The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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my goals this year have come from getting to the right areas. "You hear a lot about getting to the front of the net to score goals, and I can attest to that. I think I've prob- ably had four or five rebound goals where I just found myself in the right place at the right time." FUTURE CHALLENGES REMAIN When Porter was a freshman, he tallied 11 goals and 13 assists. He im- proved upon his numbers every year, totaling 38 points, then 58 and then 63, scoring a career-high 33 mark- ers in 2008. The challenge for every Wolverine is to better their game and increase their production, and doing so can be more difficult after a terrific rookie campaign. "There are always going to be ex- pectations," Porter said. "Red always tells us how you should be a better player as a sophomore than you were as a freshman, better as a senior than you were as a junior, and then you have your own internal expectations. "When you play a complete game and you put up good numbers in your rookie year, it can be hard to im- prove upon that, but there's always something to work on and Red will help you see that." "That's what college hockey is all about — development," Berenson said. "Look at how Andrew Copp took off and kept growing his game. J.T. is in the same mold. He's going to be working hard, pushing, learn- ing — he's going to get better and more confident, smarter. He's going to evolve. He should be a top, top player." Compher understands the nuances of the game, that which he's always excelled at, can still be refined, and he can always be a bigger contribu- tor on offense and a more lockdown defensive forward. "I definitely don't think I've al- ready made it," he said. "I have a lot to improve on both ends. I can be much better defensively, as well as offensively. I'm always trying to work on something else that I can use in my game, and I'll never stop working to improve everything." For most skaters, it's obvious — Hagelin was a defensive wunderkind instantly, but he had only 22 points in his rookie year. He had 50 and a career-high 19 goals by his junior campaign. Jeff Tambellini scored 26 goals as a rookie in 2003, but didn't see the ice on the penalty kill, and he worked to be a more complete player throughout his career. Compher is already a three-zone player, and doesn't have a glaring weakness, but the notion he has al- ready peaked is silly. "He was pretty good when he was 13, and was already competing hard on every shift, but he was a better player at 14, and a better player at 15," Pedrie said. "Kids like him, it may be more subtle, but he's defi- nitely improving every season, and I guarantee he'll be a more productive player offensively and harder to play against defensively as a sophomore, and then as a junior and a senior. "Michigan fans may be think- ing he's playing great hockey right now, but his best hockey is definitely ahead of him." ❑