12 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, June 20, 2005
Captains aim to ease
freshmen's transition

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By James V. Dowd
DailySports Editor
Come October at Yost Ice Arena, you might have to
look twice to make sure you're cheering for the right
team. The graduation of 10 seniors from the defending
CCHA champions means there's going to be a lot of
new faces wearing the Maize and Blue out on the ice
and hanging around the Michigan locker room.
Talent-wise, these newcomers are capable of step-
ping in to regular roles in the Wolverine lineup. The
class includes Jack Johnson - projected as a No.
2 overall pick in the NHL Draft, which will occur
soon after the collective bargaining agreement is
resolved - his fellow U.S. national team member
Mark Mitera and the highly touted Canadian Junior
Hockey star Andrew Cogliano. Despite the skill
level of these newcomers, Michigan's coaches will
still look to their veteran leadership to help ease the
rookies' transition into college hockey.
Instead of naming a captain and a pair of alter-
nates, the Wolverines' coaching staff elected three
seniors - goaltender Al Montoya, forward Jeff Tam-
bellini and center Andrew Ebbett - as tri-captains
for the upcoming season.
"We think with having a big freshman class
it will help having three C's rather than a C and
2 A's," assistant coach Billy Powers said. "Our
freshman can look up and, instead of seeing one
guy, thinking, '(departing captain Eric) Nystrom's
our captain', now they've got three guys that they
can look up to."
After backstopping Michigan's run to the
CCHA's regular season and tournament titles last
season, Montoya is confident that the tri-captains
can help maintain Michigan's excellence on the
ice despite all the new faces.
"Obviously when you come to Michigan, the num-
ber one thing is to play in championships and to be a
great team," Montoya said. "This year is no different.
We have lost a few good players, but this year we're

getting a couple of great players."
Added Tambellini: "Freshmen at Michigan
have never been the problem for the last three or
four years."
Montoya has a unique perspective from his
position in Michigan's goal crease, and he hopes
to use his viewpoint to catch and fix freshman
mistakes.
"I'm going to have a lot of new faces in front of me,"
Montoya said. "I have to take it upon myself to help
them because I do see the whole ice. I see everything
that happens in front of me. So anything that I can give
to those guys that I've experienced over the past few
years will help."
After entering the Michigan program as highly
touted Junior Hockey alumni, Montoya and Tambel-
lini have managed to live up to their resumes, marking
themselves as Michigan's go-to players.
"Both Tambellini and Al, they just had immedi-
ate respect since the day they walked in here because
of what they came in here with," Powers said. "And
they've lived up to every expectation of them as hockey
players. So I think, especially for the young kids, with-
out even spending five minutes with Jeff or Al, (the
freshmen) are going to look up to them."
Ebbett's contributions, on the other hand, have gone
relatively unnoticed by thepublic despite his propensity
for winning faceoffs and his place as one of Michigan's
top-four point scorers.
"I compare Ebbett to Nystrom and (departing
defenseman Brandon) Rogers," Powers said. "He's got
the pulse of the whole team. He's more of the guy that
hasn't gotten the accolades. Like Rogers, he's sort of
flown under the radar as a player and as a student ath-
lete here at Michigan. You have to be on the inside to
see what Andrew Ebbett does."
According to Powers, Ebbett emerged as one
of the team's hardest workers after the coaching
staff benched him for one weekend during the
past season, at a point they believed that he had
been consistently underachieving. Ebbett's work

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Forward Andrew Ebbett and goaltender Al Montoya were named captains for the 2005-2006 hockey season. The
pair will be joined by forward Jeff Tambellini as tri-captains for a team that lost 10 seniors at the end of last year.
ethic has not gone unnoticed among his team- through what he went through. On the inside, there
mates either, who acknowledge him as someone wouldn't be a person associated with our program that 4
who doesn't take anything for granted. would think that Al is a separate entity to the team.
"Ebbett is the one that performs at the same level He's a popular teammate and is always there for his
every game and practice," said junior T.J. Hensick. teammates."
"His work ethic is contagious, whether it's a practice, a In the dressing room, Hensick notices the same
game or schoolwork." sentiments. Despite Montoya's national visibility,
Sophomore Kevin Porter also recognized the value Hensick contends that he's just one of the guys.
of the tri-captains' efforts to improve the squad. "(Montoya) is in a different boat than the rest of us,"
'Tambellini and Ebbett are some of the fastest (run- Hensick said. "But he takes it well. He's our top player
ners) on the team," Porter said. "When we're out run- so we look to him in tough spots. With his high draft
ning, I've seen them finish and then go back with the pick, there's a lot of attentionthatcomes along with that
back of the group to push them to finish harder." but he just puts it aside."
Montoya's actions have also demonstrated his dedi- Despite their different backgrounds and experienc-
cation to the team. After being selected by the New es, Powers is certain that the tri-captains are exactly the
York Rangers with the sixth overall pick in the 2004 formula necessary for the Wolverines to be successful
NHL Draft, Montoya received a great deal of national with so many newcomers.
attention. There were questions as to whether he would "It's a bit of everything that makes these guys spe-
stay in Ann Arbor or head toa Rangers' minor-league cial," Powers said. "That's usually what separates your
affiliate. captains. They're not just prominent players in your
"I think (his return) really does speak volumes lineup every night. They're good students, and they
about his commitment to Michigan and to being a stu- take school seriously. As far as their social calendars,
dent-athlete and getting his degree," Powers said. "He they're always doing the right thing - school and
handled things amazingly well for a kid who's gone hockey always come first."

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