Norsemen hockey leaning on underclassmen to ‘revitalize and rebuild’ program

GROSSE POINTES — Grosse Pointe North hockey is treating this season like a blank canvas.

A quick look at the history of Grosse Pointe North hockey would explain why head coach Rob Blum is treating it as such — you’d have to dive deep into the archives to find the last winning season or even 10-win season for that matter.

Sitting at 3-9 so far, the probability of a winning season seems to be fading, but there’s much more to this season for the Norsemen than their record.

“One of my main goals as a senior and as a captain is to leave the program better than where it was when I started,” senior captain Tim Klatt said. “I feel like that just shows that I’m making an impact and helping all these young players become more skilled.”

Klatt, a three-year varsity veteran, is the longest-tenured player on a squad filled with first-year underclassmen.

He’s been through a one-win season last year and countless blowouts, and even though North is still taking its bumps and bruises, the sophomore class is giving Klatt and company hope for the future of the program.

Sophomore Levi Olsey headlines the offensive attack with a team-high 24 points (8 goals and 16 assists) while sophomores Charlie Mueller (8 goals and 7 assists), Brandon Shock (6 goals and 7 assists) and Aidan Burney (3 goals and 9 assists) have done their part in their first season with North.

In addition to them is freshman standout Ben Clor, whose four-game scoring streak included an overtime winner over Brownstown Woodhaven Dec. 7 and showed why he’s a breakout player to watch this season.

The beauty of the blank canvas is the ability to implement whatever you want wherever you want — you’re trying something different in hopes it comes to life.

Right now, the underclassmen are playing as if the North hockey program is coming back to life.

“We were just able to tell them, ‘Hey, you guys have the chance to come in and be the starting point to turning this thing around,’” Blum said. “There’s some real good seventh and eighth graders in the middle schools right now that skated with us over the summer, and they’re planning on playing.

“Our approach was, ‘Look, we’re going to have a short bench and you guys are going to be thrown into the wolves, but you’re going to have all sorts of ice time and opportunity. You guys have the opportunity to revitalize and rebuild this program.’”

Blum, entering his sixth season as head coach, has grown accustomed to trying to keep his team motivated and the spirits up after a loss, but having a younger team has made his job a little easier in that department.

The losses are still losses, but the guys are fighting, which makes the wins that much sweeter for an up-and-coming squad.

“I think there’s a youth movement because the kids are young and they’re excited,” Blum said. “Getting a couple wins here early in the season has been huge for confidence. At the end of the day, losing gets old and gets tough. It’s tough to come to the rink when the games aren’t competitive. There’s definitely a lot more excitement in the locker room and with the parents and students at the school.”

“This year feels like a new team,” Klatt said. “There’s a lot of new, younger players. We have a lot of sophomores, and a lot of seniors left, so it really feels like a new team. That just means more kids learning how to play better.”

Arguably the toughest acclimation for the young skaters, aside from the speed and physicality being different, is understanding that North only has 11 skaters on its roster.

Depth has been an issue for the Norsemen, and nobody knows about that more than sophomore goalkeeper Ben Bugeja.

Bugeja was the lone goalkeeper for North last season and has already faced nearly 500 shots in just 12 games.

“He faced a ton of shots last year, and I think one of the things he learned is to approach the game differently by making sure he’s ready to go and picking and choosing his spots by freezing some pucks and taking some whistles he might not normally take,” Blum said. “It helps our shorter bench and himself get a breather.”

Even with the short bench, North has held its own against some tough competition and will only improve as the season goes on and the guys get more minutes on the ice together.

It’s a process, and unfortunately a process takes some time, especially with a short bench, but the returning veterans and first-year underclassmen are doing everything they can to expedite the process.

Blum said all he wants to see is his guys compete night in and night out.

“What we want to see, especially the young kids, is how they respond,” Blum said. “Do they fight and try to keep it close, or do they give up? What we’ve seen is they’ve fought and kept a lot of games close.”