Wednesday marked the unofficial start of the Gopher hockey season as Don Lucia and a number of his players met with the media to kick off the year. As the preseason No. 1 team with a host of experienced returning veterans, Lucia and the Gophers know that this could be a special season for Pride On Ice.
Top Team
Minnesota will return nine forwards and five defensemen who played significant minutes for the National Runner-Up squad last season. Bringing back this type of talent and depth means the Gophers will start the season as the nation’s No. 1 team with a target on their back. As an experienced coach who has gone through this before, Lucia knows how little these rankings can actually mean.
“When the rankings came out, I went through the preseason picks, who was picked to win all the different leagues last year and I think one was correct,” said Lucia. “Preseason last year, I think Miami (Ohio) was second and they didn’t make the NCAAs…The ratings are based on maybe, some name-brand schools, they’re based on what teams did last year. Obviously we have a lot of good kids returning but they are a lot of good teams.
Heading into this season, Lucia’s primary goal is duplicating the balanced success Minnesota had from all three of their top lines.
“Being a team like we were last year,” said Lucia when asked what his main concern was for this season. “The depth of our team last year, ultimately, was what allowed us to have the type of year we had. Offensively, we’re the type of team where somebody different scores every night…When one line seemed to go dry, another line would pick it up. Hopefully we can have that type of team this year. It’s depth more so than star power.”
Lucia thinks that the composition of this group has what it takes to excel this season.
“When we have guys that want to win for the University of Minnesota and it’s all for the right reasons, that’s when it seems like we have our most success,” said Lucia. “We’re going to push them. We pushed them hard last year. And I think this group, they want to be pushed.”
Key Returners
After the season, standouts Kyle Rau, Mike Reilly, Brady Skjei, and Adam Wilcox all had an opportunity to leave Minnesota early to pursue a career in the NHL. Bringing all four back gives the Gophers a great amount of stability, as well as talent, in all phases of the game. Headlining this group is second-year captain, Rau.
“He does everything the right way,” said Lucia. “He is a class kid off the ice. He is a tremendous student in the Carlson School of Management. He’s an extremely hard worker in practice and he’s a winner…And I think that’s why he was so ticked off we lost that final game last year because it would have been another chip in his basket for what he’s been able to accomplish.”
Through his first three seasons, Rau has racked up an incredible 123 points while leading his team to three conference titles and two Frozen Fours. Being able to bring back a proven leader is a huge asset for Lucia and the Gophers.
“Kyle is a team guy, he is a winner and he’s driven,” said Lucia. “He’s not a guy that talks a lot; he’s just a guy that does it. We like to use the term the ‘Gopher Way,’ he does everything the ‘Gopher Way’ that we’d like to see it done…You just know what you’re going to get from Kyle Rau every day.”
Another reason that expectations are sky-high for this year’s team is the return of goalie Adam Wilcox. The reigning Big Ten Player of the Year is coming back for his junior season after he posted a school record .932 save percentage and allowed just 1.97 goals per game in 2013-2014. Heading into the season, will Wilcox be facing any competition for the starting job?
“No,” said Lucia succinctly. “The competition is who is going to be the second goaltender…I think that’s being fair to Adam. The type of athlete, the type of goaltender he is, you know going into the year, I don’t have to worry about who the goalie is.”
Through his play and leadership, Wilcox has earned the respect of his teammates.
“Whether it’s Adam, or a couple other guys on this team that are going to play every night, they know that, everyone knows that, but Adam doesn’t take a day off,” said defenseman Ben Marshall. “He doesn’t go to practice and say, ‘I’m going to take this day off and I’m still going to play this weekend.’ Every day he tries to get better and that’s why he was Big Ten Player of the Year last year.”
Incoming Freshmen
With a large number of returning players, there aren’t many holes to fill for Minnesota. One new forward who could crack the lineup is Sweden native, Leon Bristedt.
“We don’t need our freshmen to come in and make significant offensive production,” said Lucia. “Quite frankly, Leon’s going to produce offensively and he’s going to be the one who’s going to have the opportunity to play in that type of role.”
The Gophers also bring in a trio of highly touted defensemen, each of whom was picked in the NHL Draft. Jack Glover, Ryan Collins, and Steve Johnson all bring a steady defensive force to Minnesota’s blueline.
“We recruited them to be more defensive defensemen and get the puck out of our own zone,” said Lucia. “As they get bigger and stronger then they’ll have an opportunity to become more of a force in our program.”
Back in the Big Ten
Last season was Minnesota’s first in the new Big Ten. Following a regular season title, the Gophers already feel comfortable in their new conference.
“After we got through last year, it’s the new norm,” said Lucia. “That’s what I talked about last year. For our fans, one, two, three years down the line, it’s the new normal.
Now that the Gophers have gone through one year in the Big Ten, the comfort level will be much higher when going on the road.
“We went through it last year, we’ve been to all the buildings,” said Rau. “Like now, when we go to Yost Arena, we’re not like, ‘Wow, this is a pretty cool spot.’ We know what to expect, we know it’s going to be cold, we know the locker room is going to be small. We know all that stuff so it’s nice just to know so there’s no shock when you walk into the building.”
Up Next
Minnesota will play an exhibition game as they host the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology this Saturday, October 4th, at 7:00 p.m. The game will not be televised or aired on the radio but can be seen via BTN Plus.