The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Wednesday, January 16, 2018 — 7A
Once a forward, Nick Blankenburg finding his footing at a new position
Brian Burke had a problem.
It
was
halfway
through
the season, and one of the
defensemen had left his Victory
Honda major midget hockey
team — based in Plymouth,
Mich. — to go play junior hockey
elsewhere. The Victory Honda
coach needed a defenseman to
fill that spot, and he needed one
fast.
In 2016, Nick Blankenburg
— then 18 years
old
and
now
a
freshman
at
Michigan — was
a
forward
on
that team, but he
had a hard time
scoring.
Burke
decided
to
try
Blankenburg
at
defense for the
first time in his
life.
After
Blankenburg
talked
over the decision with his older
brother Alex, a goaltender for the
University of Nebraska-Omaha,
he decided to dive into the new
position.
“I was definitely hesitant for
a little bit,” Blankenburg said.
“I kind of sat — my brother, my
older brother plays hockey too,
so he helped me out a lot with
the decision. I kind of talked to
him and just kind of figured out
what I wanted to do. I ended
up making the decision to (play
defense) and I don’t regret it at
all.”
While he had never played
any position other than forward
at the time, Blankenburg saw
defenseman as his path to junior
hockey and, eventually, a spot on
a Division I college roster.
And when it came time to
learn his new skills, Burke said
Blankenburg was ready to go
right from the beginning.
“He was all in, right from the
start,” Burke said in a phone
interview.
“Fully
committed
to
just
playing.
He
didn’t
really hesitate or have any
apprehension. He just jumped
feet first, went after it and he did
a real nice job.”
That commitment paid off.
Blankenburg’s
success
on
defense with Victory Honda led
to him getting a spot with the
Okotoks Oilers of the Alberta
Junior Hockey League — quite
a change for a high-schooler
who had spent his whole life
playing for metro Detroit-based
teams. Suddenly he was moving
nearly 2,000 miles northwest
to Okotoks, a city just south of
Calgary.
“Coming
up
here, he didn’t
know
anyone,”
said Oilers coach
Tyler Deis in a
phone interview.
“It’s
a
new
environment,
coming
to
Canada and not
knowing
very
many
people.
He’s a very sociable kid. He
interacts really well. … It was
a really easy transformation
to integrate him into here just
because of the social part of
him.”
And it was while he was playing
for the Oilers that Blankenburg
caught the attention of Michigan
coach Mel Pearson.
Daniel Farrell — who coached
the Wolverines from 1973 to 1980
— had seen Blankenburg play at
some point and passed the name
along to Pearson, then the coach
at Michigan Tech.
“When
I
got
down
(to
Michigan),
I
kept
following
the kid and seeing his stats,”
Pearson said. “I was like, ‘Oh,
this kid’s pretty good, putting
up a lot of numbers for a
defenseman.’ That’s how we got
on (Blankenburg).”
And in December 2017, just
about a year after deciding to
switch to defense, Blankenburg’s
decision
paid
off
when
he
committed to play for Pearson
at Michigan. He had achieved
his goal of earning a spot on a
Division I roster.
Now, Blankenburg — at 5-foot-
9 and 160 pounds — is one of
the Wolverines’ most important
blueliners. He’s spent most of the
season on the second defensive
pairing, but when sophomore
defenseman
Quinn
Hughes
missed four games because of the
World Junior Championships,
Blankenburg
moved
into
Hughes’ spot on the top pairing
with senior defenseman Joseph
Cecconi.
“We had seven defensemen
we really liked, we thought were
playing well,” Pearson said. “You
usually only like to play six, so
when Quinn left, it was a little
decision (about) who to play with
(Cecconi).
“We put (Blankenburg) there
because he’s a lot like Quinn in
some of the skating, the puck
handling and whatnot. So much
like — well, in his mannerisms.
Hopefully (Blankenburg) gets
about half as good as (Hughes).”
Comparisons to Hughes —
who was the No. 7 overall pick in
the 2018 NHL Draft — are lofty
for anyone. They’re especially
lofty for a freshman with less
than 100 games as a defenseman.
But it seems they may be apt.
