Just five years ago, a young man named Cole Caufield was named the best player in NCAA hockey.
A top Canadiens prospect just might match the current Montreal star's feat when the Hobey Baker Award is handed out in April.
Michael Hage, who decided to return for a third season at Michigan rather than turn pro after last season, leads the NCAA in scoring. He has 20 points (four goals, 16 assists) in just nine games heading into a two-game set against visiting Penn State this weekend.
"He's finding ways to take over games," Michigan coach Brandon Naurato said in a telephone interview this week. "The production's going to be there. We talked about the 200-foot game, faceoffs are improving and he's got, what, 20 points in nine games and we still want more — meaning he wants more.
"He's just continuing to work every day and it's been cool to see the hunger."
The seeds for this season's hot start were planted in the summer after the playmaking centre did some hard rehab to recover from a late-season ankle injury.
The injury kept Hage out of the first game of the NCAA championship tournament. He then was at less than 100 per cent for a win over Minnesota-Duluth and a double-overtime loss to eventual champion Denver in a Frozen Four semifinal, and was limited to one assist in the two games.
A first-round pick (21st overall) by the Canadiens in 2024 and the leading scorer for Canada at last year's world junior championship, Hage started this past off-season in Ann Arbor before returning home to work in a training group headed by Milo Athletics strength coach and program director Bryan Marshall. The on- and off-ice sessions included NHLers like Josh Anderson, Sean Monahan, Nazem Kadri and Matthew Schaefer.
"Those guys are obviously elite talents," the six-foot-one, 200-pound Hage, 20, said this week. "If you can take anything from those guys, push yourself and have to play against them, it's obviously going to feel a little bit easier when you come back to play against college players."
Returning to Michigan seemed like the right move for Hage after the disappointing end to last season.
The chance to be in the team leadership group as an alternate captain and work on his overall game and strength and conditioning in a top-notch setting appealed to Hage.
"It was definitely a hard decision," he said. "I think that there's a lot of things that went into it at the time. I was also dealing with a bit of an injury. Losing (in the Frozen Four) and not getting the result we wanted was part of it. Feeling like I would have been able to do more if I was healthy. If things turned out different, maybe that decision was different.
"But the biggest part was just I wanted to be a part of this group and have a chance to win this year and continue to work on different areas of my game."
The Wolverines (8-1), featuring five first-round NHL picks along with projected 2027 No. 1 Landon DuPont, are ranked second in the country.
Hage has played most of the season on a line with Carolina Hurricanes third-round pick Jayden Perron (second in the NCAA with 19 points) and Pittsburgh Penguins first-rounder Will Horcoff.
"Being a leader isn't just wearing a letter on your jersey," Naurato said. "He's having hard conversations with his peers. He's held to a higher standard to perform on and off the ice in a lifestyle that is what Michigan wants and how he wants to represent the Hage name. I think there's more accountability to that. Expectations are higher.
"You know, if we don't play well, he's the first guy I'm going to go after. He's accepted that. I think he's grown up a lot. And like any 20-year-old, there's a lot more to go and I'd bet on him that he keeps getting better and better."
Team results, rather than individual statistics, are the focus for Hage.
With nine national titles in program history, Michigan is second to only Denver (11). But the Wolverines haven't captured the championship since 1998.
"The main thing is to win," Hage said. "My goal is to try to come out here every night and help us do that. I wouldn't say there's a number (of points that is a goal). I think I've gotten better at how I observe and watch my games after and really judge how I played, not just based on points. It definitely is nice to get the results, but I think it's just kind of coming from playing my game and the team winning."
The next few months could be very exciting for Hage
He'll play in the Spengler Cup in Switzerland for the U.S. Collegiate Selects over Christmas — "that's a pretty sweet spot in a tournament you hear about (growing up)," Hage said.
In February, the Wolverines play an outdoor game against top-ranked Wisconsin at Lambeau Field. Then, there is every reason to believe Michigan will be one of 16 teams in the NCAA national championship tournament before Hage figures to turn pro and potentially gets a playoff look with the Canadiens.
"(Canadiens fans) should be really excited," Naurato said. "They should be excited about the hockey player for sure. They should be excited about the person and his passion and love for Montreal.
"That's a tough league. You hear like, '(he could be a) second-line centre.' If Mike can go and help them at the end of the year, whether that's 10 minutes a night or 20 minutes a night, I think that's all Mike wants to do.
"I think there's no ego with Mike. He's got the swagger and confidence of any young player. But he's going to be a worker and he's going to be a good teammate throughout that process."
Games to watch
Brantford Bulldogs (13-5-1) at Guelph Storm (16-3-0), Friday, 7:07 p.m.
The league-leading Storm face a Brantford team that appears to be a top Eastern Conference contender. The Memorial Cup-host Storm acquired top defenceman Vladimir Dravecky (New York Islanders) from Brantford in an off-season deal.
Red Deer Rebels (12-4-3) at Medicine Hat Tigers (11-5-1), Saturday, 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. ABT
Red Deer's Poul Andersen (undrafted) and Beckett Hamilton (Colorado Avalanche) entered the week 1-2 in WHL scoring. They square off against the top two scorers from last season — Medicine Hat twin brothers Markus and Liam Ruck (both Pittsburgh Penguins picks).
Rimouski Oceanic (9-6-3) at Saint John Sea Dogs (11-5-2), Sunday, 2 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. AST
Two towering 2027 NHL Draft first-round prospects battle it out — six-foot-six Rimouski centre Maxmilian Mares and six-foot-four Saint John centre Alexis Joseph.
Merrimack Warriors (6-1-2) at Providence Friars (6-2-0), Friday, 7 p.m. ET
First game of a home-and-home series between Hockey East contenders. Merrimack's Trevor Hoskin (Calgary Flames) and Providence's Logan Sawyer (Montreal Canadiens) are the leading scorers for their respective teams.
