The Badger men's hockey team enters the 2006-'07 season as the defending national champions. But as the team begins its campaign to repeat, it will have to do so with a new look and will need scoring from several new faces.
The Badgers graduated five seniors: forwards Adam Burish, Ryan MacMurchy, Nick Licari and A.J. Degenhardt along with defenseman Tom Gilbert. In addition to the graduating seniors, the team also lost last season's top two scorers, forwards Joe Pavelski and Robbie Earl, who both left school early to pursue professional careers.
Burish captained the squad last season and served as assistant captain his junior year. He signed a contract with the Chicago Blackhawks in May. Gilbert was assistant captain of the 2006 national championship squad and also a second-team All-American. He signed a contract with the Edmonton Oilers in late July.
Just days after earning Most Outstanding Player honors at the Frozen Four, Earl held a press conference to announce he intended to sign a contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
""It was a very, very, very hard decision,"" Earl said at the press conference.
Pavelski, a seventh-round draft pick of the San Jose Sharks in the 2003 NHL entry draft, signed with the Sharks in mid-July, after the team offered him a contract he could not turn down.
""To leave two years early, the contract offer had to be right, and San Jose made a great offer."" Pavelski said. ""It felt like the time was right.""
Pavelski led the team in scoring in each of his two seasons, racking up 45 points as a freshman and 56 points in his sophomore year, good enough to earn him second-team All-American honors in 2005-'06.
But with all the talent the Badgers have lost this off-season, plenty of talent still remains, including an impressive incoming freshman class.
Backstopping the team's defensive side will be Hobey Baker Award finalist, first team All-American and Inside College Hockey goaltender of the year Brian Elliot, who is coming off one of the greatest seasons ever by a Badger goaltender. Elliott led the nation in almost every significant goaltending category and set team records in several of them.
Elliott will be protected by an experienced core of blue-liners; six defensemen return to the team as at least two-year letter-winners. Leading the defense is senior assistant captain Jeff Likens.
Eight letter-winners return on offense, including sophomore Jack Skille, the seventh overall pick in the 2005 NHL entry draft by the Chicago Blackhawks. Skille is expected to fill much of the scoring void left by the departure of Earl and Pavelski.
The Badgers are joined this season by eight new freshman faces, including three second-round selections in this year's NHL entry draft. Defenseman Nigel Williams was selected 51st overall, followed by forward Blake Geoffrion at 56th, and defenseman Jamie McBain at 63rd.
Perhaps the most important Badger to return to the squad this year is head coach Mike Eaves, who has won national championships for Wisconsin as both a player and a coach. The team has improved under Eaves each successive season since he took the helm in 2002-'03.
The quest to repeat begins Oct. 6 against Northern Michigan.