As
a
less-experienced
defenseman,
Blankenburg
is
always looking to learn from his
fellow blueliners.
“I think I can either be more
stubborn about it and just kind
of do my own thing or I can look
up to those guys and I do look up
to all those guys,” Blankenburg
said. “I watch them, and I try
to learn from them every single
day.”
And the one he learns from the
most is Hughes.
“I think everyone says this,
but I think you just can learn
a lot from Quinn with what he
does with the puck and when he
does have it, how he’s just so, so
calm,” Blankenburg said. “The
things he can do with the puck
(are) just insane.
“You try to — not try to play
like him, but you try to learn
those little details that he has.
I mean, it’s a special talent and
a special gift. I try to work on
those little things every single
day, so I can be more effective
with the puck to create, in the
long run, more offense.”
You would think that because
of his experience as a forward,
Blankenburg would be lighting
up the stat sheet offensively. But
in 22 games played, he has only
one goal and four assists for five
total points.
Though
having
skills
as
a forward is helpful in the
transition, learning the type
of
offense
that
a
two-way
defenseman
is
expected
to
contribute is more complicated
than
just
transferring
his
previous experience.
“He’s got some savvy with the
puck and he’s got quick feet,”
Pearson said. “I thought he
would maybe have a few more
points than he does because of
those offensive tendencies when
he was a forward. Those are
some of the things you see.”
Two years ago, when Burke
decided that Blankenburg might
be successful as a defenseman,
one of the key parts of that
decision was the strength of
Blankenburg’s shot.
Against Notre Dame on Jan. 5
— one of the games Blankenburg
played
with
Cecconi
—
he
unleashed
a
cannon
of
a
slapshot. It caught the post, but
it showed signs that the skills he
developed as a forward may be
starting to come through in his
relatively new role as a two-way
defenseman.
Blankenburg originally made
the switch to try to get on a
Division I hockey team.
But as he continues to learn
from
Hughes
and
develop
at
Michigan,
Blankenburg’s
transition to defense may bring
him to even greater heights.
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Freshman defenseman Nick Blankenburg played forward until he was 18 years old before switching to defenseman under Brian Burke at Victory Honda.
BAILEY JOHNSON
Daily Sports Writer
The story of Stormy Kromer, Mel
Pearson and Michigan’s novelty hats
Michigan coach Mel Pearson
wore it behind the bench at Notre
Dame Stadium on Jan. 5. As the
players took off their gear and
changed into their street clothes,
they slipped it on as well.
It was a Stormy Kromer hat.
“It’s a unique cap,” Pearson
said. “And a unique story behind
the cap.”
The
story
began
in
1903
with
George
Kromer
—
nicknamed
“Stormy” — who
was
a
semi-
professional
baseball
player
who later became
a
railroad
engineer.
“We had to do a little research
on it,” said freshman forward
Nolan Moyle. “It’s got a little
history
message
inside.
It’s
basically about Stormy Kromer,
he’s kind of a railroad worker,
whose hat kept falling off so they
sewed the flaps onto the side,
and it’s a pretty good old-school
look.”
After losing many hats to
the wind on the locomotive he
worked on, Kromer requested his
wife to sew a hat that would not
only stay on his head but keep it
warm. So she took a baseball cap,
sewed on a higher crown and
added ear flaps to a pull-down
earband.
The popularity of the hats
pushed Kromer and his wife
to take their small hometown
production
to
a
factory
in
Milwaukee,
Wisc.
with
upwards of 30
workers.
The expansion
took off and over
100 years later,
it found its way
to
Ironwood,
Mich. — a place
not too far from
Michigan Tech, where Pearson
had spent years coaching.
“I spent a lot of years in the
(Upper Peninsula),” Pearson said.
“They’re very popular up there.
They’re a very unique brand of
cap and obviously a Michigan
company.”
Upon returning from winter
break, Pearson wanted to surprise
the team with a present for the
holidays as well as something
special for the upcoming outdoor
game in South Bend.
“Usually around that you get
something different to wear,”
Pearson said. “And I thought,
hey you know what, give them
sort of the Christmas gift and
the outdoor ‘Let’s take it outside’
game. It’s amazing.”
