As Michigan hockey stormed toward the NCAA tournament and the No. 1 overall seed this season, much was made of its ridiculous surplus of young talent.
The Wolverines, for most of the season, featured an NCAA record seven NHL draft picks; that includes four of the top five picks in last summer’s draft, led by defenseman Owen Power. The sophomore went first overall to the Buffalo Sabres, followed by sophomore forward Matty Beniers (No. 2, Seattle Kraken), freshman defenseman Luke Hughes (No. 4, New Jersey Devils) and sophomore forward Kent Johnson (No. 5, Columbus Blue Jackets).