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UW men's hockey: McBain confirms his return

Todd D. Milewski  —  5/05/2008 4:25 pm

When the season ended a little more than a month ago, University of Wisconsin men's hockey coach Mike Eaves indicated that there was some question whether defenseman Jamie McBain would return for his junior season or sign a pro contract.

McBain closed the book on that speculation Monday when he said he'll be back with the Badgers next season.

A second-round draft pick of the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006, he created a potential departure path with a strong finish to the UW season. But the Hurricanes thought it would be in McBain's best interest to return to Madison and the defenseman said he was happy to do so.

"I've had that in my mind ever since I came to Wisconsin," McBain said. "I wanted to stay here four years, but at least three, because I just love the campus, love everything about college. I was in no rush to get out of here."

The return of McBain, the winner of the team's most consistent player award after posting a team-high plus-12 plus/minus rating, should be a boost for a Badgers defensive corps that will skew toward the young side next season.

With 71 collegiate games under his belt, McBain will be the most experienced UW defenseman and the only upperclassman. Ryan McDonagh, Brendan Smith, Cody Goloubef and Craig Johnson will be sophomores, and Jake Gardiner, Ryan Little and Eric Springer have signed a National Letter of Intent to join the team in the fall.

If McBain can continue along the track he was on at the end of last season, the Badgers will have a skilled leader on the blue line.

Badgers coach Mike Eaves said he noticed McBain's leadership took a step up after he returned from the World Junior Championship in January.

"When he came back, he was more vocal on the bench and his play spoke volumes," Eaves said. "Talking to his teammates, they felt he was one of our better players on the last weekend and down the stretch, just taking control. That's really good signs for him and good signs for our team that we have somebody like that."

McBain, who will take part in the Hurricanes' prospect camps for the first time this summer, said he needs to have a good offseason and bump his training level up a notch so he's ready to take control of games next season.

"And then hopefully have my offensive skills keep improving and hopefully have better scoring touch next year and be able to put the puck in the back of the net," he said. "I didn't feel like I did that as much as I could until toward the end of the season."

The Hurricanes thought it would be better to keep McBain at UW than to try to move him into their system, said assistant general manager and director of player development Ron Francis.

He said McBain is getting good coaching at Wisconsin and his all-around game will improve by staying another season.

"There's certain parts of his game he certainly does extremely well," Francis said. "He's got good hockey sense, handles the puck really well. He's got a good stick and, positionally, he's very aware of everything on the ice, especially in the defensive zone. Those are all good things.

"Some of it is just sort of, Mother Nature takes care in time. He's going to fill out. He's going to get stronger. And with that, he's going to get quicker. I think that's the one area as you move up the chain, the guys become a little bit faster and a lot stronger. I think he's done a good job of improving on his overall fitness and strength, and he'll continue to do that this summer. We expect a big year out of him next year and we'll revisit things at the end of the season."

Francis said he gets honest and up-front evaluations through a connection with Eaves, who coached him with Pittsburgh of the NHL. Plus, Eaves' son Patrick plays for the Hurricanes.

Todd D. Milewski  —  5/05/2008 4:25 pm