The Wisconsin Badgers Are College Hockey’s Great Redemption Story of 2021.
The Wisconsin Badgers are one of the most storied programs in NCAA men’s ice hockey. They have appeared in the Frozen Four (hockey’s equivalent to March Madness Final Four) twelve times in the program’s history, with their six national titles ranking fourth best in college hockey history. The team also boasts a number of prominent NHL names among its list of alumni, including Hall of Famer Chris Chelios, as well as names such as Ryan Suter and Joe Pavelski who have had long, sterling careers playing in the world’s best league.
However, it has been several years since Wisconsin hockey has attained the highest levels of college hockey success. Their last national title came in 2006, their last appearance in the Frozen Four came more than a decade ago in 2010, and their last appearance even in the NCAA tournament came in 2014. The following two seasons, the team bottomed out, finishing with a disastrous 4–26–5 record in 2014–15, and only improving slightly to 8–19–8 in 2015–16.
After this pair of lackluster performances, it was clear that change was needed in the program. Longtime coach Mike Eaves was dismissed, replaced by Tony Granato, a Wisconsin hockey alum with a storied career in hockey. Granato had served as head coach of the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche, and had also been an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Detroit Red Wings, and the 2014 U.S. Olympic men’s team.
In Granato’s first season as coach, the Badgers turned in a winning record (though failed to make the NCAA Tournament), however, this improvement proved to only be temporary, as the team fell back to losing records in the next few seasons. Entering the 2019–20 season, however, the Badgers had high hopes, as the team was bolstered by arguably the best recruiting class the school had featured in many years.
This class was headlined by two top picks in the 2019 NHL Draft, both stars in the United States National Team Development Program. Alex Turcotte, selected fifth overall by the Los Angeles Kings, is a prospect who at the time was projected to develop into a dominant two-way center at the college and eventually the NHL level. Picked fifteenth overall by the Montreal Canadiens, Cole Caufield was coming off setting the record for most goals scored by any player in the U.S. national program.
The team was also bolstered by high picks from both past and future drafts. Defenseman K’Andre Miller, a first round pick of the New York Rangers in 2018, would anchor the team’s blue line. And Dylan Holloway, a Calgary native who had dominated the Alberta Junior Hockey League and projected as a top 10 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, would provide a mix of scoring and physicality from the left wing position.
With the addition of these blue chip recruits, the Badgers looked to be a top contender for the NCAA tournament. And yet, the 2019–20 season would soon go off the rails, as they would lose nine out of fifteen games before January. For all of the team’s draft pedigree, they struggled to put it all together on the ice. Although the 2019–20 NCAA hockey season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Badgers were almost certain to miss the NCAA tournament yet again.
The team that returned for the 2020–21 season would find itself without several of the previous year’s big names. Turcotte would sign his professional hockey contract with the Kings, and Miller would do the same with the Rangers- and besides Holloway (who would end up being selected fourteenth overall by the Edmonton Oilers in 2020) no new first round draft picks were being added to the team.
However, the Badgers have confounded expectations once again, this time in a positive way. As of late February 2021, they sit at fifth in the NCAA’s national hockey rankings, with a record of 15–8–1. How have the Badgers turned things around this year? A major factor is the fact that their remaining star players have gone to a whole other level.
Despite the team’s struggles, Cole Caufield did put up points in 2019–20, with 36 points in 39 games. In twelve fewer games this season, Caufield has already exceeded that total- his nineteen goals and thirty-seven points. His goals per game sits at second in the nation among all players, and he will be a top contender for the Hobey Baker Award, given each year to the NCAA’s best player.
Dylan Holloway disappointed in 2019–20, scoring only 17 points in 35 games- this was a factor in him dropping to fourteenth in the 2020 draft after being projected to go in the top ten in many early mock drafts. However, signs of progress were already apparent even that year, as he scored five goals in his final eight games of the season. In 2020–21, he has built from that foundation to go to an even more dominant level of play. In sixteen games, he has put up twenty-nine points, nearly a two point per game pace. His playmaking ability (twenty-one of those points are assists) has shown particularly well in conjunction with the goal scoring of Caufield, as evidenced by plays like this.
Wisconsin’s season still has many challenges left to overcome- without a strong performance in the NCAA Tournament, it will doubtless go down as a disappointment in the minds of Badger fans as well as, if not especially, the players themselves. However, the way the Badgers have played so far has already erased the memory of 2019–20 and the several seasons prior.
Caufield and Holloway will likely depart for the ranks of professional hockey after this season, which will present a challenge for Wisconsin as they seek to fill the giant holes left by the two players who have carried them this season. But what the Badgers’ 2020–21 season has shown is that they have laid the foundation for them to be one of the top programs in college hockey once again.
