The dog days of summer are upon us. Of course, summer is such a fleeting thing around here as is, that the idea of dog days is more appropriate in winter, but that’s just me being difficult.
We’ve mostly known the 2026-27 UMD roster for basically three months now, but the nice people at the university posted it on the internet for all to see this week.
26 players are listed. 15 forwards, eight defensemen, and three goalies.
And that means it’s time for our annual practice of projecting the opening night depth chart. The usual disclaimers come first.
This is simply one person’s opinion (mine). I’m not hounding the coaches for insight on what they’re thinking, and they certainly have more important things to do than feed me info anyway.
(Maybe not that many things, as I’ve been told more than once that this column has been looked at by people in the building. Maybe for inspiration, like “Go prove this idiot wrong,” or something like that.)
This team has the makings of a contender, but there are questions to answer.
Here we go.
FORWARDS
| Max Plante (jr) | Zam Plante (jr) | Victor Plante (fr) |
| Barrett Hall (sr) | Jayson Shaugabay (jr) | Hunter Anderson (so) |
| Ryan Zaremba (so) | Callum Arnott (jr) | Harper Bentz (jr) |
| Luke Bibby (so) | Peyton Platter (jr) | Kade Kohanski (fr) |
| Blake Bechen (jr) | Braden Fischer (sr) | Trevor Stachowiak (jr) |
DEFENSEMEN
| Ty Hanson (jr) | Adam Kleber (jr) |
| Brady Cleveland (sr) | Grayden Siepmann (so) |
| Aaron Pionk (sr) | Keith McInnis (fr) |
| Carter Murphy (fr) | Jake Toll (so) |
GOALIES
| Carl Axelsson (fr) | Ethan Dahlmeir (jr) | Cole Sheffield (so) |
Some thoughts, in “stream of consciousness” fashion:
–> The forward depth is solid, yes, with plenty of experience all over the lineup, but there are spots in even the middle six that can be had. I opted for Ryan Zaremba on the third line because of his speed and skillset, which I think are a good compliment to the deceptively-strong and very smart Callum Arnott and Harper Bentz, who can be a Swiss army knife on this team.
–> Yes, I’m starting with the Plantes together. I believe this will be the configuration for the first Long Island game, and I don’t think the coaching staff will hesitate to try something else if it isn’t working (hell, Scott Sandelin has basically admitted that he promised the chance!). I would be surprised if it didn’t.
–> UMD lost three centers. Kyle Gaffney and Kyler Kovich graduated, and Daniel Shlaine transferred to Arizona State. Yes, Victor Plante can play center, but I’m not starting him there. Peyton Platter comes in from Alaska, and I think he’ll center a line. And if the chart above isn’t close to being right, Platter will end up on the third line, not the fourth.
–> Moving Jayson Shaugabay to center is a somewhat radical idea, but it’s one that I know has been kicked around by the decision-makers. He’s smart as hell, has a good defensive stick, and he is a guy who could make a ton of plays in the middle of the rink. I don’t necessarily think he’s going to be in a different spot on the power play, as I tend to think the top unit we saw most of last year is going to stay intact (Zam and Max Plante, Arnott, Shaugabay, Ty Hanson). Why fix what isn’t really broken? But he could fill a heck of a void on this roster if he can make his game work at center. It allows the Bulldogs to play other players in their optimal spots without putting too much pressure on anyone.
(Of course, the top unit did struggle a lot down the stretch, so maybe it was actually deemed broken.)
–> The Barrett Hall pickup was potentially massive for UMD. It adds some balance to the top six, no matter how you lay it out, and it allows UMD to deploy its depth guys as depth guys.
–> There’s going to be some serious competition at the bottom of this lineup, especially at forward. But I do think the staff will want to try to settle on a bottom six. I noted late last season that Kovich played with a number of different combinations of wingers throughout the season. While I don’t remember what the exact count was, I had it close to a dozen. Before Senior Night, Kovich admitted it was difficult, because there were so many different players — both in name and style — cycling through, but he was determined to be a good soldier and make it work. I’m sure whoever the bottom six centers end up being will say the right things, but a higher level of continuity would be preferred if possible.
–> Some of it might be matchup-driven. Could we see Trevor Stachowiak, for example, draw in against a more physical opponent? Or Blake Bechen against a more skilled one? Players will have to be on their toes and ready to maximize their opportunities. UMD had a lot of this internal competition last season, and there could be even more of it in 2026-27.
–> I like the fact that none of the freshman skaters — outside of Victor Plante — are going to be put in spots where they’re expected to produce a lot right away. And if you’re on a line with Max and Zam, I don’t think there’s a ton of heat on you to drive the bus. Let these young guys learn the college game, develop, and maybe move them up the lineup later in the season if they earn it.
–> On defense, let’s keep it somewhat simple with Hanson and Adam Kleber as the top pair. I like the potential of reuniting Brady Cleveland and Grayden Siepmann, and letting the coaches find a partner for Aaron Pionk. I wrestled between freshmen Keith McInnis and Carter Murphy in this spot, and maybe we see a rotation there at the outset.
–> Remember, college teams can dress 19 skaters, and UMD routinely will go with seven defensemen. I’m guessing we will see a lot of McInnis and Murphy in the lineup early, but Jake Toll will get opportunities. He was brought along slowly last season, only averaging around five minutes of ice time over 12 games, but he’s a big guy who should be more ready to compete for ice time.
–> In goal, Carl Axelsson parlayed a strong season for Muskegon (USHL) into a fourth-round NHL Draft selection by the Utah Mammoth. Ethan Dahlmeir was good when called upon last season, especially in the second half when Adam Gajan was at the Olympics. But I think this will be Axelsson’s job to lose in the early going. Sandelin, in pure Sandelin fashion, made clear in our mid-summer chat on the podcast recently that Cole Sheffield, who only played in the Manitoba exhibition after Christmas, is going to be in the mix and pushing.
–> A couple items of note: Sandelin signed a contract extension more than a week ago. It runs through 2029-30, so he’s not going anywhere. And outside of the head coach himself, no one is more excited to see the retirement storyline put to bed than I am. I only asked about it in a formal setting a time or two or three, but now people will stop asking me and that’s all I care about. 😂
–> Also, the NCHC announced that the Frozen Faceoff title game will move to Friday night starting in 2027. The only thing that will keep this from happening — and we all hope we see it — is UMD hosting the title game. The Bulldogs host the Women’s Frozen Four this season, which is a Friday/Sunday event (there was apparently some discussion about a potential change to this schedule, TV driven as always, but it sounds like it’s staying as initially scheduled in 2027). So if UMD is the high seed left for the NCHC title weekend, that game will be played Saturday, March 20.
That’s it from me. We’ll return — barring any news — in September with some preview materials. As always, check out the radio show and podcast for more hockey content as the season approaches.
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