota-Duluth and reigning Big Ten Conference titlist Notre Dame in the last two months.
Caufield and Turcotte are viewed by scouts as first-round NHL draft picks in June in Vancouver, while Lindmark is currently projected to go as high as the fourth round.
Another signee for 2019-20, winger Dylan Holloway from Okotoks of the Alberta Junior Hockey League by way of Bragg Creek, Alberta, is viewed as a possible top-10 pick in the NHL draft in 2020.
The class also includes Michael Vorlicky, a highly-regarded, two-way defenseman from Edina, Minnesota.
Granato is looking forward to seeing Caufield, Lindmark and Turcotte even though they'll be on the opposing bench.
"It's going to be really exciting because these three kids have been commits for a long time," he said. "We've seen them grow and develop. It's just been fun getting to know them and their families knowing that they're going to be part of our program.
"They're going to be fun to watch. It's exciting for the people that have heard about them to actually see them play."
To a man, Caufield, Lindmark and Turcotte said they're viewing the assignment as just another game, but they know it may be easier said than done.
"It's going to be cool and exciting to be playing in the building we're going to be playing in next year," Caufield said.
"It's going to be special for us because it's our future team," Lindmark said.
"Doing it with Owen and Cole and having all my family going to the game, it's a pretty big deal," Turcotte said.
Caufield, from Stevens Point, leads the under-18 team with 28 goals and 137 shots in 33 games.
"He's got the best shot I've seen," Turcotte said. "He's a pure goal-scorer, but what people don't realize is that he can do other things besides score. He can make great passes and plays. He's pretty creative and he works pretty hard."
Lindmark, from Naperville, Illinois, has six goals and 12 points in 26 outings.
"He's a 200-foot center who'll do anything you ask him to do," Caufield said. "He knows what it takes to win a hockey game."
Turcotte, from Island Lake, Illinois, has six goals and 13 points in 11 games, his résumé limited by injuries.
"He's one of the best players I've ever seen at this age group," Caufield said. "Really heavy on pucks, really fast. He can drive the net and make plays that most people can't."
When Granato and his staff took over in March of 2016, they had a specific prospect recruiting model in mind for the Badgers, who were fresh off consecutive losing seasons.
"There's a lot more that goes into a good team and a good program than the skill of your athletes," he said. "Our last two classes we were really strong on character, work ethic and pride in being a Badger."
Granato said the ideal Wisconsin player is "selfless, has tremendous work ethic and internal drive, understands challenges and thrives in the face of those challenges."
The first series of recruiting classes under Granato include seven players with distinct ties to championship teams from Wisconsin.
"Badger hockey means something different to them than just another college team," he said. "I think that's part of the substance of our room right now."
Baker, from Verona, and winger Ty Pelton-Byce, a transfer from Harvard who will be eligible next season, are close friends who grew up playing soccer and hockey together. Byce's father, John, lives in Madison and helped Wisconsin win the NCAA title in 1990.
Caufield and his older brother, freshman winger Brock, have tenacious skill sets that reflect their father, Paul, who helped lead UW-Stevens Point to three straight NCAA Division III crowns.
Freshman center Mick Messner grew up in Madison. One of his cousins is Jack Skille, whose goal in triple overtime vaulted the Badgers past Cornell in the regional final and put them on their way to the NCAA title in 2006.
Freshman winger Dominick Mersch, from Park Ridge, Illinois, is following in the footsteps of older brother Michael, who led Wisconsin in goals when it won the Western Collegiate Hockey Association and Big Ten playoff crowns in 2013 and '14, respectively.
Baker drew a line from what those championship teams embodied to what he wants from the current edition.
"I think the biggest thing — and the coaches have been preaching this — is we have to establish a culture again that's about winning and competing every day and playing like our lives depend on it," he said. "If we have guys with that kind of attitude and want to come in and win each day, to win a national championship, those are the things we need here."
It's not just hockey, though.
Granato got a kick out of informing 13 of his players — half the roster — that they'd gotten 3.0 grade-point averages for the fall semester.
"A lot of whoops and hollering," he noted.
Of course, this is the same guy who spent his first season as Wisconsin coach finishing his degree work and hit the tape with a "B" average.
When Mary Weaver-Klees, the academic counselor for the hockey team, had to leave town for a family matter, players organized study meetings on their own.
"A lot of guys enjoyed calling their mom and dad telling them what they did in the classroom," Granato said.
Winning 12 of 70 games from 2014 to '16 didn't help the Wisconsin hockey brand, but Emberson has a counter.
"It may be not as prominent as it once was," he said, "but it's a rebuilding process and we're on the way up right now."
Baker said growing up around prominent Badgers like Osiecki, Gary Shuchuk and Rob Andringa gave him a sense of how championship teams are formed.
"Those are the things I want to bring back here, to bring back that winning culture and hopefully put more fans in the seats and put a product out there that fans can be proud of," Baker said.
One of the challenges Granato faces is managing a roster susceptible to the whims of NHL decision-makers. The higher the draft slot, the more likely the student-athlete is to turn pro as an underclassman. It's already happened twice since Granato took over. Center Luke Kunin and winger Trent Frederic, both first-round picks, signed after their sophomore seasons with Minnesota in 2017 and Boston in '18, respectively.
"For a lot of our team, the next level is the NHL and everybody's trying to get there," Emberson said. "But if you look at the way we travel, the way we prepare, the coaching staff we have and the campus we're on, it's tough to want to leave. Everything's first class."
Granato and Osiecki played in the NHL, coached at the pro level and, like Strobel, are former Wisconsin captains.
Meanwhile, strength and conditioning coach Jim Snider is so highly regarded that he's regularly pursued by NHL teams.
"One of the greatest coaching staffs — if not the greatest — in college hockey," Messner said.
"I can see why a lot of people don't want to leave this place," Emberson said. "The way that people treat us here is unbelievable."
Charter flights, modern training and playing facilities and a world-class education aren't the only lures to top pro prospects, though.
"It all comes down to how close a team is together," Baker said. "Letting them know their importance every day and what we're trying to do here. At the end of the day it's going to be up to them to make their own decision on what's best for them, but you're not coming to Wisconsin if you don't want to win."
That sense of unity starts at the top.
"Obviously they know a lot about the game and that's very important," Turcotte said of the Wisconsin coaches. "We all want to get to the next level and their hockey knowledge is great.
"But they really care about us. They're kind. They're very good people to us."
The current juniors and seniors — including captain and defenseman Peter Tischke and assistant captain and center Seamus Malone — have helped the evolution process.
"Good kids that have done a great job for us on the transition," Granato said.
The Badgers (8-9-3 overall, 4-3-3 in conference play) begin the second half of the Big Ten season in strong position to challenge for the regular-season title. To fulfill that mission and have a shot at an NCAA berth, they will have to play nine of 14 games away from the Kohl Center.
Baker said the last two recruiting classes have pushed the envelope of competition and he expects the same from the group coming in for 2019-20.
"If we can keep getting that from the classes coming in, it's only going to establish the culture more and we're going to start winning here," he said.
"I'm just excited for where Badger hockey is going and the kind of kids we're bringing in."
