friction between (us), being too
hard on him. I just felt he would
be better off without me coaching
him. Just to be a good dad, as
opposed to a dad/coach, guy who
yells at him on the way home. I
wanted to let him play it out, and
he did it. He stepped up.”
Joe never played in the NHL,
but by age 15, his son caught the
attention of the coaches at the
U.S. National Team Development
Program. Neither Will nor his
father expected the invitation,
much less the phone call that said
Will had made the team. But he
did, cementing himself as one of
the top juniors in the country.
“He did not want to play on that
team if he was going to be one of
the kids that was going to be not
used as much,” Joe said. “He was
reluctant to sign up with them for
that reason.”
As it turned out, Will’s two years
at the NTDP were spent with
players like Clayton Keller, now
entering his third NHL season,
and Adam Fox, who is now with
the New York Rangers. While
Keller led the team with 107
points in 62 games and was a
headliner on a deep team, Will
also made his mark.
His 33 points in 59 games
finished sixth on the team, and
after his U18 year, the Vancouver
Canucks selected him in the third
round of the 2016 NHL Draft.
After being unsure if he would
have a role at the NTDP and
getting a push from his dad to
join the team, Will played his way
onto the cusp of everything he’d
ever wanted.
“My philosophy with him is
always just go where you’re
wanted,” Joe said. “Go where
you’re wanted, because you don’t
want to go play with a team just
chasing a trophy. If the coach
doesn’t like you, you’re not gonna
be a large part of it. I think he’s
adopted that philosophy and it’s
served him pretty well.”
The gamble Will took on joining
the NTDP paid off. He went
where he was wanted, and it took
him to where he always wanted
to be.
***
In the sixth grade, Will’s teacher
asked him and his classmates to
write letters to themselves in 10
years. One of the questions to
answer was, if you could have a
dream come true, what would
it be?
To Will, the answer was simple.
“I want to play hockey at the
University of Michigan on a
scholarship,” Will wrote.
A few years later, the first steps
toward that dream were set in
motion. Berenson always kept a
closer eye on Will than he would
other players because of the
family relationship, and once Will
made the NTDP, his recruiting
process was set in motion.
“It was gratifying to see Will
make the development team,”
Berenson said. “I don’t know if
Joe thought he would make it,
but it really came down to tryouts
and measuring players against
(each other). These are the best
players for their age in the United
States, overall, across the country.
Will held his own with those
players.
“As soon as we saw that — you
know, these are the kids we want
at Michigan. Kids from Michigan,
kids that really understand what
Michigan is all about, and in
particular, a kid whose dad had
played here.”
When the time came for Will
to make an official visit to Yost,
it was all but a formality. He’d
been around campus and Yost
his entire life, and he knew that
Michigan was home. Berenson
met him outside the doors to
the rink and took him up to the
locker room — the one place Will
hadn’t seen yet.
That was all Will needed to make
his decision. He committed on
the spot.
“Red and I both knew,” Will said.
“We were kind of on the same
page. I think he wanted me to
come to school here and for me, it
was what I always wanted to do,
so it was a pretty short process.”
And while playing for the Wol-
verines was always Will’s dream,
neither he, nor Joe, nor Berenson
ever imagined that he would play
under the same man that coached
his father more than 30 years
prior.
In the 2015-16 season, Michigan
went 25-8-5 and lost to North
Dakota in the regional final of
the NCAA Tournament. It was
Berenson’s 32nd year behind the
bench for Michigan, and many
expected it to be his last. People
typically want to go out on top,
and finishing one game shy of the
Frozen Four is almost as good as
it gets.
Will was in his last year at the
NTDP when the Wolverines
went on that run, and three of
his teammates — Nick Pastujov,
Luke Martin and Griffin Luce
— were committed to Michigan
as well. None of them knew what
to expect, but they all held onto
hope that Berenson would return
for one more year so they could
play for the legendary coach.
Defying all expectations, as Ber-
enson is known to do, he decided
to extend his coaching career just
a bit longer.
It was the final piece of the puz-
zle to make Will’s wildest dreams
come true.
“It was pretty special,” Will said.
“I think we all cherish the year
we had with Red because he’s
such a great coach and not just
a Michigan hockey legend but a
hockey legend in general. To play
for him and develop a relation-
ship that my dad and I share was
special.”
Once Will got on campus, it was
clear that he was going to make
an impact right away. He scored
his first goal in the first game of
the 2016-17 season, and he had
two more by the end of October.
Looking back, Berenson thinks
Will’s love for Michigan is what
made him successful from day
one.
“He was an impact player,” Ber-
enson said. “There’s no question.
When Will Lockwood put the
Michigan jersey on, he was 10
feet tall.”
But it wasn’t always so idyllic.
Will’s physical, verging-on-reck-
less play left him dealing with
recurrent shoulder injuries
throughout his freshman year.
In his sophomore season, a solid
first half was thrown to the side
when he suffered an injury to
that same shoulder at the World
Junior Championships and re-
quired season-ending surgery.
Mentally, spending two of his
first three years at Michigan
dealing with injuries weighed
on him, and coming back from
surgery took longer than anyone
expected. Will was healthy for
the beginning of his junior year,
but it took half the season before
he was back to his old self.
But once he returned to form,
he was one of the Wolverines’
most important players, leading
the team in goals with 16. Will
heavily considered foregoing his
senior year and signing with the
Canucks after his strong junior
campaign, and he consulted Joe
about what to do. In the end, as it
always has, his heart pulled him
back to Michigan.
At the end of March, he informed
Vancouver of his decision to
return for his final year. Three
weeks later, Will was voted the
100th captain in Michigan hock-
ey history.
“It kind of took me a little bit to
soak it in and think about the
history of Michigan hockey and
some of the captains that have
come before me and things like
that,” Will said. “Once it did, it
was absolutely surreal. It’s always
a special thing when you’re voted
a leader on your team by your
teammates. It just is a great honor
to hold.”
Now, 35 years after Joe first
donned a Michigan hockey
sweater, Will, who spent his
childhood idolizing his father,
will spend one last year with the
block ‘M’ across his chest.
Their shared name, Lockwood,
will be on his shoulders, and he’ll
wear the number 10 on his back.
Just like his dad.
ALEXIS RANKIN / DAILY
Just like his dad:
Michigan ties come full circle for
Lockwood family