_{Credit UW Madison Athletics}

Madison Wisconsin, a beautiful up and coming city stuck between the lakes of Monona and Mendota. It is known for its many bars and small stores. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin-Madison and their men’s Hockey team. That is not what brought Ben Dexheimer to Madison, but it is what made him stay.

Ben is a 19-year-old hockey player from Edina, MN. I was able to sit down and talk with him about how he became part of the Badgers 2022 recruiting class. He was born into a hockey family; his dad was a St. Louis Blues fan and would take Ben and his brother to the Blues home openers. It wasn’t long till he was playing himself. When talking about his dad, Ben said, “He also took me to skate for the first time around the age of 2, and I loved it from the start.” Ben worked his way up with stops at the Blake School in Minnesota and the Austin Bruins, a NAHL team based in Austin, MN. Then he found his way to Madison, playing for the Madison Capitols.

The Madison Capitols are a USHL team in Madison, most known for their dollar beer nights.  Most college kids in the area have probably heard of it and some might have been lucky enough to attend. These occur on a select number of Fridays and as the name suggests offers a deal hard to turn down, beers for a dollar. When talking about the environment these nights created, Ben had this to say, “They were some of the most exciting hockey games I’ve played in. The place is sold out and its an atmosphere unlike any other place in the league.” The invested audience is a large boost to the players and creates that big game feel in a league full of players trying to make it to that next stage. 

Ben was originally planned to attend the University of Miami (OH) next season a part of their hockey team. This is a commitment he made when he was only 15. The Capitols fans and the city of Madison influenced Ben’s decision to stay in Madison and play for the Wisconsin Badgers next season. “When I got to Madison I instantly fell in love with the city and it made me realize I needed to take a step in a new direction,” Ben said. When talking about his decision to switch schools, he said, “At the time it seemed like the smart thing to do, as I got older, I realized how rushed that process was.” The Badgers have a great history of developing defensemen for the NHL and Ben hopes to join that elite group.

The evolution of the Madison Capitols has become a nice recruiting pool for the Wisconsin Badgers. The Badgers have gotten 7 recruits from the Capitols within the last 7 years, 2 of those from the 2022 recruiting class. Ben is joined by his Capitols teammate Jack Horbach as members of this class. The influx of young talented players as even lead to some team success for the Capitols. They are currently in the Eastern Conference Finals of the USHL’s playoffs.  They are going into Game 4 of this best of 5 series down 2-1 against the Muskegon Lumberjacks. This success will only increase the amount of talent coming to town.

It’s safe to say that there is something about Madison that is keeping these players around.  Whether that is the city, the Badgers program, or the dollar beer nights. I look forward to seeing Ben switch up the blue and white Capitols jersey for some Cardinal Red.

As many Badger fans would agree, this past season for the Men’s hockey team was a major disappointment. After winning the Big Ten Regular Season last year, the Badgers had an abysmal 10-24-3 record. The conversation around this team has been mostly negative, but as the optimist that I am, I will share why I think it was a blessing in disguise.  A sort of Mr. Rodgers outlook on the season.  That unexpected positive was the development of their underclassmen.

Many underclassmen were thrown into action and became major contributors. There were a total of 9 Freshman and Sophomores who played in 25 or more games this season, and 7 of those played in at least 30. The younger players got a lot of playing time and some valuable experience. It can be a difficult transition to the collegiate level; this experience is going to be a big factor going into the upcoming offseason and into next year.  A lot of these young guys are set up nicely to improve their skillsets in a major way

There were a couple guys that stood out to me this season.  They led the team in pts at 22 apiece.  Sophomore Mathieu De St. Phalle and Freshmen Corson Ceulemans. De St. Phalle led the team in goals with 10 and Ceulemans led the team in assists at 15.  The two most productive players on the team were underclassman, that doesn’t happen often.  These are two very special players that are primed to take Wisconsin back to the promise land. 

Ceulemans, who was drafted 25th overall in the 2021 draft, was one of the few bright spots for Wisconsin this past season.  I think he has the ability to become one of the all-time greats here at Wisconsin and I am very excited to see what he will do for us next season.  De St. Phalle also grew a lot in his sophomore season becoming one of their most reliable scorers for a team that struggled on the offensive end. 

The underclassmen, as a whole, contributed a lot to the Badgers scoring this season.  Half of the 76 goals came from underclassmen including the top 3 goal scorers on the team. De St. Phalle (10), Carson Bantle (8), and Ceulemens (7).  That is a lot of production coming from the younger guys on the team.  It will be a definite boost of confidence for them going into next season.

The talented class of underclassmen in addition to the return of some key players, should get fans excited for what’s to come.  They have paid their dues, experienced the pain of a poor season and are ready for redemption.

Tony Granato, Head Coach of the Wisconsin Badgers Men’s Hockey, team has recently signed a one-year contract extension.  The contract extension has Granato under contract until after the 2026-27 season. This comes on the heels of one of the worst seasons in recent memory. The Badgers were 10-24-3, their 2^nd worst record since the 1963.

His whole tenure in Wisconsin has been up and down since joining in 2016. In that span of 6 seasons, there were 4 losing seasons and 2 seasons of 20 wins. The highlight of his career is a Big Ten Regular Season Championship and NCAA tournament apparent last year in 2020-21 season.

The Badgers Hockey team have been underwhelming under Granato’s run and it begs the question, how much longer will he be the Head Coach? The rumors and conversation have begun after this most recent season. No one is necessarily calling for him to be fired yet, but people are starting to consider the option. Athletic Director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Chris McIntosh has showed support in Granato after announcing that he would return as Head Coach. The pressure is on as another losing season may not bode well for Coach Granato.

He did have the magical season in 2020-2021, led by the Hobey Baker Award winner in Cole Caufiled.  That team was dominant in the regular season but fizzled out in the postseason. Losses against Minnesota in the Big Ten Tournament Final and then an upset loss to Bemidji State in the NCAA regionals. There has just been a lack of success in meaningful games.

Great seasons in 2016-17 and 2020-21 have shown glimmers of hope in terms of what Wisconsin hockey can be.  They were both 20-win seasons with meaningful game toward the end. Granato was also named Big Ten Coach of the Year in those two seasons. The problem is that those are sprinkled in between a lot of losing seasons.

I am all for schools giving coaches time to set up a program. Success doesn’t come overnight, and I am ok with that. Six seasons is enough time to start showing improvements, but we just have not seen that. Wisconsin used to be a powerhouse in Men’s hockey and the last decade has not shown that. Granato was supposed to bring Wisconsin back into the limelight and he has failed to do so. Improvements need to be seen otherwise I don’t see why we should keep him around.