Michigan Hockey has added Henry Mews from the OHL and Ben Robertson from Cornell, both of whom should play a big role next season:
The Michigan Wolverines have already endured quite the roster overhaul during the transfer portal window. Among the departures are forwards Evan Werner and William Whitelaw, goaltender Cameron Korpi and defenseman Will Felicio.
However, despite those losses, head coach Brandon Naurato has done well in attracting players from all over North America. First, he picked up forward Jayden Perron from the University of North Dakota, and recently, he has added two more defensemen.
Henry Mews, a third-round pick of the Calgary Flames in the 2024 NHL Draft , has spent his last three seasons with the Ottawa 67’s and the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League. At 6-foot-1, 180 pounds, he is a smooth, puck-moving right-handed defenseman who should fit right in with Naurato’s up-tempo breakout preference. He can stretch the ice and create passing lanes for his forwards, even from two zones away.
Mews still needs some work defensively, particularly in his own zone, and will need to accustom himself to the physicality and toughness of the Big Ten. Over 188 games in the OHL, Mews racked up 41 goals and 133 assists for 174 points in 188 games.
He also had 188 penalty minutes, a trait which plagued Michigan this past season. However, while that high tally may indicate sloppiness or over-aggression, it demonstrates the type of attitude necessary to compete in NCAA hockey. Mews is also hopefully the first in a long line of CHLers to make the jump to Ann Arbor in the coming years (hello, Gavin McKenna?)
The other portal addition is Cornell junior defenseman Ben Robertson. A 5-foot-11, 190-pound lefty, Robertson put together two impressive seasons in the ECAC. In 2023-24, he tied Cornell’s rookie defenseman scoring record with 23 points on five goals and 18 assists.
His production took a hit during his sophomore campaign, going for just two goals and 13 assists, but Robertson was still a versatile and valuable piece. He spent time on Cornell’s top defense pairing, on the first power play, and on the penalty kill.
Robertson is familiar with college hockey’s check-heavy, fast-paced tempo and should make a relatively smooth transition to the Big Ten. His commitment to Michigan also reunites him with his former Waterloo Black Hawks teammate, Garrett Schifsky.
The Wolverines are losing captain Jacob Truscott and Ethan Edwards to graduation and are in dire need of support on the back-end, especially with question marks in net. Tyler Duke, Luca Fantilli and Dakoda Rhéaume-Mullen make for a decent returning core, but grabbing Mews and Robertson will significantly bolster this unit.
Naurato still needs to go after a goaltender this offseason, but the pieces are starting to fall in place for what should be a bounce-back 2025-26 season.