The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
8 — Wednesday, August 10, 2022
Brandon Naurato
named interim
hockey coach
This article was updated to
include statements from Michigan
athletic director Warde Manuel
and
interim
Michigan
hockey
coach Brandon Naurato.
Mel Pearson’s firing left
the Michigan hockey team
without a head coach, and
with its first exhibition
game
just
under
two
months away, it desperately
needs
a
leader
behind
the bench. But the hiring
process takes time, and
an interim must fill those
duties for now.
On Sunday, NHL Network’s
Jon
Morosi
broke
news,
confirmed by The Daily, that
Michigan
Athletics
will
promote Brandon Naurato to
the interim role.
“We are fortunate to have
someone of Brandon Naurato’s
caliber to lead our ice hockey
team for the upcoming year,”
Michigan
athletic
director
Warde
Manuel
said
in
a
statement. “I had conversations
with
many
individuals
who
care greatly about this program
and appreciate the insight they
shared. Brandon will do a great
job leading the program, and
I look forward to our student-
athletes and staff benefiting from
his leadership.”
Naurato,
the
Wolverines’
assistant coach last season, will
work as their head coach until a
permanent coach can be selected.
And Naurato has plenty of skills
to merit the promotion.
As a development coach for
five seasons before coming to
Michigan
last
year,
Naurato
knows how to polish players’
skills. He spent parts of three
seasons with the Detroit Red
Wings, and he brought what he
learned at the professional level
to Ann Arbor last season.
Throughout his career, Naurato
has shown a knack for finding
key
information
that
others
overlook. He notably tracked and
discussed every power play goal
in the 2017-18 NHL season to
compare how they were scored,
and he also analyzed the offensive
output of the Red Wings during
that same season. His writing
background shows that he not
only understands what statistics
mean, but he can also tell their
story. That will be key to passing
those lessons on to players.
That background could also
help
Michigan’s
offense
stay
near the top of college hockey.
With a roster full of scorers at his
disposal, his ability to dig through
the data could uncover different
perspectives that lead to more
goals.
The
Wolverines
averaged
4.02 goals per game last season
— third best in the nation — and
Naurato’s coaching played a heavy
role in creating some of them. He
especially worked with the power
play, and multiple times players
credited his coaching with their
increased production.
Naurato played four seasons as
a forward for Michigan from 2005
to 2009, scoring 32 goals and 32
assists in 130 games.
“I am honored to lead my alma
mater and will give everything I
have to what is the most storied
program
in
college
hockey,”
Naurato said. “I want to thank
Warde Manuel and our student-
athletes for their trust and look
forward to working positively
with our talented coaching and
support staff.”
Last
season
was
Naurato’s
only year behind the bench, far
less experience than some other
options for the interim job. But
his rapport with players combined
with his unique way of seeing
the game unfold could be key to
making the most out of a chaotic
situation for the Wolverines — and
clearly the Athletic Department
agreed.
With
the
season
fast
approaching,
Michigan’s
goal-
scoring guru has taken charge.
While it’s impossible to know how
the promotion will work out, the
Wolverines nevertheless found
someone to guide them into the
season.
ICE HOCKEY
CONNOR EAREGOOD
Summer Managing Sports Editor
FILE PHOTOS/Daily
NEW
ERA
JULIA
SCHACHINGER/Daily
DOMINICK SOKOTOFF/Daily