The University of Michigan Wolverines men’s ice hockey team is off to a 5-3 start in the 2020-21 season. The number-seven ranked team in the country has gotten a lot of help from its top-ranked recruiting class. Freshmen like Thomas Bordeleau, Brendan Brisson and Owen Power have stepped in and produced at a high level.

Thomas Bordeleau

Bordeleau, a 2020 second-round pick of the San Jose Sharks, leads the team with 10 points through eight games. The US National Team Development Program product came into the season expecting to make an impact right away.

“I’ve always had high expectations for myself,” Bordeleau said. “I know what I can do and I knew I could achieve that [impact].” 

Joining a new team is tough but lots of practice time has given Bordeleau a chance to improve his game early on.

“We’re a really skilled team,” Bordeleau said. “You give us four weeks of practice before playing a game, the chemistry will start building.”

Not only has Borderleau had to adjust to a new team but also a new level, moving to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). New competition in practice has allowed him to raise his game to new heights.

“With the team that we have, you have to challenge yourself every day because, if you don’t, the other guys will,” Bordeleau said. “It’s nice to have this team that makes you get better every day and pushes you.”

The Wolverines aren’t the only team pushing Bordeleau to get better. Sharks general manager Doug Wilson also gives him things to improve upon.

“They want me to keep being creative, being fast and trying creative plays to make offense every time I can,” Bordeleau said. “At the same time, a really important part of my game that I always need to keep improving is staying on the right side of the puck and always reloading.”

One of the highlights of his season so far is the overtime winner he scored against the University of Wisconsin on Nov. 20. Bordeleau came down the left wing and toe-dragged a sliding defenseman before beating Badgers goalie Robbie Beydoun on the backhand.

“It was my second shift [of overtime],” Bordeleau said. “After my first shift, I had two shots on net already. I was going out feeling confident and I just tried to read off of what the other team gave me.”

After the game, Bordeleau was able to take in the moment and watch the goal for the first time.

“I was a little surprised at how it looked,” Bordeleau said. “It didn’t seem like that in my head.”

Bordeleau also got props from his father, Sebastien.

“He liked it,” Bordeleau said. “It wasn’t my best game of the year so he thought it was an alright way to finish the game.”

Sebastien Bordeleau was a third-round pick of the Montreal Canadiens in 1993 and played 251 NHL games for four different franchises.

“He knows what I’m capable of and he wasn’t too surprised by it,” Bordeleau said. 

Brendan Brisson

Bordeleau has seen a lot of time with Brisson, the 29th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft by the Vegas Golden Knights.

“We’ve been practicing together while I’ve been here,” Brisson said. “[Bordeleau] makes the game so much easier to play with.”

What. A. Damn. Goal. Brendan Brisson (@GoldenKnights) takes the Thomas Bordeleau (@SJSharks) on the give-and-go play and makes no mistake for @umichhockey pic.twitter.com/twS5ek4PdQ

— J.D. Burke (@JDylanBurke) December 4, 2020

Brisson played last year with the Chicago Steel of the United States Hockey League (USHL). His team won the Anderson Cup as USHL regular season champions and the inaugural Frosty Cup, a showcase put on by the league in conjunction with the Dallas Stars.

Brisson was also named USHL rookie of the year. Like Bordeleau, he too had to adjust when making the leap to college but found help to make the process easier.

“The coaching staff was really welcoming and put us into their systems right away,” Brisson said. “Everyone has their door open for questions and I feel like it’s the best place to develop in college hockey.”

There it is. Brendan Brisson (#VegasBorn) gives @UMichHockey the 2-1 lead over Wisconsin. Primary assist to Thomas Bordeleau (#SJSharks) and the secondary helper to Cam York (#Flyers). pic.twitter.com/7JBBb7gfzs

— J.D. Burke (@JDylanBurke) November 20, 2020

During the break, the Wolverines took time to integrate the freshmen into the rest of the team to make the transition easier.

“Our season didn’t start against [Arizona State], it started right when all of our seasons last year ended,” Brisson said. “We were on Zoom calls once a week, we were in different group chats so we’ve spent a lot of time migrating as a team. Right when we got on campus, we were a group of brothers and nothing has changed.”

Brisson got his first collegiate goal in that first game against Wisconsin on a power-play one-timer, a staple of his game.

“I’ve always had a quick one-timer shot, it was something I really liked working on when I was young,” Brisson said. “When I started to get bigger and more confident in it, I started realizing I could score on my one-timer and last year, in Chicago, it was something our power play was really good at.”

Many of these former Chicago teammates are now rivals in the NCAA and it was strange for Brisson to see them in different uniforms.

“My linemate and one of my best friends, Matthew De St. Phalle, was on Wisconsin, it was kind of weird playing him,” he said. “I was warming up and looking at the other team and I see him doing the same stuff I saw him doing in warmups last year.”

Owen Power

Another one of these former teammates came with Brisson to Michigan. Power, Brisson’s roommate, was the USHL’s defenseman of the year with Chicago last year and led all blueliners with 40 points.

“When I came into Chicago last year, I was the new guy and Owen gave me advice coming into the league,” Brisson said. “He’s a student of the game, he’s always working on it. To see it every single day for the past two years is something special and there’s no doubt in my mind that he can be a really special hockey player.”

Power is ranked as a top-three prospect for the 2021 NHL draft by several hockey experts and being a student of the game can help him reach that expectation.

“The biggest thing is being intentional when you go into practice and knowing what you want to work on,” he said. “Coming in here, I feel like I’ve done a good job of that and doing a lot of video, looking at little things.”

Michigan moves ⬆️ 2 spots in both national polls to No. 5#GoBlue〽️ pic.twitter.com/dKaZX5Bxo8

— Michigan Hockey (@umichhockey) December 7, 2020

Power uses his dedication on and off the ice to work on some important parts of his game.

“I came in wanting to work on my gap and killing plays before they start,” he said. “[Assistant coach Kris Mayotte] and I have talked a lot about it, doing little things to help me stay up on guys.”

Early on this season, Power has seen top-pair minutes with Michigan alternate captain Nick Blankenburg and quickly developed chemistry.

“He’s such a good skater,” Power said. “We can both play tight and stay up on their forwards and have trust in each other where, if one of us gets beat, [the other one] can help.”

With this trust comes the freedom to pinch and get involved in the offense, an opportunity Power has taken advantage of.

“[Pinching] is an instinctual thing,” Power said. “It’s also nice knowing that the coaches want me to play that way and let me have my freedom to do that.”

Despite being from Mississauga, where there is pressure to develop in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), Power chose the college route.

“School is a big part of my family, my parents believe in going to university. There’s also more time to develop when you go to college than major juniors, that also played a part in [the decision].”

An Elite Freshman Class

Led by Bordeleau, Brisson and Power, Michigan will be a force for years to come. The freshman class will continue to contribute in the next two games against the University of Minnesota, the unknown second half of the season and the post-COVID era.

For now, it’s about taking everything one day at a time.

“It helps with COVID not knowing the second half of the season,” Bordeleau said. “We’re trying to focus on the two games that are coming up and if we keep doing what we can do, good things are going to happen.”