There will be a lot of breath held when JT Compher goes to his next U.S. national junior hockey team camp.
Especially every time the Michigan sophomore center from Northbrook tries to block a shot — which means everyone may frequently be waiting to exhale.
“It’s hard to change the way I play,” Compher said. “I’m not afraid to give away my body. I’ll have my fingers crossed.”
Thumbs too.
In August, Compher broke his left thumb blocking a shot on a 5-on-3 penalty kill in a game against Sweden at the USA Hockey evaluation camp and wound up with a brace on it for three weeks.
Last December, he hurt his left foot blocking a shot at the camp where the team for the 2014 World Junior Championships was selected. That eliminated him from roster consideration, and it was feared Compher might miss six weeks of his freshman season at Michigan.
The foot injury turned out to be a bad bruise instead of a break, and Compher not only did not miss a game but also wound up as the Wolverines’ leading scorer (31 points in 35 games) and Big Ten freshman of the year in the conference’s inaugural hockey season. He also led Michigan forwards in blocked shots.
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“We weren’t surprised,” Michigan coach Red Berenson said. “I predicted he would be an impact player when he got here. He pushes things to the edge in his compete level, his work ethic and intensity.”
That combination of talent and competitive will, added to striking maturity and leadership skills for a player who did not turn 19 until April, makes it a foregone conclusion Compher will be invited in December to the camp to select the 2015 world junior team.
It is also why Compher now has an “A” on his Michigan sweater, having been voted an assistant captain by his teammates on the Wolverines, No. 7 in a preseason poll, who open their season Saturday at No. 10 Ferris State. Few sophomores have earned that distinction in Berenson’s 31 years as Michigan coach.
Don’t be surprised if U.S. junior head coach Mark Osiecki gives Compher a similar distinction if, as expected, he makes the team for the 2015 World Junior Championships set for Dec. 26-Jan. 5 in Montreal and Toronto.
“We have identified him as a leader whether he is wearing a letter on his sweater or not,” said Osiecki, an assistant coach with the Blackhawks’ AHL affiliate in Rockford. “He certainly leads by example.”
Berenson identified Compher as a “special player” and began recruiting him when he was playing at the midget minor level for Team Illinois.
“His development for his age has been ahead of the curve,” Berenson said.
That impression was reinforced during the two years Compher spent with USA Hockey’s under-17 and under-18 development teams in Ann Arbor, where he moved for the final two years of high school.
“As a parent, it was hard letting him go, but it was the best thing for his hockey career,” said Compher’s father, Bob. “He has always wanted to see what the next level brings.”
Compher said the two years in Ann Arbor were critical to his being ready for college hockey as an 18-year-old. The USA Hockey U-18s play a schedule of about 60 games that includes contests against several top Division I college teams. Compher led that team in points per game two years ago.
After that season, the Buffalo Sabres made Compher their second-round pick in the NHL draft. He has been to Sabres rookie camps the last two summers, drawing attention this time for his physical play, which, as Berenson notes, includes his willingness to pay the price to score and to get in an opponent’s face.
“I’m not the biggest guy on the ice (5-foot-11, 195 pounds), not throwing big hits, but I have to be physical to be successful,” Compher said.
Coaches like Osiecki are impressed that Compher always thinks defense first. That mindset undoubtedly will give him a better shot at making it to the NHL.
“My end goal is to be a pro hockey player, but there is no need to rush anything,” Compher said. “I still need to develop physically and improve my game.”
Berenson, who played 17 seasons in the NHL, obviously would like to keep Compher at Michigan as long as possible.
“We’ve had players that leave too early, and then they spend two or three years in the minors, and they wish they would have stayed in school,” he said.
“I think Buffalo’s going to be patient, and I think JT is going to play at some point. I’ve told him that if he is ready to play in the NHL, I will drive him to the airport.”
Twitter @olyphil