Michigan Hockey Recruiting: Jacob Truscott Commits

Some good news came out this weekend for the hockey team: Michigan native, and defenseman, Jacob Truscott committed to Red Berenson’s team on Saturday. Truscott won’t be arriving any time soon, though - he’s only 14.

Hockey recruiting is not often discussed, but it’s often a very important part of replenishing talent at top programs. Just look at the Wolverines, which benefitted from having Dylan Larkin in 2014-15 en route to a 22-15 record, lost him to the NHL, then reloaded with freshman and leading goal-scorer Kyle Connor en route to a 25-8-5 record last season. Now, Connor is playing for the Manitoba Moose in the AHL, and Michigan is floundering at just 9-13-2.

Truscott is the third commit in the 2020-21 class, joining C/LW Patrick Guzzo and F Antonio Stranges. Michigan has a couple of defensemen committed in 2019-20, Michael Vukojevic and Alec Regula, and six guys committed in 2018-19.

For this upcoming recruiting class - next year’s freshmen - Michigan has left wing Dakota Raabe, centers Gustaf Westlund and Joshua Norris, forward Lukas Samuelsson, left defenseman Kenneth Johnson, and right wing Michael Pastujov. I won’t pretend to be an expert on hockey recruiting prospects, but indications are this is a strong and offensive-minded class.

Michael Pastujov will join his older brother Nick already on the team, while Lukas Samuelsson is the son of a 14-year NHL veteran. Joshua Norris is a Michigan State legacy.