Upon request, the company
Pearson approached made it a
priority to finish the product in
time for the game.
“I found out that the general
manager up there in Ironwood,
Michigan considers himself the
biggest Michigan hockey fan in
the Upper Peninsula,” Pearson
said. “So when they heard we
wanted to do this, they really
wanted to do this. They rushed
them. They almost became a
personal mission for them to
see this through so it’s pretty
exciting.”
Pearson had the block ‘M’
sewn on the side and the players’
numbers added to the front. On
the bench and in the locker room,
players and coaches alike donned
the cap.
And with it, they took South
Bend in style.
ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily
Michigan coach Mel Pearson wore a Stormy Kromer hat behind the bench in the Wolverines’ outdoor game.
TIEN LE
Daily Sports Writer
‘M’ looks for big wins in final stretch
When the Michigan women’s
basketball team walked off the
court at the Xfinity Center on
Monday night in College Park,
it was left wondering what had
gone wrong. It had allowed a
one-point deficit heading into the
fourth quarter to balloon into a
14-point loss.
The Wolverines outrebounded
No.
9
Maryland
and
put
themselves in a position to win
by collecting 18 offensive boards
compared to just seven for the
Terrapins — the eighth-best
rebounding team in the nation.
Then, the defense collapsed,
allowing
Maryland
to
shoot
77 percent from the floor and
75 percent from deep in the
final period while giving up its
rebounding advantage.
This is no anomaly. Instead,
it encapsulates what has been
an up and down season for the
Wolverines thus far.
“Our
defense
is
definitely
a work in progress and that’s
something that we are continuing
to try and improve, sending (less)
people to the free throw line,”
said Michigan coach Kim Barnes
Arico. “I think the last few games
we’ve done a much better job of
that, but we have taken notice of
that.”
A big reason for Michigan’s
defensive struggles, especially
late in games, is youth. While
youth has long-term advantages,
the lack of experience has hurt
the Wolverines late in games
when trying to hold a narrow lead
or close a slim deficit.
“Well they say defense wins
championships and we really
pride ourselves on that here,” said
senior guard Nicole Munger. “ … I
think we’re just really focused on
getting better every single day at
defense and getting little things,
like extra possessions, through
charges, loose balls, rebounds and
just really trying to lock into our
scouts. We’ve shown the ability
(against) like Missouri, Maryland
for the first half, of being able to
really shut down opponents, we
just need to be able to out a full 40
minutes together.”
That
youth
has
also
led
to struggles in hostile road
environments.
Michigan
has
won just four times in its 10
games away from Crisler Center,
and without any notable road
wins, the Wolverines will have
a hard time making the NCAA
Tournament.
“I think that we just need
to lock in and, like I said, do
everything a little bit better (on
the road),” Munger said. “You’re
not going to have your refs or, like
I said, your crowd, but that’s why
you got to be a little bit better at
every single thing.”
Thus far, Michigan has faced
five ranked teams, four of them
on the road. To little surprise,
the Wolverines have lost all
four of those games. But, for
Barnes Arico, those losses have
a silver lining — they provide a
learning experience that will
help the young players gain the
skills they need to succeed away
from Ann Arbor. That starts in
Iowa City with a contest against
the 22nd-ranked Hawkeyes on
Thursday.
If it can learn from its previous
road contests, Michigan is capable
of snatching a few key road wins
down the final stretch.
“I think our schedule, even
before Big Ten play, has been
incredibly tough,” Barnes Arico
said. “We’ve played against some
of the best teams in the country.
Whether that’s Texas or NC State,
who I think is the only undefeated
team left, and all of those games
have been on the road. And then
to head into Big Ten play and now
have four of our first six on the
road has really been challenging.
“But we keep trying to put a
positive spin on it, that it is going
to prepare us for February, that it
is going to prepare us for March
and Big Ten play and the Big Ten
Tournament when we will have
to be at a neutral court.”
BENNETT BRAMSON
Daily Sports Writer
“I was
definitely
hesitant for a
little bit.”
“They almost
became a
personal mission
for them.”
ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily
Senior guard Nicole Munger is confident that Michigan’s freshmen will improve as the season continues.