The Detroit News’s Nolan Bianchi spoke with University of Michigan Wolverines coach Mel Pearson and former coach Red Berenson regarding new Red Wings forward Andrew Copp, who chose to play college hockey over college football:
A moment of down luck would change his life forever. Copp suffered a broken collarbone that ended his [junior] season. He recovered, had a standout season playing for Compuware and the US National Team Development Program, and was offered the last scholarship Michigan hockey had to offer. Football was out of the picture.
“We really didn’t recruit Copp in the normal recruiting process, and I don’t know if he was playing another year of junior, or what he was going to do,” former Michigan hockey coach Red Berenson told The Detroit News. “All of the information we got was just what you’re gonna get: He’s a hard-working kid; he trains hard.”
The first time he was eligible, before his freshman season, Copp was passed over completely in the NHL Entry Draft. After a 38-game freshman campaign, in which he scored 21 points over 38 games, his life’s trajectory changed again.
He was taken by the Winnipeg Jets in the fourth round of the 2013 draft and given the ‘A’ in his second season with the Wolverines. His junior year, he was named captain, and his senior year never came. He’d shown enough to convince the Jets to sign him to an entry-level deal after his third season with Michigan.
“He can do a lot of things to help a team win. He knows what it takes to win, he knows what good leadership is, what teamwork is, what dedication is, he’ll be a good role model,” Berenson said. “I think, eventually, he’ll be part of the leadership group in Detroit.”‘
Going from an over-aged fourth-round pick to a top free-agent prize is a remarkably difficult task. A little bravado helps. Current Michigan hockey coach Mel Pearson, who helped recruit Copp while serving as an assistant on Berenson’s staff, said the first thing that stuck out to him was that Copp was “he was really confident in himself.”
“I know he wasn’t overly recruited and wasn’t maybe highly recruited like some of the players are, but he had an unwavering confidence in his ability. And how he could stack up and perform against other players,” Pearson told The Detroit News.
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